In June 2028, NIU will submit an assurance argument and evidence file demonstrating how it fulfills the four accreditation criteria and the associated 18 core components. A team of Higher Learning Commission (HLC) peer reviewers will review these documents. In most cases, the review is completed virtually, without an on-site visit.
The year 4 assurance review does not include the additional review components that are part of comprehensive evaluations, such as a student opinion survey, federal compliance filing or multi-campus visit.
Spring 2026
Project plan and budget approval
Collect evidence
Summer 2026
Identify key messages from each criterion
Create the assurance argument outline
Collect evidence
Fall 2026
Draft assurance argument
Collect evidence
Spring 2027
Host criterion champion kickoff
Edit assurance argument
Collect evidence
Summer 2027
Edit assurance argument
Collect evidence
Fall 2027
Create penultimate assurance argument draft
Finalize evidence collection and prepare evidence file
Spring 2028
Make the assurance argument available to campus for comment
Incorporate assurance argument comments
Finalize evidence file
Summer 2028
Submit assurance argument and evidence file to HLC
HLC review
Archived communications shared with the NIU campus community in preparation for the 2028 HLC assurance review will be provided below.