My Tri-C
My Tri-C Student Resources News & Events Corporate College Alumni Give
Paying for College Apply Visit

Getting Started

Whether you want to earn a degree, improve your skills, get certified, train for a new career, or explore a new hobby, you can choose from many programs and courses.

Get Started
What type of student are you?
New Student
Returning
Transfer
Visiting
International
College Credit Plus
Non-Credit
All Student Types

Classes & Programs

Explore your interests and find a program that puts you on the path to a bright future. Tri-C offers both credit and non-credit courses as well as certificate programs in most career fields.

View all programs

Degree Programs & Certificates

More than 1,000 credit courses are offered each semester in more than 200 career and technical programs. Tri-C also grants short-term certificates, certificates of proficiency and post-degree professional certificates.

View A-Z Program List

Workforce Training & Professional Development

Tri-C's Workforce Training provides both non-credit and credit training for individuals and businesses to assist individuals with skills leading to employment. Tri-C's Corporate College provides professional development and corporate training opportunities.

Learn more

Community Programming for Adults & Youth

Tri-C offers a variety of affordable and convenient community programs for both adults and youth. These programs are designed to promote individual development.

Learn more

Request Info

Tri-C is here for you. Have a question about a program or service? We'll help you find the answer.

Ask a Question

Live Chat

Chat live with college departments and services.

Start live chat

Tri-C 24/7

Outside of business hours? Get answers to your questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Student Support Services

Ask Tri-C

Get answers to your frequently asked questions from navigating the website to programs and services.

Get Answers

Getting Started

Whether you want to earn a degree, improve your skills, get certified, train for a new career, or explore a new hobby, you can choose from many programs and courses.

Get Started
What type of student are you? New Student Returning Transfer Visiting International College Credit Plus Non-Credit All Student Types

Classes & Programs

Explore your interests and find a program that puts you on the path to a bright future. Tri-C offers both credit and non-credit courses as well as certificate programs in most career fields.

View all programs

Degree Programs & Certificates

More than 1,000 credit courses are offered each semester in more than 200 career and technical programs. Tri-C also grants short-term certificates, certificates of proficiency and post-degree professional certificates.

View A-Z Program List

Workforce Training & Professional Development

Tri-C's Workforce Training provides both non-credit and credit training for individuals and businesses to assist individuals with skills leading to employment. Tri-C's Corporate College provides professional development and corporate training opportunities.

Learn more

Community Programming for Adults & Youth

Tri-C offers a variety of affordable and convenient community programs for both adults and youth. These programs are designed to promote individual development.

Learn more
Paying for College
Apply
Visit

Request Info

Tri-C is here for you. Have a question about a program or service? We'll help you find the answer.

Ask a Question

Live Chat

Chat live with college departments and services.

Start live chat

Tri-C 24/7

Outside of business hours? Get answers to your questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Student Support Services

Ask Tri-C

Get answers to your frequently asked questions from navigating the website to programs and services.

Get Answers
Student Resources News & Events Corporate College Alumni Give

Categories

All Categories Tri-C Eastern Campus Metropolitan Campus Western Campus Westshore Campus Creative Arts Health Careers Hospitality Information Technology Manufacturing Public Safety Events JazzFest Alumni Athletics Faculty #mytricstory Tri-C Famous Student Success Veterans Community Involvement Corporate College Equity In Outcomes Gifts and Grants Pathway Programs Workforce Impact
  • Tri-C Home
  • »
  • News and Events
  • »
  • News
  • »
  • AQIP article 1

Accreditation: What It Is and Why It Matters

2018 AQIP profiles logo slideEvery semester, students at Cuyahoga Community College take countless tests designed to measure whether their performance in a course is up to standard.

As an academic institution responsible for conferring degrees on qualified graduates, it is important for Tri-C to administer tests and other forms of assessment to determine where students are succeeding and where they need improvement.

It’s easy to see the value in testing for students. But what about the College itself? How is Tri-C held accountable to ensure that the lessons and material presented to students adequately prepare them for graduation and beyond? How is the College held accountable to provide the services and support necessary to facilitate positive outcomes for students?

Every eight years, Tri-C must pass its own test. It’s administered by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), and the passage of the test determines whether Tri-C remains accredited as an institution.

Accreditation is the “stamp of approval” on the academic standards of Tri-C’s programs and, in turn, the degrees and certificates the College confers. Without accreditation, Tri-C students cannot apply for federal financial aid. Transfer options to four-year schools are severely limited, as is the marketability of a Tri-C degree to potential employers.

“It’s important for everyone at the College to know why accreditation is so critical to the College’s mission” said Lindsay English, associate vice president of academic professional development and assessment at Tri-C. “It’s vital to our ability to serve the Tri-C community, and everyone at the College plays a role in keeping our accreditation.”

The College’s accreditation is up for its eight-year review in February, when the HLC will visit Tri-C. During the visit, representatives from the HLC will determine whether the College remains compliant with its selected accreditation pathway.

Tri-C is on the HLC’s Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) pathway. It’s a pathway open only to HLC-accredited schools that have maintained high academic and performance standards. Compared to the other accreditation paths offered by the HLC, it allows a greater level of self-regulation with regard to continuous improvement.

“The HLC began offering the AQIP pathway in 2004 as a continuous improvement model,” English said. “You have to be approved to become a AQIP institution, and the status can be taken away for noncompliance.”

The idea behind AQIP is to promote consistency within each college’s continuous improvement plan.

“On the AQIP pathway, the HLC conducts a campus visit once every eight years at the minimum, and you have to submit two systems portfolios to the HLC in that eight-year span, detailing improvement processes and results,” English said. “The idea is to make improvement truly a continuous thing, as opposed to just ramping up those efforts in advance of the HLC’s visit.”

The HLC will visit Tri-C on Feb. 19 and 20. During the visit, the HLC’s representatives will speak with selected faculty, staff and students about their experiences working for and attending Tri-C and will audit the College’s performance according to five quality-standards criteria:

1. Mission
The institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly.

2. Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct
The institution acts with integrity and conducts itself in an ethical and responsible manner. 

3. Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources and Support
The institution provides high-quality education regardless of how its offerings are delivered.

4. Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement
The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments and support services. It evaluates their effectiveness through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.

5. Resources, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness
The institution’s resources, structures and processes are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings and respond to future challenges and opportunities. The institution plans for the future.

This is the first article in a seven-part series that will examine how various programs and people throughout Tri-C each play an important role in meeting the AQIP criteria and, by extension, assist the College in remaining accredited. To read the other articles in the series, visit the College's accreditation page.

February 06, 2018

Erik Cassano, 216-987-3577 or erik.cassano@tri-c.edu

© 2021 Cuyahoga Community College
700 Carnegie Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115

Quick Links

Employment at Tri-C
my Tri-C space
Athletics
Blackboard
Bookstore
Course Search
College Catalog
Library
Technical Support
Transcripts

About Tri-C

About
President's Office
Accreditation
Administrative Departments
Accessibility
Board of Trustees
Diversity & Inclusion
Student Consumer Information
Title IX Equal Opportunity
Privacy Policy

Campus Locations

Map & Directions
Parking
Campus Police

Connect With Us

Visit Tri-C
Request Information
Phone Directory
Tri-C 24/7
Ask Tri-C
Live Chat
Tri-C 216-987-6000 Corporate College 216-987-2800