The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools has granted Northwestern College’s full accreditation for another 10 years. In a letter to Northwestern College President Alan Cureton, the commission wrote that its board had voted to affirm Northwestern’s status as an accredited institution.

A team of peer consultant evaluators from the HLC visited Northwestern on April 6–8, 2009 to conduct a comprehensive campus evaluation. The team informed the college at their exit interview that they would be recommending the full ten-year term for reaccreditation. The recommendation of the evaluators was reviewed by a Readers Panel and by the Institutional Actions Council before being validated by the Commission Board of Trustees.

Northwestern's ten-year reaffirmation of accreditation by the HLC was the result of organization-wide efforts from administration, faculty, staff and students. In preparation for the HLC visit, the Northwestern community engaged in a comprehensive self-study process which began in early 2006 and culminated in a314-page evaluative self-study report submitted to the HLC in February 2009.

In a statement to the Northwestern community announcing the accreditation, interim Vice President for Academic Affairs Barb Lindman, Ph.D., stated, “I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all the individuals involved in the self-study process that collected and reported the evidence that demonstrated that Northwestern College fulfilled each of the five accreditation criteria. I especially want to express my appreciation to the Self-Study Steering Committee who tirelessly gave of their time, expertise and energy to bring the project to successful completion.”