IU Southeast HLC Accreditation Home
A Brief Guide to Accreditation
Since 1969, Indiana University Southeast has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools – an organization best known by its initials: NCA. The NCA, one of six regional bodies that accredit degree-granting institutions in the United States, has more than 1,000 affiliated institutions in 19 states.
The Higher Learning Commission of the NCA is recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education and by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The Commission's mission is "Serving the common good by assuring and advancing the quality of higher learning."
The key elements in NCA accreditation are institutional self-study and peer-review. At IU Southeast, the self-study process began in the fall of 2007, when a team of 35 faculty and staff, working in five groups corresponding with the NCA’s five criteria for accreditation, began gathering and assessing information and evidence and writing draft responses to the criteria. The process culminates in March 2010, when an NCA team of volunteer peer reviewers visit the campus for an onsite assessment.
Accreditation – The Five Criteria
The NCA has established criteria by which institutions of higher learning are evaluated (to see a full-fledged discussion of the criteria, visit the NCA’s website, www.ncahlc.org, and download the “Handbook of Accreditation” – it’s free).
Criterion One: Mission and Integrity
The organization operates with integrity to ensure the fulfillment of its mission through structures and processes that involve the board, administration, staff and students.
See the Criterion One Working Group >>
Criterion Two: Preparing for the Future
The organization’s allocation of resources and its processes for evaluation and planning demonstrate its capacity to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its education, and respond to future challenges and opportunities.
See the Criterion Two Working Group >>
Criterion Three: Student Learning and Effective Teaching
The organization provides evidence of student learning and teaching effectiveness that demonstrates it is fulfilling its educational mission.
See the Criterion Three Working Group >>
Criterion Four: Acquisition, Discover, and the Application of Knowledge
The organization promotes a life of learning for its faculty, administration, staff, and students by fostering and supporting inquiry, creativity, practice, and social responsibility in ways consistent with its mission.
See the Criterion Four Working Group >>
Criterion Five: Engagement and Service
As called for by its mission, the organization identifies its constituencies and serves them in ways both value.
See the Criterion Five Working Group >>
