Accreditation Reviews During the Pandemic
2021–22 Accreditation Visits
As public health conditions improve, HLC is planning to resume in-person accreditation visits by peer review teams whenever possible during the 2021–22 academic year. The evaluation process may be adjusted depending on the type of review, peer reviewer availability, and the ability of the institution to host peer reviewers on campus.
HLC has provided the following resources for peer reviewers conducting evaluations and campus visits:
- Health and safety guidance for peer reviewers
- Recorded webinar on conducting evaluations during the pandemic
Comprehensive Evaluations and Sanction Visits
These visits will be conducted in one of two ways:
- The entire team will visit the institution.
- Two members of the team will visit the campus and the rest of the team will participate virtually.
HLC will determine which approach to use for each evaluation based on peer reviewer availability and the institution’s ability to host peer reviewers on campus. For more details about how the evaluation will be conducted, see HLC's FAQs for comprehensive evaluations.
Focused Visits, Change Visits and Notice Visits
The peer review team will conduct these visits in person. These reviews are typically conducted by a team of 2–3 peer reviewers.
Additional Location Confirmation Visits, Campus Evaluation Visits and Multi-location Visits
Students must be present for HLC to conduct these visits. HLC will reach out to the institutions that need these visits to see if students will be on campus on the scheduled visit date. If so, the visit will be conducted in-person by a single peer reviewer and limited to one day.
Evaluations of the Criteria for Accreditation During the Pandemic
To help institutions and peer reviewers address the COVID-19 pandemic in their comprehensive evaluations and Assurance Reviews, HLC has published guidance on evaluating the Criteria for Accreditation during the pandemic.
Institutions
An institution should prepare for an evaluation as it would under pre-pandemic circumstances. The purpose of an evaluation is to assess an institution’s typical practices, and that remains true during the pandemic. In order to inform peer review teams of how an institution has responded to and been affected by the pandemic, institutions will be asked to complete a COVID-19 Response Form:
This form allows the institution to describe the planning it has undertaken during the pandemic, the changes or adjustments it has made to academic and cocurricular programs during this time, any enrollment and financial irregularities, and any other changes in processes, procedures, or structures at the institution relevant to HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation. The institution will also be asked to describe its plan for the immediate and longer-term future. Providing this information in a form separate from the assurance argument will help peer reviewers differentiate between the institution’s typical practice and the temporary adjustments necessary during the pandemic.
Peer Reviewers
The peer review team will evaluate if an institution has demonstrated compliance with the Criteria and other HLC requirements and, if not, consider if it is a direct result of the institution’s need to respond to the pandemic. If so, the team will note this in its report but refrain from recommending increased monitoring. HLC’s guidance document provides further information for peer review teams having conversations with institutions regarding their COVID-19 responses and addressing the pandemic in its report.
Decision Making
Institutional Actions Council (IAC) hearings will be held virtually through December 2021. IAC meetings, which have always been conducted in a virtual format, will proceed as scheduled. HLC has not yet determined whether Board of Trustees meetings will be held virtually or in person during the 2021–22 academic year.
Please note: Any postponement of evaluations or on-campus visits may cause a delay for when an institution's evaluation is processed for final action by the appropriate decision making body.
