Since November 2023, HLC has rolled out multiple initiatives aimed at improving our ability to track and support institutional efforts to improve student success. That work has led to new HLC requirements and processes launching this year. Let’s review where things stand and what’s coming up this fall.
Our work has been focused on three related, but separate, projects:
- Revised Criteria for Accreditation: Set foundational expectations related to institutional efforts to improve student success outcomes.
- Student success risk indicator process: Identify early indicators, based on certain educational outcome measures, that an institution may be at risk of being out of compliance with HLC requirements.
- Student Success Quality Initiative: Provide an additional opportunity for eligible institutions to focus more on student success improvements during their accreditation cycle.
The student success risk indicator process launched in March, and the revised Criteria for Accreditation and Student Success Quality Initiative process will both go into effect in September 2025.
Student Success Risk Indicators
Launched: March 2025
Institutions impacted: Institutions that enroll undergraduate students
Through our risk indicator processes, HLC evaluates institutional data to identify early indicators that an institution may be at risk of not meeting HLC requirements. For many years we have evaluated financial and non-financial indicators, and in March we expanded the process to include student success indicators.
Under the new process, HLC set benchmarks and evaluated institutional performance using publicly available IPEDS data on three educational outcome measures:
- First-year retention rate
- Graduation rate within 150% of normal time
- Completion and transfer rate at eight years after entry
The process takes into account how these outcome measures may differ depending on institutional mission, student body and context, with benchmarks and conditions requiring HLC follow-up that vary depending on institution type and student population. HLC will also consider additional characteristics when evaluating institutions required to complete a three-year Student Success Improvement Plan.
In April, HLC completed the first evaluation of institutional performance against the benchmarks and notified those institutions that are required to submit additional information for staff review or to complete a Student Success Improvement Plan. Going forward, HLC will complete this process in February each year, shortly after IPEDS releases new public data.
For additional information about this process, please see:
- Student Success Indicators procedure
- Adopted policy changes related to student success risk indicators, including an explanation of why HLC decided to use IPEDS data for this process
- Benchmark values
- Institutional templates and peer reviewer templates for the Student Success Improvement Plan and plan updates
Revised Criteria for Accreditation
Effective: September 1, 2025
Institutions impacted: All accredited and candidate institutions, and any institution seeking accreditation with HLC
In February 2024, HLC’s Board of Trustees adopted revisions to the Criteria for Accreditation. The revisions included important changes to HLC’s expectations related to student success.
The current Criteria include requirements related to retention, persistence and completion rates. In the revised Criteria for Accreditation, which will go into effect September 1, 2025, student success outcomes are addressed more comprehensively in Core Component 3.G:
3.G. Student Success Outcomes
The institution’s student success outcomes demonstrate continuous improvement, taking into account the student populations it serves and benchmarks that reference peer institutions.
In this Core Component, student success outcomes are not limited to retention, persistence and completion. They include any measures demonstrating the rate at which an institution’s students achieve or mark progress toward completion, educational intent or other goals that are relevant to the institution’s mission. See HLC’s complete definition of student success outcomes in our Glossary.
In demonstrating compliance with Core Component 3.G, institutions should identify and define the outcome measures, peer institutions and benchmarks that best fit their distinctive mission and context. Institutions are not required to use the same measures or peer groups as HLC’s student success risk indicator process, or to limit peer institutions only to ones that are accredited by HLC.
For additional information about Core Component 3.G, see:
- Revised Criterion 3 webinar
- Providing Evidence for the Revised Criteria
- FAQs on the Revised Criteria
Student Success Quality Initiative
Launch: September 2025
Institutions impacted: Institutions on the Open Pathway that meet eligibility conditions
As part of the Open Pathway cycle, institutions design and implement projects — referred to as Quality Initiatives — to improve aspects of their organization or to pursue strategic initiatives. Starting this fall, certain institutions on the Open Pathway will be eligible to choose to complete a Quality Initiative focused on student success in Years 1–4 of the Open Pathway in lieu of a mid-cycle Assurance Review in Year 4. This opportunity would allow more flexibility to focus on improving student success during the accreditation cycle.
An eligible institution would be able to choose this option, referred to as a Student Success Quality Initiative, when it selects its pathway for its next accreditation cycle, following its Year 10 comprehensive evaluation for reaffirmation.
All institutions on the Open Pathway would still be required to complete a Quality Initiative on a topic of their choice during Years 5–9 of the accreditation cycle.
HLC’s Board of Trustees adopted policy changes related to the Student Success Quality Initiative in February 2025. See the adopted policy changes for information about how an institution would become eligible to choose to complete a Student Success Quality Initiative. Full details about the Student Success Quality Initiative will be published this summer.
Questions?
If you have questions about any of these initiatives, please contact [email protected] or your institution’s HLC staff liaison.