51ÉçÇø

In early 2025, 51ÉçÇø will take part in an important evaluation process to reaffirm and continue its long-held institutional accreditation status. Accreditation plays an important role in ensuring a high-quality educational experience; OHIO has been continuously accredited through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) since 1913. An accredited university can distribute federal financial aid and receive federal funding for research; accreditation is also important when students want to transfer to a new university or to pursue graduate-level education.

The HLC will visit OHIO’s Athens, Eastern and Lancaster campuses on March 24-25, 2025, to review the University as part of the ten-year cycle for reaffirmation of accreditation. HLC will evaluate the institution at all levels to ensure that OHIO meets the highest standards of quality and that our programs and services meet the expectations of both our students and the broader educational community. Prior to their visit, the HLC review team will read through all the documentation and evidence OHIO submitted and the student survey results, with the goal of validating their findings through the on-campus meetings. 

HLC Student Survey to Launch January 27

Students play an important role in the University’s Comprehensive Evaluation process, and they will be invited to take a survey beginning January 27 and share their OHIO learning experiences with HLC.

This short, 15-question survey will help the review team learn more about what is important to students so they can ask the right questions during their visit. Students will also be invited to open forums to talk about their experiences. During HLC’s visit through March 24-25, the reviewers may chat with students on campus to ask about OHIO or accreditation.

Here are three areas for students to think about and consider as we prepare for the HLC comprehensive evaluation on March 24-25, 2025.

1) Students’ opinions and experiences with 51ÉçÇø

HLC wants to hear why you chose OHIO and what keeps you here. The survey mentioned above provides students a chance to share their experiences in academic programs, with faculty and staff, with academic support services and other services, and in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. Students are also encouraged to attend the Open Forums with the visiting peer review team during the visit. Students will have a chance to answer questions about teaching and learning here at OHIO or about facilities or processes that students use. If the peer reviewers ask you a question, please answer honestly about your experiences – it’s okay to say that you don’t know the answer to the question or to share items that you feel are a challenge for the University.  

2) Student knowledge and participation in Guarantee+ Graduation plans

One of the facets of HLC’s Open pathway reaffirmation process is a University-selected Quality Initiative (QI) meant to enhance or improve a process at OHIO. Our most recent QI project focused on developing and implementing the Guarantee+ Graduation plans for all Athens and regional campuses and moving to a professional advising model. During their time on campus, peer reviewers might be interested in learning more about students’ knowledge of the Guarantee+ Graduation plans effort, including how the graduation plans are used by advisors and students and the ways students can access advising, career services and support for experiential learning. 

OHIO’s Quality Initiative report and HLC’s acceptance of the report are available for review on the Accreditation Documents webpage.

3) Student Input on Curriculum, Academic Policies and Institutional Initiatives

As part of their review, the HLC peer team will be interested in learning more about how student input is utilized in OHIO’s decision-making processes for academic matters, technology or student life initiatives. You may be asked about the courses and experiences in your degree program, including access to faculty and availability of learning support. Questions about the admissions process or access to the library, career services or other student support offices are also common during the visit. There may also be questions about Student Senate or Graduate Student Senate and/or how students view the Guarantee+ tuition model and degree plans.

Learning more and getting involved

Interested students are encouraged to consider these topics and learn more about the upcoming HLC peer team visit on the Reaffirmation of Accreditation webpage for potential questions. As the HLC visit approaches, practice open forums will also be available for all community members to prepare for the HLC open forum sessions.

As OHIO’s reaffirmation of accreditation moves forward, we will keep you updated on the progress of our reaffirmation efforts and opportunities for the University community to share their voices and feedback via ohio.edu/provost/accreditation/reaffirmation.