The mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.

Every ten years, the university community engages in a campus-wide reaccreditation process to demonstrate how the institution fulfills this mission through its commitments to excellence and public impact in research, education, and service. Below are highlights from recent institutional accreditations of the U-M – Ann Arbor campus.


2020 Accreditation

In 2020, the Higher Learning Commission’s (HLC) five criteria for reaffirmation of accreditation included:

  • Mission
  • Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct
  • Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support
  • Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement
  • Resources, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness

To develop their accreditation report, the U-M accreditation team, consisting of faculty and staff, lead this work for each school and college, Student Life, and the University Library, in collaboration with a core team from the Provost’s Office and the Center for Research on Learning. Nearly every campus unit was involved in the reaccreditation process in some way. Despite adjustments to review processes during COVID-19, U-M continued on with the comprehensive evaluation and hosted peer-reviewers virtually to fulfill the site visit. HLC reaffirmed the quality and integrity of U-M’s academic and institutional practices and reflected on the strength of its response during an extraordinary period.

The Quality Initiative from our previous cycle focused on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategic planning and assessment process. 

2020 Quality Initiative on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

2010 Accreditation

In 2010, the Higher Learning Commission’s (HLC) five criteria for reaccreditation included:

  • mission and integrity
  • preparing for the future
  • student learning and effective teaching
  • the acquisition, discovery, and application of knowledge
  • engagement and service

To develop their accreditation report, the U-M accreditation team held campus meetings and constituency group discussions, conducted institutional research by distributing surveys to graduating seniors in 2008, collected both qualitative and quantitative data about the University, and held forums, each involving about 100 people from across the University. A link to the complete assurance argument is provided below. The recommendations of the HLC committee addressed U-M’s programs and practices related to internationalization, which was the University’s theme for the special emphasis self-study. The HLC also recommended that U-M continue to support its assessment programs and projects in order to institutionalize continuous curricular improvement, and continue to build on its efforts to recruit a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff.


2000 Accreditation

In 2000, the HLC’s five criteria for reaccreditation included:

  • mission statement and statement of purpose
  • organization of human, financial, physical resources
  • accomplishing educational and other purposes
  • can continue to accomplish its purposes
  • demonstrates integrity

Four working groups were formed to contribute to the self-study: the Working Group on Faculty, the Working Group on Graduate and Professional Studies, the Working Group on Research, and the Working Group on Undergraduate Teaching and Learning. A link to the complete assurance argument is provided below. The recommendations of the HLC comment focused on U-M’s efforts to support and strengthen interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching, administrative coordination and equity, and institutional data collection capacities.


1990 Accreditation

In 1990, the University of Michigan was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (later renamed the Higher Learning Commission). The 1990 accreditation focused on four evaluative criteria: the institution has clear and publicly stated purposes, consistent with its mission and appropriate to a post-secondary educational institution; the institution has effectively organized adequate human, financial and physical resources into educational and other programs to accomplish its purpose; the institution is accomplishing its purposes; the institution can continue to accomplish its purposes.