At its core, accreditation is quality assurance through peer review. Accreditation looks at the operations of an institution as a whole, assessing the quality of the educational offerings and ensuring the university is in compliance with federal regulations related to consumer protection.
Several colleges and programs within OU are individually accredited by a programmatic accreditor. Programmatic accreditation is designed to ensure the public that an academic program has undergone a rigorous review process and found to meet criteria for educational quality and current industry/professional standards. Programmatic accreditation applies to degree programs, not the entire institution, and also must be periodically reviewed. Typically, programs that confer pre-professional or professional degrees have programmatic accreditation, such as, business, engineering, and health and medical fields, and programmatic accrediation is often a requirement to qualify for professional licensing exams.
The Higher Learning Commission, or HLC, is an institutional accreditor that authorizes OU to operate. HLC ensures all its member institutions meet federal regulations and standards of quality.
It’s a quality seal of approval for higher education institutions. Accreditors like the HLC have standards and rules their members must follow, all of which are designed to ensure honest and open operations and high academic quality. Accreditation is also a way for institutions to show they follow the U.S. Department of Education’s standards of consumer protection and quality.
HLC looks at the quality of operations for the entire institution, while program accreditation is specific to an area of study. Program accreditors examine standards within a field, to ensure graduates from accredited programs have the right set of knowledge and skills to be successful in specific industry jobs. Not every academic discipline has a program accreditor. It’s important to note, however, that all program accreditors require institutional accreditation to stay in good standing.
OU must be institutionally accredited to operate and receive support from federal resources, such as Title IV financial aid. Accreditation is also required to remain authorized to operate and receive state funding in Oklahoma. More importantly, OU’s participation in accreditation encourages and informs continuous improvement in education and operations.
HLC regularly checks in with each of its member institutions, testing and validating the quality and transparency of its operations. It examines several areas, including academic offerings, governance and administration, mission, finances and resources, equity and diversity efforts, and civic engagement. It highlights any areas of concern and specifies what improvements are needed, and in what timeframe.
HLC accredits OU as a single institution, including all campuses. It covers all academic programs, including online and non-degree programs.
Most of OU’s interactions with HLC happen behind the scenes. HLC representatives usually only visit institutions once every ten years for a comprehensive evaluation, but that visit is only the final event in a continuous 10-year cycle. Throughout that cycle, institutions are required to complete multiple reports and projects, as well as inform HLC about any significant changes in operations, some of which require pre-approval. OU provides annual updates via an Annual Institutional Update that provides basic indicators about university programs and general fiscal health.
OU is on what the HLC calls an “Open Pathway,” a 10-year cycle available to institutions that have a demonstrated history of operational excellence. The Open Pathway has several milestones throughout the ten years of each cycle, each of which is designed to provide the HLC with detailed information about institutional health and direction. The cycle culminates in a visit by a team of peer reviewers and the preparation of a detailed document called an Assurance Argument. OU uses the Assurance Argument to provide HLC and its review team with evidence assuring all Criteria for Accreditation are being met. The reviewers report their findings to the HLC, which then votes on whether to approve OU for another 10-year cycle.
OU’s faculty, staff, and students, as well as members of the public, may be asked to participate in the upcoming accreditation review. During their visit, the HLC review team may choose to meet with various representatives from the OU community, in formal meetings as well as during visit activities. It’s important that everyone in our community has a basic understanding of the visit process in case they are asked to speak with HLC representatives, so you know what is happening and why it is important.
May 1-2, 2023. A team of peer reviewers assigned to OU for the Comprehensive Site Visit will visit all three campuses.
For inquiries about the accreditation activities at the University of Oklahoma, please contact OU's Accreditation Liason Officer for HLC:
Susannah Livingood
Associate Provost and Director of Institutional Research & Reporting
slivingood@ou.edu
The Higher Learning Commission can be reached by writing to 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604 or calling 1-800-621-7440. If you would like to file a complaint with the Higher Learning Commission you can do so by sending an email to complaints@hlcommission.org.
If you are a resident of the state of Oklahoma and would like to address a concern at the state level, the appropriate authority in the State of Oklahoma is the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
Residents of other states wishing to file a complaint in their home state should consult the Distance Education Complaint Process page for appropriate contact information.
