Frequently Asked Questions

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an independent corporation that was founded in 1895 as one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. HLC accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in the North Central region of the United States. 

HLC’s mission is: Serving the common good by assuring and advancing the quality of higher learning.

Through an agreement between the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and CASI (the Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement), the North Central Association was dissolved in 2014. The dissolution of the North Central Association and the liquidation of its assets, announced in July 2014, had no effect on the accreditation of any institution. There was no change in the standards or process for accreditation of institutions by HLC and there was no effect on HLC’s federal recognition as a Title IV gatekeeper.

After 2001, when HLC and CASI incorporated as separate and independent corporations that accredit educational institutions at all levels, the North Central Association had no role in the accreditation process and existed solely to hold the Association’s property, including its name, trademarks and records.

As of the fall of 2014, institutions should revise their descriptive information to delete information indicating that they are members of the North Central Association. Instead, institutions should continue to describe themselves as members of HLC. Any third-party references to accreditation of degree-granting institutions of higher education by the North Central Association should be construed as referring to accreditation of these institutions by HLC.

While many academic agencies accredit particular programs of study (education, nursing, business, etc.), the Higher Learning Commission and other regional accrediting agencies are responsible for assuring that colleges and universities meet certain standards in terms of their missions, operations, and activities in teaching and student learning, discovery and promotion of knowledge, and service. Accreditation is an assurance to the public that an institution is properly prepared to do its job. On a more practical level, the HLC and the other accrediting agencies have been designated as the "gatekeepers" for federal funds in higher education, including student financial aid. Unaccredited schools are not eligible for many kinds of federal support. For more information, see the HLC website. In short, HLC ensures students are provided with a high-quality education.

The five criteria for accreditation that will be in effect when OSUIT comes up for re-accreditation in 2020 are:

1. Mission
2. Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct
3. Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support
4. Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement
5. Resources, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness

Components of these criteria and examples of evidence that support these components can be found on the HLC website. Additionally, HLC looks for the university showing continuous improvement.

The campus will prepare the Assurance Argument Report, based on the criteria, and submit it to the HLC in Spring 2020. An evaluation team from the HLC is scheduled to come to campus on March 9-10, 2020.

The last full accreditation visit from the Higher Learning Commission was in 2010. OSUIT undergoes regular monitoring and reviews based upon HLC’s Open Pathways 10-Year Cycle.

• An HLC Assurance Steering Committee was formed
• Criterion Teams have been formed to collect evidence to support each criterion
• Members of the committee and selected staff and faculty were tasked to draft the Assurance Argument

These groups have worked together to help prepare the campus for the 2020 visit. For more information on how you can help the campus to prepare, please email jody.grammer@okstate.edu. 

The campus will be visited by a Peer Review Team of trained Consultant Evaluators. These are administrators, staff, and faculty who have been accepted to the Peer Review Corps by the HLC. All will have gone through training for such visits and will be familiar with the evaluation Criteria. 

The team will already have received the complete campus Assurance Argument and will have had access to all supporting documents. During the visit, they will be seeking to validate the content of the argument in terms of the strengths we have declared and data that support them, as well as concerns that need attention or issues that may confront us in the future. Team members will have meetings with key individuals and groups from across the campus and will have open meetings that are less structured. The on-site activities will take place on March 9-10, 2020.

The HLC team will write an Assurance report that addresses the Criteria and Core Components for accreditation and send a draft to the campus a few weeks after the visit. The team will note the Components that have been met, any that have not been, and any qualifications or concerns regarding them. After receiving the draft, the President will have a chance to correct factual errors, and the final report will be submitted to the HLC no more than 5 weeks after the visit.

The team may simply recommend continued accreditation with no recommended follow-up activities before the next scheduled review in 2023-2024 or the next scheduled site visit in 2029-2030. If an institution is in serious trouble, the team could recommend probation or even withdrawal of accreditation. In between, there is a range of possible actions, including required progress reports on how the institution is dealing with particular issues, monitoring reports dealing with specific issues that require careful and ongoing attention, and contingency reports dealing with changes taking place that affect the mission or nature of the institution. HLC staff estimate that 85% of institutions will have some kind of activity required.

The institution will need to look carefully at the report, both for the validation of the things that we are doing well and for advice about ways in which we can improve what we are doing. Particular issues may be referred to appropriate committees and offices for examination and action. 

At that point, we continue our ongoing commitment to quality improvement as we look forward to the 4-year Assurance Review.  That is similar to the 10-year review, however, it does not include a site visit unless something was found that needed further attention as mentioned above.

As this is an opportunity for self-reflection, we hope, above all, that the visit will confirm that OSUIT is meeting its mission in meaningful ways. These are great opportunities for the institution to learn much more about ourselves. We also hope to receive good advice about ways in which we can better meet and advance our mission. In the end, it is about affirming, renewing, and furthering our commitment to Student Success, Employee Excellence, and Community Relevance; the cornerstones of what it means to be OSUIT.