North Iowa Area Community College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission 30 N. LaSalle St., Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602-2504. The next comprehensive evaluation is scheduled for 2033-2034.

State Accreditation

Iowa’s state accreditation process for community colleges dovetails with the Higher Learning Commission’s accreditation processes.  The Iowa Department of Education holds reasonability for assessing community colleges to meet the State accreditation requirements.  Iowa Department of Education State review teams utilize documentation from the HLC to determine whether HLC standards are met. Additional state standards, not evaluated by HLC, are reviewed through the state evaluation process.

Regardless of an institution’s HLC accreditation pathway or placement in the accreditation process, state evaluations will occur on a ten-year cycle with interim evaluations on the fifth year and comprehensive evaluations on the tenth year. NIACC is currently accredited with the Iowa Department of Education with the next comprehensive state accreditation evaluation scheduled for 2025-2026.

Notice to Out-of-State Students Interested in NIACC Distance Education Courses

The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is an agreement among member states, districts, and territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs. It is intended to make it easier for students to take online courses offered by postsecondary institutions based in another state. SARA is overseen by a National Council and administered by four regional education compacts.

NIACC is a SARA institution, having joined SARA through the Midwestern Higher Education Council in June, 2016.