Assurance Filings Moving to Canopy

With the transition to HLC’s revised Criteria for Accreditation in September 2025, HLC also streamlined the technology that supports comprehensive evaluations and Assurance Reviews. The stand-alone Assurance System was sunset in November 2025, and institutions and peer reviewers will now conduct their work for these reviews in Canopy.

On This Page

Timeline What to Expect in Canopy Resources

Timeline for Access to Assurance Filings in Canopy

For Institutions Seeking Accreditation With HLC

Institutions will be given access to the Assurance Filing section of 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 the Assurance Filing section of 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.

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

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 Section of 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

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.

For Peer Reviewers

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 users of Canopy and the legacy Assurance System. 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 the 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

Canopy User Guide: Assurance Review instructions

Canopy FAQs and help request form

Instructional videos are also available in the Peer Reviewer Resources section of Canopy.

Questions?

Submit a Canopy help request.