Lansing Community College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The accreditation process assesses the capacity of an institution to assure the quality of its educational programs, and is necessary for our students to access federal financial aid. Every ten years an accredited institution must have its accreditation reaffirmed, and LCC will undergo a comprehensive evaluation by a team of HLC peer reviewers in anticipation of our reaffirmation in September 2024.
The Comprehensive Evaluation involves the preparation of two documents: an Assurance Argument and the Federal Compliance Filing (each of which is due in August 2024). The peer review team, typically consisting of five members of HLC’s Peer Corps, will then conduct an on-campus site visit on September 23-24, 2024.
This webpage, and its associated pages, will provide information and updates as appropriate. In addition, regular reports will be provided during Academic Senate meetings (the first official report occurred on February 24, 2023).
HLC SITE VISIT SCHEDULE
Upcoming HLC Events
No upcoming events at this time. Visit the LCC college wide calendar to see what else is happening.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, feel free to contact LCC-HLC-Site-Visit@star.lcc.edu:
- Mark Kelland, Professor & Accreditation Liaison Officer; 517-483-1056
- Sally Welch, Provost and Senior VP of Academic Affairs; 517-483-1725
Accreditation and Reaffirmation
Lansing Community College (LCC) is on the Open Pathway. This a 10-year cycle, with a Quality Initiative Report being due in Year 9, and the Comprehensive Evaluation for Reaffirmation of Accreditation due in Year 10. We submitted our Quality Initiative Report in August 2023.
Early in 2024, a team of 6 Peer Reviewers from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) will be assigned to our review. One reviewer will be a specialized Federal Compliance reviewer, and will not visit LCC in person. The other 5 reviewers will review our Assurance Argument in advance of their visit, and then they’ll spend two days on campus confirming the evidence in our Assurance Argument and investigating any concerns.
The review team will be working in Lansing from Sunday evening to Wednesday mid-day, but the visit itself will occur on Monday, September 23rd and Tuesday, September 24th, 2024. They will meet with a wide variety of stakeholders, and the schedule will not be finalized until a couple of weeks before the visit.
Peer Corps members who serve as reviewers for HLC are typically from community colleges like our own. They understand the challenges we face, and they are here to assist us with our continuous quality improvement. Nonetheless, should they identify any serious concerns, those concerns will be noted.
We have been working diligently to anticipate concerns and improve the quality of all that we do here at LCC, and we anticipate a positive evaluation. We encourage all members of the LCC community to participate in the site visit sessions.
Criteria and Teams
The Assurance Argument and Federal Compliance Filing will be prepared by Prof. Mark
Kelland*, Accreditation Liaison Officer.
Administrative Oversight will be provided by Provost Sally Welch*.
Criterion 1. Mission – The Institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institutions operations.
- Support/Review Team:
- Benita Duncan
- Seleana Samuel
- Karen Tommasulo
Criterion 2. Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct – The Institution acts with integrity; its conduct is ethical and responsible.
- Support/Review Team:
- Bentrelle Carroll
- Benita Duncan
- Matthew Fall
- Jeff Janowick*
Criterion 3. Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support – The Institution provides quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.
- Support/Review Team:
- Sarah Garcia-Linz*
- Megan Lin*
- Tamara McDiarmid*
- Rafeeq McGiveron
- Nichole Waters
- (Resource: Chris McKersie*)
Criterion 4. Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement – The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its education programs, learning environments, and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.
- Support/Review Team:
- Alyssa Andrews
- Dana Cogswell
- Cheryl Garayta
- Karen Hicks
- Chuck Page
- Penny Tucker
Criterion 5. Institutional Effectiveness, Resources, and Planning – The institution’s resources, structures, processes, and planning are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its education offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities.
- Support/Review Team:
- Matthew Fall
- Bill Garlick*
- Megan Garrett
- Gerry Haddad*
- Lori Willet
- (Resource: Chris McKersie*)
*Member of the Academic Senate
Comprehensive Evaluation Timeline
Open Pathway – Year 10
Spring 2023
- Academic Senate presentation by Senator Kelland, LCC’s Accreditation Liaison Officer, including an overview of the five Criteria for Accreditation, Federal Compliance, the essentials of a Comprehensive Site Visit, and an introduction of the Assurance Argument Teams
Summer 2023
- Completion of Quality Initiative Report (Open Pathway – Year 9)
- Preliminary Federal Compliance Filing prepared to identify any areas requiring additional attention
Fall 2023
- September – Public announcement at the Board of Trustees meeting of the reaccreditation site visit and the informational website
- Prepare draft version of the Assurance Argument for Criteria 1 & 2
- Collegewide forums on reaccreditation process
Spring 2024
- Prepare draft version of the Assurance Argument for Criterion 3
- March – Advertise the HLC Student Opinion Survey
- April – Administer the HLC Student Opinion Survey
- Prepare draft version of the Assurance Argument for Criteria 4 & 5
- May – Collegewide forums on reaccreditation process
Summer 2024
- Draft Assurance Argument available to the College
- Finalize Assurance Argument and Federal Compliance Filing
- August 26, 2024 – Assurance Argument and Federal Compliance Filing due
Fall 2024
- Schedule for Comprehensive Evaluation site visit finalized and made public; LCC community members encouraged to attend
- September 23-24, 2024 – HLC Peer Corps Team on campus!
- Preliminary team report reviewed for errors of fact
- LCC’s response to final team report sent to HLC’s Institutional Actions Council
Prior Reviews
Assurance Argument
What's coming up on LCC's reaccreditation schedule?
LCC will submit its Assurance Argument and Federal Compliance Filing by August 19, 2024, and the Assurance Argument has been posted above.
Accreditors will visit LCC's campus on Sept. 23-24, 2024. They will want to meet with students, employees and community members, so check back here for the schedule.
