Assurance Filings Moving to Canopy

With the transition to HLC’s revised Criteria for Accreditation in September 2025, HLC will also streamline the technology that supports comprehensive evaluations and Assurance Reviews. Institutions and peer reviewers will conduct their work for these reviews in Canopy.

The stand-alone Assurance System will be sunset in November 2025.

On This Page

Timeline What to Expect in Canopy Resources Assurance System Exports

Timeline for Access to Assurance Filings in Canopy

For Institutions Seeking Accreditation With HLC

Institutions will be given access to their Assurance Filing in Canopy when their next evaluation that requires an Assurance Filing is scheduled.

Such evaluations include:

  • Preliminary peer review
  • Biennial evaluation
  • Comprehensive evaluations for candidacy and (early) initial accreditation

For Institutions on the Standard and Open Pathways

Institutions will be given access to their Assurance Filing in Canopy when the date of their next comprehensive evaluation or Assurance Review is scheduled.

  • For Year 4 mid-cycle Assurance Reviews and comprehensive evaluations: institutions will be given access in Year 2 of their accreditation cycle.
  • For Year 10 comprehensive evaluations: institutions will be given access in Year 8 of their accreditation cycle.

The chart below indicates when institutions will be given access based on the year of their next Year 4 or Year 10 review. See the institution’s upcoming accreditation reviews in Canopy or the Directory of Institutions for the year of its next Assurance Review or comprehensive evaluation.

Academic Year (AY) of Next Assurance Review or Comprehensive Evaluation
Access to Assurance Filing in Canopy
AY 2025–26
March 2025
AY 2026–27
March 2025
AY 2027–28
November 2025
AY 2028–29
November 2026
AY 2029–30
November 2027
AY 2030–31
November 2028

IMPORTANT: HLC cannot migrate Assurance Arguments and Evidence Files from the Assurance System to Canopy. Institutions will start a new Assurance Filing when they are given access in Canopy two years before the review.

Primary Filing Coordinators

In preparation for the launch of Assurance Filings in Canopy, HLC created a new institutional contact role: Primary Filing Coordinator.

This individual will be responsible for the development and submission of Assurance Filings in Canopy.

HLC automatically assigned this new role to each institution’s current Primary Assurance System Coordinator. The institution’s CEO, Accreditation Liaison Officer or Data Update Coordinator may change that assignment in the Contact Update Survey in Canopy.

Note: The Primary Assurance System Coordinator role will remain active until the Assurance System is sunset during fall 2025.

Canopy Accounts for Primary Filing Coordinators

All Primary Filing Coordinators will be notified of their Canopy account via email and given access to Canopy by summer 2025.

If the institution doesn’t have a review requiring an Assurance Filing scheduled, they will be able to view general institutional information. The Primary Filing Coordinator will have full access to their institution’s Assurance Filing when it is activated in the system, two years before the review.

For Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewer access to Assurance Reviews in Canopy will function similarly to the current Assurance System. Peer reviewers assigned to an evaluation that involves an Assurance Review will be able to access the institution’s materials and the Assurance Review dashboard shortly after the institution’s lock date.

What to Expect in Canopy

Similar Structure, Improved Design and Functionality

While HLC has made enhancements to Assurance Filings in Canopy, much of the functionality will be familiar to current Assurance System and Canopy users. The basic structure remains the same, with an introduction, narrative sections for each Criterion and Core Component, and an Evidence File of PDF documents and limited URL sources. Institutions will still be able to add a team of contributors for their Assurance Argument, with roles and access levels similar to what is available in the current system.

What’s New

Streamlined Assurance Argument Navigation

Users can view and edit the full Assurance Argument on one page, instead of having to navigate to separate pages for each Core Component section. Any required forms — now referred to as additional review components — are also included on the Assurance Argument page for easy access.

Scratch Pads for Collaboration

In each section of the Assurance Argument, users will be able to share notes with each other through a new scratch pad tool. All contributors can view and add to scratch pads. Users can leave feedback, ask questions or jot down reminders separate from the Assurance Argument narrative. These are temporary spaces for collaboration, and all scratch pad notes will be deleted when the Assurance Filing is locked.

Access for Accreditation Liaison Officers and Chief Executive Officers

The institution’s ALO and CEO will automatically be given read-only access to the Assurance Filing, meaning they will no longer need to be added to the institution’s writing team in order to see the filing. (The primary or assistant coordinator for the filing can add the ALO or CEO as contributors in order to give them editing access.)

Welcome Message for Peer Review Team

The former Introduction section of the Assurance Filing is now called the Welcome Message for Peer Review Team. The name change clarifies the purpose of this section, which is to briefly introduce the institution to the team conducting the evaluation.

This section has also been relocated in the Assurance Filing. It is now at the top of the Assurance Argument, instead of in a separate section of the filing.

Functional Improvements
  • In the Evidence File, users can now drag and drop PDF files between folders.
  • In the Assurance Argument, new text styling tools allow users to add titles and subtitles to sections of the narrative, which can improve organization and readability.
  • If a user tries to close an Assurance Argument section after making unsaved changes, they will be alerted and prompted to save their work.
  • Links to Evidence File sources are maintained in archived and exported versions of Assurance Argument sections. Contributors will be able to access evidence sources from Word or PDF exports when they’re logged into Canopy, and they no longer need to recreate links if they copy and paste text from archived versions into the current narrative.

Training Resources

For Institutions

Using Canopy

Writing to the Revised Criteria

The Assurance Argument in Canopy will be organized by the revised Criteria for the Accreditation, which go into effect September 1, 2025. HLC has provided multiple resources to assist institutions in writing to the revised Criteria for Accreditation:

For Peer Reviewers

HLC will provide training and instructions on conducting Assurance Reviews in Canopy during summer 2025.

Exporting Assurance System Materials

The stand-alone Assurance System will be sunset in November 2025. If an institution wishes to save its Assurance Argument or Evidence File in the system, we encourage institutions to export their materials as soon as possible and no later than October 31, 2025. See below for instructions.

HLC cannot copy Assurance Arguments or Evidence Files from the Assurance System to Canopy, so institutions should export any materials they wish to save.

Export the Assurance Argument

  1. Users may either export the entire Assurance Argument or export individual sections of the Argument.
    1. To print a copy of the entire Assurance Argument, go to the Dashboard page.
    2. To print a copy of a single section, click on the title of the specific section in the Dashboard.
  2. Click “Export/Print” located at the top right of the page.
  3. Select either “Export to PDF” or “Export to Word” (this may take a moment to complete).
  4. The narrative will open as either a PDF or Word document that can be printed or saved as needed. (This file will not include any Evidence File documents linked in the Argument.)
  5. Close the Generate Printable File window by clicking the X in the top right corner of the box or by clicking the Close button.

Export PDF Documents in the Evidence File

  1. In the Evidence File tab, click the Actions button above the file manager.
  2. Select “Generate Zip File,” and then click “OK” in the dialog box that appears.
  3. The user who requested the zip file will receive an email from the Assurance System when the file is ready to download. There are two ways to access the zip file:
    1. Click the link in the email message to download the zip file, which will include all the PDF documents in the institution’s Evidence File.
    2. The zip file can also be downloaded from the Evidence File tab. Click the Actions button, and then select “Download Zip File.”

Important: If any user makes changes to the Evidence File documents, the zip file will need to be regenerated in order for those changes to be reflected in the zip file contents. To do so, click the Actions button and select “Regenerate Zip File.”