Northwestern College’s HIT Program granted CAHIIM Accreditation

The Health Information Technology (HIT) Program at Northwestern College’s Bridgeview Campus was recently awarded accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics & Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Initial Accreditation was approved by CAHIIM’s Board of Directors at its May 4th meeting, following a comprehensive program review conducted by the Health Information Management Accreditation Council and CAHIIM’s Board of Directors.

This Initial Accreditation thereby recognizes the Northwestern College Bridgeview Campus HIT Program’s substantial compliance with the nationally established CAHIIM Accreditation Standards.

Northwestern College’s HIT Associates Degree program has been accredited by the College’s regional accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, prior to being offered at any of its campuses. As additional programmatic accreditation by CAHIIM would allow graduates to sit for the Registered Health Information Technology (RHIT) licensure exam, a benefit granted only to graduates of CAHIIM-accredited programs, Northwestern College sought and acquired this optional programmatic accreditation from the start, and has maintained it since 2005.

However, up until about 2013, CAHIIM had accredited HIT programs institutionally, with a single accreditation determination encompassing HIT Programs at all campuses of that institution. Following a decision by CAHIIM’s Board of Directors, this policy was amended to require program accreditation by campus.

According to Northwestern College’s Health Information Technology Program Director Christopher Wheat, though Northwestern College had been CAHIIM-accredited through its Chicago location, extending that accreditation to its Online and Bridgeview Campus programs, pursuant to CAHIIM’s amended policy, has been years in the making.

“CAHIIM Accreditation ensures that students enrolled in the Health Information Technology Associate Degree program, regardless of location, are receiving an education of the highest quality, and that it is relevant for today's job market,” Wheat explained. While the different types of careers in Health Information Technology and Management are plentiful, they all begin with a firm foundation at the Associate level.”

Opening up opportunities for students interested in this field and providing them with the most up-to-date skills required by today’s workforce is crucial, according to Wheat, and maintaining CAHIIM accreditation keeps those goals at the forefront of Northwestern College’s HIT program and directives. Further, it helps to ensure that HIT students have a variety of career choices when they graduate from Northwestern College with an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree. “Whether you are interested in medical coding, insurance reimbursement, privacy and security of health information, fraud management, analytics and healthcare statistics, or even computers and technology, this field has a little something for everyone.”

The process to obtain CAHIIM accreditation is lengthy and begins with a letter of intent sent to CAHIIM. A comprehensive self-assessment is then conducted to identify strengths and weaknesses, and to review goals and objectives, content, policies, administration, educational resources, and general program effectiveness. As CAHIIM maintains 33 standards, the institution must address each one in detail, assuring compliance and providing sufficient evidence to substantiate. Once the CAHIIM initial review team is satisfied, a site visit is then scheduled and conducted by 3 members representing CAHIIM in order to assure the accrediting organization that the documented educational program complies with the accreditation Standards for academic programs. The application for accreditation is then presented to the CAHIIM Board of Directors for determination.

Northwestern College’s Bridgeview Campus HIT site visit was conducted in December of 2017. On May 4, 2018, its application was presented to the CAHIIM Board of Directors, voted on and approved.

In order to maintain CAHIIM accreditation, institutions must continually uphold CAHIIM policies and procedures, engage in ongoing collection of program data, reporting of results and evaluation, and submit annual program assessment reports. It is this constant oversight that assures the continued value of CAHIIM accreditation to the institutions, programs, and the students and employers who rely upon it.

“We are pleased to now have CAHIIM accreditation for all of our HIT Programs,” said Northwestern College President Lawrence Schumacher. “We understand that accreditors have a highly scrutinized responsibility in higher education. Thus CAHIIM’s decision to more closely monitor HIT educational activities at all institutional campuses is commendable, for it better ensures the quality of education being offered to all students, regardless of location. After several years of time and effort, we are proud to announce that Northwestern College’s entire HIT Program is CAHIIM-accredited, affording our HIT students with all of the benefits that this status provides!”

About Northwestern College:
Northwestern College (NC) is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, 230 S. LaSalle St., Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 263-0456, www.hlcommission.org. The college offers focused career-oriented associate degree and certificate programs with flexible schedules and a supportive faculty. Day, evening, weekend, online classes and online programs are available. More information can be found at www.NC.edu or by calling toll-free (888) 205-2283.