How to Check Whether a Specific College or University Is HLC-Accredited

Updated

To check a school's HLC status, use the Higher Learning Commission's official site, hlcommission.org, as your starting point and look for its directory of accredited institutions. Confirm the result against the institution's exact name, location, and the credential or program in question, because accreditation applies to the institution and its listed scope, not to every offering automatically. The site describes HLC as accrediting degree-granting colleges and universities in the U.S., so it is the right authority for that category of school.

What the site is for

HLC is a U.S. accreditor of degree-granting colleges and universities. Its site exists to support quality assurance in higher education, which makes it the appropriate place to confirm whether a particular institution holds HLC accreditation. Treat the site as the authoritative lookup entry point rather than relying on a school's own marketing claim.

A practical lookup path

  1. Start at hlcommission.org. Use the site's own navigation or search to find its institution directory or accredited-schools listing.
  2. Search by the institution's full legal name. Enter the name as the school uses it officially, not a nickname or abbreviation.
  3. Match location and identifiers. Confirm city and state (and any other identifiers the listing shows) so you don't confuse similarly named schools.
  4. Read the status and scope. Check whether the listing shows active accreditation and what it covers, rather than assuming every program or branch is included.
  5. Verify the expected result. A confirmed listing means the institution appears in HLC's accredited set; no match means you should not treat HLC accreditation as established and should check the school's stated accreditor directly.

What to confirm before you rely on the result

  • Exact name: Many institutions share similar names; a partial match is not confirmation.
  • Accreditation scope: Accreditation attaches to the institution and the scope HLC lists. A separate campus, online division, or specific program may need its own check.
  • Current status: Confirm the listing reflects current accreditation rather than a historical or pending status.
  • The right accreditor: HLC covers degree-granting colleges and universities in the U.S. If the school is not in that category, a different accreditor may apply.

Common sticking points

  • Searching a nickname or former name and getting no result — try the official current name.
  • Assuming a parent university's accreditation automatically covers a separately listed branch or program.
  • Relying on a third-party list instead of the HLC site itself.

The site's own materials do not describe a specific lookup tool or menu path, so use whatever directory or search function the site provides and confirm details against the listing you find.