Academic Quality Improvement Project (AQIP) is a new process for accreditation developed by the Higher Learning Commission as an alternative to the self-study/comprehensive visit cycle of accreditation. Participation in the Academic Quality Improvement Project encourages an institution to use the AQIP Quality Criteria to examine systematically how it is increasing its effectiveness in educating its students and accomplishing its other key purposes, and how it is managing and improving the many other processes that allow it to pursue these primary goals.