The University of Missouri is accredited by:
The Higher Learning Commission
A Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400
Chicago, IL 60602-2504
(800) 621-7440
View the Statement of Accreditation Status.
View the 2019 Assurance Argument and the HLC response.
Program Accreditation
In addition to university-wide accreditation various schools, colleges, and departments at MU are also accredited by their respective professional associations and accrediting agencies. Below you will find the status of these specialized accreditations across the university.
Licensure and certification exam results
Graduates of some specialized programs require a licensure or certification. Click the arrow to go to page 2 on the table above to find the pass rates of our students in the programs in which this is required.
HLC Updates
In 2023, 5 teams of faculty and staff began preparing MU for its next comprehensive evaluation in 2025.
Criterion 1: Mission
Our mission is demonstrated publicly, operationalized throughout the institution, and demonstrates commitment to the public good through opportunities for civic engagement in a diverse, multicultural society and globally connected world.
Examples:
MU Extension Examples:
- Community Health Engagement and Outreach (CHEO) is a HOPE unit housed in Extension. CHEOs signature project is the Recovery Friendly Workplace program which reduces stigma and provides resources to address employment challenges surrounding those recovering from substance use disorder and employers who have workforce needs. To date, 32 organizations in Missouri are designated as recovery-friendly with more than 2,000 employees benefiting from this designation. One of the largest partnering organizations is Citizens Memorial Hospital, which was the first organization in Missouri to earn the recovery-friendly designation.
- More than 21,000 livestock producers throughout the state have participated in Missouri grazing schools since they began in 1990. The annual economic impact of management-intensive grazing on the Missouri economy to be $125 million annually, he said. The program supports more than 2,000 jobs in Missouri, and there is an additional net return per acre for producers of $40 to $60.
Sinclair School of Nursing Examples:
The SSON provides numerous opportunities for civic engagement through public health, policy, and study abroad opportunities. Examples of engagement include:
- In January, 2 faculty members accompanied 24 Students and in August, 2 faculty members accompanied 19 Students to Costa Rica for students to complete the requirements of Nursing of Communities Clinical.
- Camp Barnabas – a summer camp for adults and children with special needs located in southwest Missouri. Camp Barnabas provides a summer camp experience to individuals with special needs and chronic illnesses. Mizzou Nursing students play an essential role as medical staff and assist with the daily care of all campers.
Committee:
Candace Kuby [chair]
Steve Ball
Jesslyn Chew
Julie Kapp
Graham McCaulley
Enid Schatz
Criterion 2: Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct
The institution acts with integrity; its conduct is ethical and responsible.
Criterion 2.A. The institution establishes and follows policies and processes to ensure fair and ethical behavior on the part of its governing board, administration, faculty and staff.
Example: In 2021, Faculty Council and the Office of the Provost charged an ad hoc committee to investigate whether an ombuds position for tenure and non-tenure track faculty should be created at MU. The committee recommended that a position be created and a search resulted in the appointment of an ombudsperson in Spring 2023, Dr. Pam Bruzina. Read more about this position
Committee:
Jeni Hart [chair]
Steven Chaffin
Michele Kennett
Rigel Oliveri
Criterion 3: Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support
The University of Missouri provides quality education through well-structured academic programs, qualified faculty, and comprehensive student support services. This criterion outlines the institution’s commitment to maintaining high standards in teaching and learning across all programs and delivery methods.
Criterion 3.D.1. MU provides student support services suited to the needs of its student populations at every phase of their academic journey. At Mizzou, we offer a full range of student support services to meet a diversity of student needs. These programs undergo continuous review and change to increase capacity and effectiveness and streamline access for all students.
