Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,

As many of you know, accreditation is the primary way higher education institutions in the United States are assessed to assure and improve their quality. On March 30-31, 2020, nearly one year from now, we will have our reaccreditation on-site peer review visit. During this time, several evaluators will visit our campus. 

Currently, much work is being done in anticipation of this on-site visit. Over the last year, six groups of faculty and staff have begun to write drafts of our assurance argument responding to the criteria for accreditation. We invited Academic Senate representatives to provide feedback on these early drafts, and we will invite everyone to see a penultimate draft of the report in the fall when we will welcome additional feedback from you. For more information on our process so far, please visit our reaccreditation website.

In the meantime, here are a few things you should know about accreditation:

1. We are a member of and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
2. There are five accreditation criteria: Mission; Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct; Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support; Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement; and Resources, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness.
3. Title IV federal financial aid funds are limited to students enrolled in an accredited institution. In 2017-2018, this amounted to more than $250 million at Illinois.
4. An institution’s accreditation status can impact credit transfer from one school to another.
5. Many graduate and professional schools restrict admission to students who graduated from an accredited institution.
6. Through accreditation’s processes of self-assessment and external peer review, an institution can ensure that it attains a level of quality and progresses toward meaningful and lasting improvement.

We have a strong history of accreditation and are confident we will be reaccredited, as we have been every year since 1913. But we also want to be sure you are aware of this event and its importance to our university. We hope you will learn about this process and be prepared for our 2020 visit.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Jones
Chancellor

Andreas C. Cangellaris
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs & Provost