Higher Learning Commission Reaffirmation of Accreditation
IU South Bend is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) located at 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604.
The HLC reviews colleges and universities every 10 years to ensure that they continue to meet the criteria for accreditation through a peer review process. Institutions are evaluated against Criteria for Accreditation, a set of standards by the HLC that institutions must meet to have accredited status. IU South Bend will be reveiwed for affirmation of accreditation in 2027-28.
The Commission Board of Trustees adopted new Criteria for Accreditation, Assumed Practices, and Obligations of Affiliation in 2012. The criteria are periodically revised. The most recent revision was effective September 1, 2020. The five criterion are:
- Criterion 1. Mission
- Criterion 2. Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct
- Criterion 3. Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support
- Criterion 4. Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement
- Criterion 5. Institutional Effectiveness, Resources and Planning
In addition to accreditation of IU South Bend by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), the following programs also have specialized accreditations.
The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts music program is fully accredited by the National Association of the Schools of Music (NASM), an organization of schools, conservatories, colleges, and universities with approximately 639 accredited institutional members.
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The next accreditation site visit is scheduled for 2026-2027.
The Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics is accredited by AACSB International–The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, an organization that provides program quality assurance to more than 900 accredited business schools worldwide.
The school successfully received the full five-year reaccreditation in 2020 and will be reviewed again in 2025. The school has this accreditation for all their degree programs, including the accounting major.
The School of Education teacher preparation programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), a professional accreditor for teacher education programs for U.S. colleges and universities.
The school successfully received the full seven-year reaccreditation in 2020 and will be reviewed again in 2026-27. The school received Initial-Licensure Level Accreditation (to provide baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate levels leading to initial-licensure, certification, or endorsement that are designed to develop P-12 teachers) and Advanced-Level Accreditation (to provide post-baccalaureate or graduate levels leading to licensure, certification, or endorsement).
The School of Education Counseling and Human Services M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and M.S. in School Counseling programs are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), an accrediting body for master’s and doctoral degree programs in counseling and its specialties. The school was fully reaccredited in 2022 with a progress report due in 2025.
The Vera Z. Dwyer College of Health Sciences supports several accredited programs
- The Dental Hygiene Program is accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). The program received a six-year reaccreditation in 2016 and will undergo the next site visit in 2026.
- The baccalaureate and master’s programs in the School of Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), a national agency for the accreditation of baccalaureate and graduate-degree nursing education programs. The undergraduate program was reviewed in 2020 and received a ten-year accreditation and the graduate program was last reviewed in 2015 and will undergo its next site visit in 2025.
- The Radiography Program was last reaccredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) in 2018 and will have another site visit in 2025. Full accreditation is for 8 years.
- The Clinical Laboratory Sciences program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). The initial accreditation was in 2020, with the next site visit in 2025.
- The Master of Science in Speech Language Program was awarded accreditation candidacy by Council of Academic Accreditation (CAA) in 2021 and will undergo a site visit in 2026 for full accreditation.
- The Master of Science in Occupational Therapy is accredited by the Accreditation Council in Occupational Therapy (ACOTE®) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). As of August 8, 2024, the program status was changed to CONTINUING ACCREDITATION-PROBATIONARY. The probationary status will be addressed in a follow-up report in October 2024, and the next full-accreditation program review is in 2029-2030.
The School of Social Work and the Master of Social Work are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
The program was reviewed in 2021 and receiving the full eight-year accreditation through 2029.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has two accredited programs:
- The Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry degree in chemistry is accredited by the American Chemical Society (ACS). Their next periodic review is 2029.
- The Master of Public Affairs is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) and has received the seven-year accreditation through 2027.