Higher Learning Commission Extends Accreditation to Fourth Cooley Campus

The Higher Learning Commission - North Central Association has extended Thomas M. Cooley Law Schools accreditation, allowing the full three-year Juris Doctor program to be offered at our campus in Ann Arbor, as well as at our campuses in Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Auburn Hills. The final stage in this approval process occurred on April 20, 2009, when the Commissions Board of Trustees validated approval of the new campus.

This decision is the culmination of a series of favorable HLC actions over the past few years. Cooley Law School has been fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 2001. In 2006, the Commissions Board of Trustees continued Cooley's accreditation for 10 full years--the maximum time allowed under HLC standards. The HLC staff extended accreditation to the full program at Oakland, and at Grand Rapids in 2006.

The Higher Learning Commission is part of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The NCA, founded in 1895, is one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. Through its commissions it accredits, and thereby grants membership to educational institutions in the North Central region: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, New Mexico, South Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The Commission is recognized by the US Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation.

Cooley was one of the first independent law schools to voluntarily seek accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission.

Reports from the HLC are available upon request.

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