Arkansas State University said this week that Higher Learning Commission had renewed the university’s accreditation following a March review.
In a news release, the university cited a letter from HLC President Barbara Gellman-Danley, who wrote that the Institutional Actions Council of the HLC, its regional accreditor, accepted a visiting team’s report last week.
HLC accredits the institution, not individual academic programs.
“Having regional accreditation is vital to the future of our campus, because it affirms to the world our significant efforts to ensure educational excellence, academic rigor, student success, and that our faculty and staff have the resources they need to be successful,” Chancellor Kelly Damphousse said.
Damphousse said regional accreditation authenticates the university’s eligibility for government support.
“This means that our students who qualify for need-based scholarships (such as Pell Grants) can use government funds to pay for their A-State education,” he said. “In other words, regional accreditation opens access to students who would not otherwise be able to attend college.”
HLC previously reviewed the campus in 2013-2014. The review expressed concerns about the university’s commitment to student-learning assessment. According to the university, that put the campus into the most rigorous category of accreditation: the “Standard Pathway,” which requires a full site visit and comprehensive report at the mid-point in the traditional 10-year accreditation cycle.
“We made great progress toward the concerns HLC had expressed after their last visit,” Provost Lynita Cooksey said. “The team was particularly impressed with our progress in the area of assessment.”
Arkansas State was first accredited in 1928, and has had continuous accreditation since that time, the university said.
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