By Barbara Gellman-Danley, HLC President 

The news over the past several weeks has been very intense for higher education. We have seen everything from increased scrutiny to a new plan for positioning some institutions in a favorable standing for grants and less oversight. For institutional leaders, faculty, staff and students, the impact is high. At the Higher Learning Commission, we recognize the importance of your accreditor staying on top of all these trends, identifying appropriate advocacy and helping our member colleges and universities navigate many changes.

With each new administration, changes take place. HLC advocates no matter who holds office because we are non-partisan and represent what matters most to our members. As an example, we supported certain budget shifts and challenged others over the past several years. How do we know what is most important? We constantly scan the current environment, and we take our cues from the overall higher education landscape. We welcome hearing from members on issues that impact certain types or sectors of colleges and universities. One of the strengths of HLC is that our portfolio includes all types, which provides a richer awareness of many important issues.

Another example of HLC listening to our members is our support of innovations, such as short-term credentials, reduced-credit degrees, the use of AI, and keeping our standards rigorous, while also finding new paths to efficiency. I can remember when a group of research universities raised issues about the critical importance of reviewing institutions in light of their own mission. While “mission” was always part of our Criteria for Accreditation, it is now heightened in ways each college or university can best represent their unique strategic commitments, goals and directions that matter most. From those types of discussions, we follow up with research and reviews from our board and staff.

Please let us know how we can help you regarding any specific legislation, regulations or related proposals for higher education. The same is true about accreditation. In an increasingly competitive environment, we want to live up to the reason many institutions are seeking accreditation or retaining membership with HLC. For all the changes facing you (and HLC), there is a ripple effect.

“The ripple effect. You throw a pebble into the water and it creates ripples. Your action was to throw the pebble—the representation of your choice. That’s all that you can control. But not the ripples—those are the consequences of your choice. And that you cannot control.”

― Michele Bardsley

Know we are standing on the shores with you as we work together to assure American higher education remains the best in the world.