Arapahoe Community College (ACC) offers 62 degrees and 43 certificate programs, so what makes your degree worth more than just the paper it’s printed on? Accreditation!

This Fall, ACC is up for evaluation to reaffirm its accreditation. As such, the Arapahoe Pinnacle will be writing a four-part series on ACC’s History, Preparation, Impact, and Result of accreditation.

Arapahoe Community College had been on the road to accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) since it’s inception, applying for candidacy in 1968. ACC has been fully accredited since January of 1970. The evaluations are every 10 years, and our last one was in 2006-2007.

The HLC is an independent corporation out of Illinois that was founded in 1895 as one of the six regional accreditors. They work with institutions in 20 different midwestern states. They serve the common good by assuring and advancing the quality of higher learning, through a set of standards in place for accreditation.

Although the list is long, some of these standards include having a mission that is publicly stated and articulated properly, that the degree programs are appropriate for secondary education, and that the institution constantly reviews and updates its programs.

Arapahoe Community College has a long history of accreditation and will without a doubt continue building its history as a Higher Learning Commission- accredited school.