Dr. Christine Austin, director of assessment and institutional effectiveness and professor of student affairs administration at Arkansas Tech University, has been appointed to a four-year term on the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Institutional Action Council (IAC).
According to the HLC website, the purpose of the IAC is to “conduct reviews and take actions on the majority of accreditation recommendations.”
The IAC is one of three decision-making bodies within the HLC structure. Nominations for service on the IAC are reviewed and approved by the HLC Board of Trustees.
“IAC has at least 40 members representing academe and the public,” states the HLC website. “IAC members who represent institutions shall be broadly representative of institutions accredited by the commission, with attention to institutional type, control, size and geographical distribution and shall be current members of the peer review corps. The IAC shall include a sufficient number of public members to allow for one public member to be appointed to each committee.”
Austin has served as an HLC peer reviewer since 2016. A member of the ATU faculty since 2007, Austin holds Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of Denver and a Master of Education degree from the University of Maine.
