Accreditation

Accreditation is voluntarily sought by institutions and is conferred by non-governmental bodies. An institutional accrediting agency evaluates an entire institution in terms of its mission and the agency’s standards or criteria. It accredits the institution as a whole. It assesses the formal educational activities of the institution and also evaluates governance and administration, financial stability, admissions and student personnel services, institutional resources, student academic achievement, institutional effectiveness, and relationships with constituencies inside and outside the institution. Accreditation is important to Black Hawk College to remain competitive with other learning institutions, as it provides assurance to the public, in particular to prospective students, that an institution has been found to meet the agency’s clearly stated requirements and criteria and that there are reasonable grounds for believing that it will continue to meet them.

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Black Hawk College is accredited by the following organizations:

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• Black Hawk College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and participates in the Open Pathway, one of two pathways leading to reaffirmation of accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission.
  • The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an independent corporation that was founded in 1895 as one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. HLC accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions.
• View Black Hawk College's Accreditation Standing with State and Other Accrediting Agencies (PDF)

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Black Hawk College is recognized and certified by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). The ICCB is the state coordinating board for the Illinois community colleges and administers the Public Community College Act. Certification status affirms the district’s eligibility to receive state grants appropriated to the ICCB.