NMU Accreditation - Institutional Effectiveness

NMU's Current Accreditation

Northern Michigan University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Northern has been accredited by HLC since 1916. 

The HLC has described foundational Assumed Practices that are shared by all accredited institutions of higher education and Criteria for Accreditation organized into five headings, each with multiple Core Components. All components of each criterion must be met in order to satisfy a Criterion for Accreditation and all Criteria must be met for an institution to remain in good standing.

NMU is currently in good standing with HLC. Accreditation was most recently reaffirmed in 2016-17.

NMU's Assurance Review was in 2020-21, year four of the accreditation cycle. On February 3, 2021, HLC notified NMU: "Northern Michigan University has successfully completed its Year 4 Assurance Review with no recommended monitoring." The finding was that all 18 Core Components of the 5 Criteria for Accreditation are "met." A timeline of the process of preparing our 2020 Assurance Argument is available here. 

NMU's upcoming Comprehensive Evaluation for reaffirmation is scheduled for 2026-27.

Accreditation is an ongoing process of meeting standards, continuously improving, and assuring quality demonstrated through internal and external review. Through the accreditation process, the University continuously reviews indicators against accreditation criteria to ensure that the standards are being met and to identify opportunities to strengthen or improve practices, processes, and policies. Regular accreditation review requires the University to identify data, information, and evidence and to document results that validate that we are meeting each standard. 

NMU is accredited on HLC's Open Pathway, which is focused on quality assurance and institutional improvement. Fostering a culture of careful attention to quality and continuous quality improvement is essential to remaining a high-caliber university and meeting Open Pathway expectations. The Open Pathway allows more freedom for NMU than other HLC accreditation pathways. 

Contact information for HLC:

Higher Learning Commission
230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, Illinois 60604-1411
Phone: 800.621.7440 / 312.263.0456 | Fax: 312.263.7462 | info@hlcommission.org