Over the past year, HLC has worked to streamline our technology by moving the process of Assurance Filings and Reviews from the stand-alone Assurance System to our Canopy system. The transition to Canopy began in March, and we are preparing to sunset the Assurance System in November 2025.
What Institutions Need to Know
1. HLC cannot copy Assurance Arguments or Evidence Files from the Assurance System to Canopy.
Unfortunately, it is not possible for HLC to migrate institutional materials from the old system to Canopy.
This means that when an institution begins an Assurance Filing in Canopy, they will not have the option to clone or copy their previous Assurance Argument or Evidence File.
2. Institutions must export any materials they wish to save from the Assurance System by October 31, 2025.
When the Assurance System is sunset in November 2025, HLC will no longer be able to access content that was saved in the system.
Therefore, institutions should export any materials they wish to save. We encourage you to do so as soon as possible, and no later than October 31, 2025. See our instructions for exporting materials from the system.
3. Most institutions will not be given access to their Assurance Filing in Canopy before the Assurance System is sunset.
In Canopy, institutions will no longer have continuous access to the Assurance Filing for their next comprehensive evaluation or Assurance Review. Instead, institutions will be given access to their filing when the date of their next evaluation is scheduled. For institutions on the Standard and Open Pathways, this will happen in Year 2 and Year 8 for their Year 4 and Year 10 reviews, respectively.
This means that institutions will be given access to Assurance Filings in batches, over the course of a few years. The last group of institutions — those with reviews in academic year 2030–31 — will receive access in November 2028. See Assurance Filings Moving to Canopy for more details about this timeline.
This change means that institutions may need to adjust their internal processes for managing content related to their Assurance Filing during the years between accreditation reviews.
Questions?
HLC staff members are here to help your institution through this transition. If you have any questions, please submit a Canopy help request or an Assurance System help request.