Lincoln Christian University (LCU) has received official notification from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of their successful reaffirmation of accreditation until 2025-2026. The 10-year accreditation is the maximum possible. HLC requires all accredited institutions to meet five over-arching “Criteria” for accreditation.
Encompassed in those five criteria are 21 “Core Components” of HLC expectations. The evaluation team that visited LCU concluded that LCU met 20 of the 21 core components without reservation. One core component, that “the institution demonstrates a commitment to educational achievement and improvement through ongoing assessment of student learning” was determined to be met, but “with concerns.” Though the team expressed appreciation for LCU’s efforts in this area, LCU will host a focused visit on assessment in two years (Spring 2018) “to monitor the institution’s continued progress in the ongoing assessment of student learning for use in educational improvement and planning.”
LCU was first accredited by the Higher Learning Commission in 1991 and hosted its first HLC reaffirmation visit since 2006 in the fall of 2015. The Higher Learning Commission is an independent corporation that was founded in 1895 as one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. It accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in 19 states that comprise the North Central region.
“We are not finished yet,” says Silas McCormick, Vice President of Academics. “We still have the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) visiting in the coming weeks, but our reaffirmation from HLC is a major accomplishment for LCU and I am deeply grateful for all of the work that many, many people did to make that possible.”