Accreditation

Accreditation is a voluntary method of quality assurance developed more than 100 years ago by American universities and secondary schools, and designed primarily to distinguish schools adhering to a set of educational standards. It is also a process known in terms of its ability to effectively drive student performance and continuous improvement in education.

Accreditation provides assurance to the public, in particular to prospective students, that Triton College’s offerings and services meet a certain qualitative standard and fulfill the college’s mission. It is also required in order to qualify for many types of funding, including grants and Title IV aid. Most importantly, it encourages a culture of continuous evaluation and improvement in all functional areas.

Triton College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Where necessary or appropriate to its educational purposes, Triton College maintains specialized accreditation (also known as programmatic accreditation) for its programs to ensure that students are appropriately prepared to achieve in their educational and/or occupational goals.

Programmatic Accreditations

The Higher Learning Commission evaluates Triton College based on its fulfillment of five criteria:

• Criterion One: Mission
• Criterion Two: Ethical and Responsible Conduct
• Criterion Three: Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources and Support
• Criterion Four: Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement
• Criterion Five: Resources, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness

For more information regarding these criteria, HLC's Website

Triton College’s steering committee is its central shared governance body, College Council. The College Council includes representation from all of Triton’s employee groups, as well as representation from various departmental areas. The Council provides oversight to the College’s accreditation activities and guidance to the various leadership bodies within the governance structure on accreditation matters. The Council also communicates information about accreditation activities to other shared governance committees and the college community at large.

College Council Membership

Triton College is currently in the HLC's Standard Pathway for accreditation. The next comprehensive evaluation visit is scheduled for March 5-6, 2018.

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