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• Accreditation
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Accreditation

The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) accredits the College. Turtle Mountain Community College volunteers to seek accreditation. Accreditation is not a requirement but is important to the college. According to the NCA Handbook of Accreditation, "Accreditation is both a process and a result. As a process, it is a form of peer review in which educational institutions establish a set of criteria and procedures by which they and their fellows are judged. As a result, it is a form of certification by which the quality of an educational institution, as defined by the accreditation body's criteria, is affirmed."

The college received initial candidacy for accreditation in 1978. In April of 1980, the college received its first biennial visit to review progress and development. As a result of this visit, Turtle Mountain Community College was granted continued Candidate Status for an additional two years. The college received a team of North Central Association evaluators for a second biennial visit in April of 1982. The team's report again recommended the college be continued in Candidate Status at the Associate Degree granting level.

In April of 1984, a team of evaluators visited Turtle Mountain Community and in August of that year the North Central Executive Board granted the college Accreditation. In April of 1989, a team of evaluators visited Turtle Mountain Community College to determine if continued accreditation should be granted. Members of the team concluded that the college met continued accreditation criteria and made this recommendation to the full NCA commission. On August 25, 1989, the commission voted to continue the accreditation of Turtle Mountain Community College. In October of 1993, NCA sent a team of evaluators to review the college's request for continued accreditation. As a result, the College was granted ten years of accreditation with a focus visit to occur in the spring of 1996. The focus visit resulted in the college receiving full accreditation. In April 2001, The Higher Learning Commission granted full accreditation for the first baccalaureate degree, a Bachelor of Elementary Education.

On October 22, 2003, Turtle Mountain Community College was recommended by a visiting team from the Higher Learning Commission for 10 more years of accreditation with reports and focus visit requirements.

Accreditation Documentation

• 2003-04 Assessment of Academic Achievement (260 KB PDF)
• Formal Notification of Accreditation Letter (119 KB PDF)
• Higher Learning Commission of NCA Report (4.1 MB PDF)
• Reader Panel (78 KB PDF)
• Statement of Affiliation Status (76 KB PDF)
• Turtle Mountain Community College Self Study Document (2.7 MB PDF)