April 28-29, 2025 Campus Visit

Northwestern’s 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation review process will culminate in an on-site visit to the Evanston campus on April 28 and 29, 2025 by a team of Higher Learning Commission (HLC) peer reviewers. The site visit will give the peer review team the opportunity to meet with University leaders and speak directly with faculty, students and staff.

Schedule of Open Forums

The following schedule is subject to change based on the needs of the HLC peer review team. Any changes to date, time, and/or location will be reflected here.

Monday, April 28

Table with events and times
Open Forum	Time	Location
HLC Criteria 1 and 2 Topics: Mission and integrity (ethical and responsible conduct) Audience: All faculty, students and staff welcome to attend	9:15-10 a.m.	Norris University Center (Lake Room)
HLC Criteria 3 and 4 Topics: Teaching and learning quality, resources, support, evaluation and improvement Audience: All faculty, students and staff welcome to attend	9:15-10 a.m.	Norris University Center (Northwestern Room)
Faculty Topics: Open dialogue between review team and faculty Audience: Anyone with a Northwestern faculty appointment welcome to attend	10:15-11 a.m.	Norris University Center (Northwestern Room)
Students Topics: Open dialogue between review team and students Audience: Any registered Northwestern students welcome to attend	2-2:45 p.m.	Scott Hall (Guild Lounge)
HLC Criterion 5 Topics: Institutional effectiveness, resources and planning Audience: All faculty, students and staff welcome to attend	4-4:45 p.m.	Scott Hall (Guild Lounge)

Tuesday, April 29

Table with events and times
Open Forum	Time	Location
Staff Topics: Open dialogue between review team and staff Audience: Anyone with a Northwestern staff appointment welcome to attend	9:15-10 a.m.	Scott Hall (Guild Lounge)

How to Participate in Open Forums

Northwestern faculty, students and staff are invited to participate in open forums throughout the peer review team’s on-site visit to the Evanston campus. Advance registration is not required to participate.

Preparing for Open Forums

As part of the review process, Northwestern has submitted a 100+ page report, called an “assurance argument,” that tells the story of how the University meets all five criteria for accreditation articulated by the HLC. The report is the result of a collaborative process involving schools and units across Northwestern. During the April 2025 site visit, the peer review team will speak with faculty, students and staff, as well as University leaders, to deepen and clarify their perspective on the University’s case for re-accreditation as presented through the Northwestern-provided materials. 

Northwestern faculty, students and staff are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the assurance argument in advance of the site visit. To help with this, faculty, students and staff are also invited to review this Briefing Guide, which provides an overview of Northwestern’s assurance argument and guided reflection questions to help the Northwestern community prepare to engage with the HLC peer review team.

Contact 

Any questions about the upcoming re-accreditation site visit can be directed to:

Frequently Asked Questions

These FAQs shed light on some of the key aspects of the process.