Joint accreditation between UNL and UNMC formally recognized

University of Nebraska leaders on Monday announced that the U.S. Department of Education and the Higher Learning Commission have formally recognized the joint accreditation of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents voted in November 2025 to approve joint accreditation between UNL and UNMC.

In a joint statement released by university leaders, they said the "move will allow us to more accurately express the life-changing difference that you – our faculty, researchers, scholars and staff – make to the state of Nebraska every day."

"It also allows us to represent our collective impacts in the same way as the majority of our Big Ten peers," the statement read. "By reporting key institutional metrics such as enrollment, degrees awarded, faculty honors, and research spending as a combined unit, we will immediately strengthen our national rankings and show a clearer picture of the impact of the University of Nebraska’s scholarship and research."

University leaders said this will help increase collaboration between the colleges and strengthen their "land-grant" missions.

"At the heart of this process was always a central question: What is best for Nebraska? The Lincoln and Medical Center campuses began as one, sharing an accreditation from 1913 until 1968. This move brings us closer to that original alignment, while maintaining the unique aspects that maintain each campus’ individual identity and focus," university leaders said.

Joint accreditation could also bring UNL closer to rejoining the Association of American Universities — a group of 71 research universities.

In 2011, the AAU removed UNL from the group. UNL had held membership for nearly a century, and it was the first university to be formally voted out by members. Internal metrics used to measure the quality of a university’s research efforts had changed a year before, giving more weight to biomedical research and volume of federal grants — two areas where UNL was lacking.

By way of full disclosure, members of the Nebraska Public Media newsroom are university employees.