Reaffirmation Briefing Document
INTRODUCTION
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO is undergoing our ten-year reaffirmation of accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) this year, culminating in our site visit March 17-18, 2025. Our preparation for this event has been two years in the making, through the valiant efforts of our HLC Leadership Team and many other members of our Loyola community. Preparations have centered on gathering evidence for and writing the accreditation report (Assurance Argument, per HLC terminology), and on getting ready for the site visit.
The accreditation review will be focused on how we as an institution meet HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation. This is an opportunity to share our unique story of what the criteria look like in our context, and we have much to be proud of. Since the previous mid-cycle review in 2019 we have expanded our academic programs on all campuses, made improvements in our data processes and analysis, and achieved carbon neutrality, to name just a few accomplishments. Since our last HLC site visit in 2015, the campus looks very different indeed.
The purpose of this briefing document is to get you ready to participate in the site visit. We introduce you to our HLC Leadership Team who have prepared us so well and the Peer Review Team who will be visiting us in March. We provide an overview of the HLC Criteria for Accreditation, and brief summaries of our responses from the Assurance Argument to each of the criteria statements.
The summaries describe the evidence we are highlighting that illustrates how we meet the criteria. The evidence we have used was selected from among many excellent examples, and you are invited to share additional examples based on your own experiences during public forums that will be held on each criterion when we meet with the Peer Review Team.
We welcome this opportunity to reflect in partnership with HLC on how far we have come and where the future can take us. Thank you for your significant contribution to this effort.
RACHEL SHEFNER, PhD
ASSOCIATE PROVOST FOR ACCREDITATION,
ASSESSMENT AND ACADEMIC REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
INTRODUCTION
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO is undergoing our ten-year reaffirmation of accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) this year, culminating in our site visit March 17-18, 2025. Our preparation for this event has been two years in the making, through the valiant efforts of our HLC Leadership Team and many other members of our Loyola community. Preparations have centered on gathering evidence for and writing the accreditation report (Assurance Argument, per HLC terminology), and on getting ready for the site visit.
The accreditation review will be focused on how we as an institution meet HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation. This is an opportunity to share our unique story of what the criteria look like in our context, and we have much to be proud of. Since the previous mid-cycle review in 2019 we have expanded our academic programs on all campuses, made improvements in our data processes and analysis, and achieved carbon neutrality, to name just a few accomplishments. Since our last HLC site visit in 2015, the campus looks very different indeed.
The purpose of this briefing document is to get you ready to participate in the site visit. We introduce you to our HLC Leadership Team who have prepared us so well and the Peer Review Team who will be visiting us in March. We provide an overview of the HLC Criteria for Accreditation, and brief summaries of our responses from the Assurance Argument to each of the criteria statements.
The summaries describe the evidence we are highlighting that illustrates how we meet the criteria. The evidence we have used was selected from among many excellent examples, and you are invited to share additional examples based on your own experiences during public forums that will be held on each criterion when we meet with the Peer Review Team.
We welcome this opportunity to reflect in partnership with HLC on how far we have come and where the future can take us. Thank you for your significant contribution to this effort.