2011-12 HLC Focused Visit
Highlights
Basic Information About Institutional Accreditation
What is accreditation?
"The goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality." (U.S. Dept. of Ed.)
What is the Higher Learning Commission?
"The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an independent corporation and one of two Commission members of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), which was founded in 1895 as one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. The Higher Learning Commission accredits, and thereby grants membership in the Commission and in the North Central Association, to degree-granting educational institutions in the North Central region: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, New Mexico, South Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming." (HLC)
What is a focused visit?
"Focused visits occur between comprehensive evaluations and examine only specific aspects of an organization. Focused visits are used primarily with the PEAQ process. A focused visit reviews specific developments and changes or follows up on concerns identified by a previous evaluation process and is not primarily concerned with determining whether an organization fulfills the Criteria for Accreditation.
"The Commission may call for a focused visit as part of its accrediting action. Such a mandated focused visit is recorded on the institution's Statement of Affiliation Status. In addition, the Commission may schedule a focused visit when policy mandates such review of certain institutional changes. All focused visits, whether mandated by the Commission or requested by an institution seeking approval of a change, follow the same processes."(HLC)
A team from the Higher Learning Commission will visit campus March 19-20, 2012 to conduct a focused visit on planning.
