Page Category: Institutional and Programmatic Accreditation

Institutional and Programmatic Accreditation

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LakeSuperiorStateUniversityisaccreditedbytheHigherLearningCommission.

LakeSuperiorStateUniversityhasmaintainedaccreditationbytheHigherLearningCommission(HLC)since1968. Thisregionalaccreditingbodywasestablishedin1895andcurrentlyoverseesmorethan1000highereducationinstitutionsfrom19states.

  • TheHigherLearningCommission,230S.LaSalleStreet,Suite7-500,Chicago,IL60604-1413.Phone:312-263-0456;800-621-7440.Fax:312-263-7462.https://www.hlcommission.org

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ProgrammaticAccreditation

LSSU’sindividualacademicprogramaccreditationsaregrantedbydiscipline-specificaccreditingagencies.SpecificprogramaccreditationsareoutlinedontheProgramAccreditationspageofthiswebsite.

Whatisaccreditation?

Accreditationensuresthathigherlearninginstitutionsarefulfillingtheirgoalsandservingtheirstudentsandcommunitiestothebestoftheirabilities.Accreditationassuresstudentsthattheywillreceiveaqualityeducationbyattendinganaccreditedcollegeoruniversity.Accreditationalsoensuresthataninstitutioniseligibleforfederalfinancialaidfunding,anditfacilitatesthetransferofcreditsfromoneaccreditedinstitutiontoanother.LSSU’saccreditationthroughtheHigherLearningCommissionwasre-affirmedinaYearFourComprehensiveEvaluationreviewin2021.

Howdoesre-accreditationoccur?

HLCreviewsinstitutionsforStandardPathwayaccreditationonaten-yearcycle,withareviewfocusingonqualityassuranceandcontinuousimprovementfortheinstitution. Theten-yearreviewcycleformemberinstitutionsincludescomprehensiveevaluationsinyearfourandyearten. Aspartofacomprehensiveevaluation,theuniversitypreparesandsubmitsan”AssuranceArgument”toHLCwithdetailednarrativeanddocumentingevidenceshowinghowtheinstitutionfulfillsHLC’scriteriaforaccreditation. Thenarrativeencompasseseveryfunctionalaspectoftheinstitution,includingeducationalactivities,governanceandadministration,financialstability,admissionsandstudentpersonnelservices,resources,studentacademicachievement,organizationaleffectiveness,andrelationshipswithoutsideconstituencies.

AreviewteamfromHLCevaluatestheevidenceintheAssuranceArgument,andthatteamvisitstheuniversitytoverifytheinformationintheArgumentthroughmeetingswithadministrators,students,staffmembers,facultymembers,boardmembers,alumni,andcommunitymembers. Inadditiontomaintainingaccreditation,thisprocessalsoprovidesanopportunityfortheuniversitytoidentifyareasneedingimprovementandtoimplementpositivechange.

Iseveryprogramaccredited?

Therearetwotypesofaccreditation:theinstitutionalaccreditationmanagedbytheHigherLearningCommission(HLC),andprogrammaticaccreditationspecifictoadegreeprogram,ortoasetofdegreeprograms.Inthelargersense,allprogramsarecoveredbytheinstitutionalaccreditationthroughHLC. Programmaticaccreditationorganizationsspecializeinindividualprogramssuchasnursing,education,orengineering. SeveralLSSUprogramsholddiscipline-specificaccreditationsinadditiontotheuniversity-wideinstitutionalaccreditation.

WhatistheHigherLearningCommission(HLC)?

TheHLCoftheNorthCentralAssociationofCollegesandSchoolsistheaccreditingagencyformanyschoolsandcollegesinourregionofthecountry.Itsroleistoensurestudentsarereceivingahigh-qualityeducationandthattheinstitutionisoperatingwithintheboundariesofitsstatedmission.

Whatisyourpart?

AsanimportantmemberoftheLSSUon-campusoroff-campuscommunity,youcanprovideinformationtotheteamofwriterspreparingtheAssuranceArgumentandofferyourfeedbacktotheHLCReviewTeam.Astheuniversitypreparesforitsyear-fouroryear-tenreviews,youcanfamiliarizeyourselfwithHLC’scriteriaforaccreditationandmeetwiththeHLCReviewTeamwhentheyvisitourinstitution.ConsiderhowyoumightanswerquestionsorofferinsightsaboutyourdepartmentoryourexperienceatLSSUonmatterssuchas:

  • theimpactofLSSU’smission,vision,andstrategicplan.
  • howassessmentisusedtomakecontinuousimprovements,guidedecisions,andallocateresourcesinyourdepartmentorattheuniversity.
  • howyoucontributetothedecisionmakingprocessesinyourdepartment.
  • theoverall”senseofbelonging,”diversity,andinclusivityatLSSU.

TolearnmoreabouttheimportanceofassessmentandtheroleitplaysatLSSU,seeourassessmentpageformoreinformation.