Illinois State’s Accreditation Steering Committee and work team members continue through the process toward the University’s reaccreditation through the Higher Learning Commission, with several important events coming up this spring.
Illinois State is participating in HLC’s Open Pathways process for accreditation, which follows a 10-year cycle, with the process of reaccreditation and review culminating with a site visit in October 2024.
What’s the team been up to?
Since the Accreditation Steering Committee and work team members representing all areas of the University convened in spring of 2023, much of their work has involved researching and gathering evidence and information to draft an “assurance argument” document. The assurance argument is a persuasive narrative, written with critical self-analysis and transparency. It is organized by core components and backed by evidence that assures the University is in full compliance with the criteria for accreditation.
While the team continues this “behind-the-scenes” phase of finalizing the document and completing the evidence files, a more public phase of soliciting feedback from students and the community begins.
Spring timeline:
- March 2024 – The drafts of the assurance argument and the federal compliance document are edited, formatted, and finalized. Evidence files for the assurance argument and documentation for the federal compliance report are completed. Peer reviewers provide feedback to the team.
- April 1-10, 2024 – Students (excluding dual credit and non-credit) receive an invitation via student email to participate in a brief survey to provide feedback about their experiences at the University. The survey takes approximately five minutes to complete.
- April/May 2024 – Plans for campus outreach and the October site visit are finalized. A call for public comments is distributed via local media outlets.
Summer/fall timeline:
- July 2024 – The Steering Committee seeks Board of Trustees endorsement of the assurance argument at the Board’s regular meeting.
- August/September 2024 – Site logistics plan is implemented.
- September 27, 2024 – Deadline for the public to submit comments to HLC.
- September 30, 2024 – Final assurance argument and federal compliance document are uploaded into the HLC system.
- October 2024 – Site logistics planning is completed. The assurance argument and federal compliance documents are disseminated to campus stakeholders involved in the site visit.
- October 28-29, 2024 – HLC on campus for site visit.
A final accreditation report by HLC will be delivered in 2025. A complete timeline of for the process leading to the October 2024 site visit is available online.
For more information, visit Accreditation | Illinois State.
