Special Campus Memo: HLC Accreditation

Dear Grinnellians,

I am pleased to announce that Grinnell College has been reaffirmed in its accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission.

Thank you to the many campus constituents who contributed information and their efforts toward developing the requisite Criteria for Accreditation, including our assurance argument. The campus community was well prepared for the site visit of the peer review team last November, and I appreciate the engagement of all who participated in the open sessions or meetings with the team.

The visiting team was impressed by our commitment to the mission of the College, particularly in areas related to social justice and diversity and inclusion. They noted the integrity with which we operate and the values of our shared governance structures. The team recognized the excellence of the educational experience for Grinnell students, and the vital role played by faculty and staff in creating an environment that supports those experiences. They also observed how the strong financial health of the College and our continuous planning process facilitate meeting current needs, as well as future challenges and opportunities.

With this recognition of our successes, the review team also identified a few areas in which we can improve; primarily in the areas of the assessment of student learning and support for the College’s staff. The President’s Office, Dean’s Office, and Treasurer’s Office have committed to making plans to set and meet goals for these initiatives. Working for continual improvement is part of Grinnell’s culture, and we look forward to collaborating with partners across campus as we work toward these goals.

Thank you to all the members of the Grinnell community who made the culmination of our decennial review a success. This was a great team effort, and it relied upon the dedicated work of many colleagues. Among them, I would particularly like to thank Mark Levandoski in the Dean’s Office, and Randy Stiles and Carlie VanWilligen in the Office of Analytic Support and Institutional Research for their pivotal contributions.

Raynard S. Kington
President