HLC peer review team to visit campus

Preparation for the November 5-6 accreditation visit from a Higher Learning Commission peer review team began four years ago.

It's a regularly scheduled visit that occurs at the end of a 10-year accreditation cycle and campus leaders heavily involved in the process said Grand Valley is ready.

Chris Plouff, assistant vice president for Academic Affairs, said work began in 2014 with drafting an assurance argument, at that time led by Julie Guevara, who served as associate vice president for Academic Affairs.

Plouff said the assurance argument addresses how the university meets HLC's criteria for accreditation and includes hundreds of artifacts linked throughout the report as evidence.

"In essence, the argument makes a case, demonstrating that we are doing what we say we are doing, assuring that we meet the accreditation criteria," he said.

In addition to writing teams, many faculty and staff members have been involved in updating systems and processes to ensure they are ready for review by the HLC site visit team, Plouff added.

Plouff said the review team, composed of peers from other institutions, will provide a draft report within six weeks after the visit. After a period of review and response, the final report is expected in the middle of the winter semester.