Example: In recent years, MU has developed new pipelines to increase accessibility and connect students with our many student support services. The first pipeline uses a Starfish platform, called MU Connect, to facilitate communication between the student and their advisor(s), instructors, and other parts of their support team. If there is a concern, faculty and academic advisors raise “flags” to alert the student and their faculty and staff network. This triggers a message to the student that includes relevant resources and suggests next steps, such as a meeting with their advisor, talking with the instructor, or tutoring support. Students may also receive a follow-up message from their advisor or relevant support resource to encourage the student to take action. The system is also used to send kudos to affirm our students on their academic journeys.
Committee:
Tori Mondelli [chair]
Kyle Gibson
Amy Lannin
Jeanette Pierce
Daryl Smith (Spring 2023)
Bethany Stone
Douglas Valentine
Criterion 4: Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement
MU takes great pride in its outcome metrics. In the 2023-24 academic year, MU achieved an 87.2% knowledge rate and a 95.2% career outcomes rate, surpassing institutions like Vanderbilt University (94.7%) and other HLC institutions such as Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota. ELMO dashboards provide information on graduate employment, salary, continuing education, and geographic location. Stakeholders can filter data by demographic data such as gender, ethnicity, and first-generation status, in addition to school or college, department, academic plan, and sub-plan. MU provides a public-facing subset of these data on its Career Outcomes for the community.
Example: The Trulaske College of Business conducts an assessment process for its degree programs over the summer months, including identifying the relevant program outcome, measure, target, result, and curricula or process changes. For example, the Masters of Science in Finance program reviewed the outcome, “define and execute a process by which to conduct securities analysis/valuation” and found that their target of 90% of students scoring a B- minimum was unmet. Through their analysis of the curriculum and process, faculty agreed to increase scaffolds in select lectures and require an additional review step before students submit final workbooks.
Committee:
Jonathan Cisco [chair]
Jordan Booker
Matthew Easter
Crystal Gateley
Rebecca Mott
Tonya Ford
Beth Whitaker
Criterion 5: Institutional Effectiveness, Resources and Planning
The institution’s resources, structures, processes, and planning are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities.
5.A.2. The institution’s administration uses data to reach informed decisions in the best interests of the institution and its constituents.
MU has made significant investments in establishing a permanent data support structure that aligns with the best interests of the institution and its constituents. This initiative ensures that leaders have access to data and analysis, enabling them to proactively make decisions that support our institutional missions.
Example: University Data, Analytics and Institutional Research has created a number of data apps that enhance administrator’s ability to make data-driven decisions at all levels of the institution. These include Key Metrics (department level longitudinal data), ELMO (enrollment life-cycle metrics and outcomes), Faculty Comprehensive (individual faculty metrics), Educational Assessment (learning outcomes for academic programs), and the Research Success Measures (AAU indicators and related projections).
5.B.1. The institution has qualified and trained operational staff and infrastructure sufficient to support its operations wherever and however programs are delivered.
Examples:
MU supports human resources through robust programming for staff training and development. Biannually, the Office of Human Resources coordinates four-day training conferences focused on staff employees, providing 40+ concurrent learning sessions.
MU’s recent comprehensive Master Plan provides a framework for future infrastructure needs on campus. The master planning process engaged a cross section of the university community, resulting in over 4,000 individual touchpoints via 20+ stakeholder meetings with more than 100+ participants, pop-up sessions with 175+ participants, and a survey with more than 3,800 responses. These touchpoints, along with an assessment early in the process, identified strengths and opportunities to improve the physical campus.
The Disability Center continually utilizes assessment to review its effectiveness and identify opportunities for growth. For example, the office conducts faculty and student feedback surveys every-other year to solicit feedback from these key stakeholders. Results from these surveys have been used to support the need for a peer mentoring program (implemented Fall 2023), identify gaps in knowledge for faculty and students on office processes leading to improvements to the Disability Center’s website (website update complete Summer 2024) and methods for implementing complex accommodations such as flexible attendance and deadlines (new flex plan process launched Fall 2024), and advocate for improvements within the office’s testing facilities (ongoing).
Committee:
Mardy Eimers [chair]
Kelli Canada
Rhonda Gibler
John Middleton