HLC Accreditation

The Higher Learning Commission is responsible for the accreditation of colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning. 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 and is 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. Unaccredited schools are not eligible for many kinds of federal support, including student financial aid. The HLC reviews colleges and universities every 10 years to ensure that they continue to meet the criteria for accreditation. Accreditation affects many aspects of the college, including financial aid eligibility, course transfers, and the overall value of a degree.

A team from the HLC will visit OCC on March 18 and 19, 2019, to evaluate whether the College continues to meet the requirements of accreditation.​ This review team representing the HLC will come to campus and, based upon reading our Assurance Argument report and the team's observations while on site, will determine the extent to which OCC meets expected standards for ongoing accreditation. This peer review team is comprised of trained Consultant Evaluators, who are administrators, staff, and faculty who have been accepted to the Peer Review Corps. by the HLC. In addition, the team will provide suggestions for ways in which the College can improve its operations moving forward.

OCC’s journey toward institutional reaffirmation of accreditation began more than 3 years ago. An HLC Steering Committee was formed to draft the assurance argument and to help prepare the College for the 2019 visit. These cross-functional teams have been working to develop the assurance argument with supporting evidence to show that OCC is meeting HLC’s requirements. The argument has been developed, reviewed by key stakeholders, including the Board of Trustees and all staff, and refined to reflect our excellence in all we do!

We are excited about the upcoming visit and believe it is an opportunity to show the HLC that it is OCC’s Time to Shine! As a college, we could not have arrived at this moment without the deep and sincere commitment to this initiative from so many colleagues. As reaffirmation leaders, we would like to acknowledge and thank each and every individual who took time to contribute to this important undertaking.​