MCC selected for pilot accreditation program

Accreditation is something that every institution of higher learning takes seriously – the ten-year review cycle encourages schools to strive to meet the education needs of the students they serve and prepare them to meet their goals. As it is now, MCC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission via PEAQ – Program to Evaluate and Advance Quality. The campus was last accredited in 2006 and is due for another reaccreditation visit in 2016.

But MCC has been selected, along with other two- and four-year institutions, to participate in a new pilot program from the Higher Learning Commission. Along with other national colleges and universities, MCC will participate in the HLC Open Pathways program. The program was offered to schools with a solid record of accreditation, inviting them to participate in the four-year Academy for Assessment of Student Learning.

The academy will require participating institutions to design a project that meets college needs, appropriate in scope and significance for the institution. During the improvement project, institutions will be subject to regular HLC and peer reviews, and will have access to all the work done by previous institutions undergoing the pilot program.


The process will center around a quality assurance statement, which will be formulated by the college and will be integral to HLC and peer review. All evidence for the quality assurance statement will be updated regularly and filed electronically, eliminating the need to gather rooms full of paperwork prior to a traditional accreditation visit.

All work conducted for the Open Pathways program will lead to a less mammoth undertaking during reaccreditation visits in the future, resulting in less cost, less labor cost, and a more streamlined process for MCC.

More information about the Higher Learning Commission’s Open Pathways Project.