Third-Party Comments on an Upcoming Visit
As part of its ongoing effort to make the accreditation process responsive to a broad range of constituents, the Commission has integrated the federally-required (1998 Higher Education Act Amendments) third-party comment process into its regular accrediting processes since the 1997–1998 academic year. The Commission requires institutions undergoing comprehensive evaluation (initial or continued candidacy or accreditation) or quality checkup visits to publish basic information about the visit in appropriate publications and invite the public to provide written comments to the Commission.
The Commission publishes the list of upcoming comprehensive evaluations of affiliated institutions on its Web site.
The Commission forwards these comments to the evaluation team members to include in
their review of the institution. Typically, the identifying information of the commenter
is intact. Questions about submitting a comment anonymously should be directed to legalaffairs@hlcommission.org.
Send mail to the Commission:
Public Comment on (insert name of college)
The Higher Learning Commission
230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL 60604-1411
Comments on these institutions are due in the Commission office no later than one
month before the date the visit is scheduled to begin. The Commission cannot guarantee
that comments received after the due date will be considered.
Note: An individual with a specific dispute or grievance with an institution should
request the separate Policy on Complaints from the Commission office. The Higher Learning
Commission cannot settle disputes between institutions and individuals, whether faculty,
students, or others. Complaints will not be considered as comments.