(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) — The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools will send a team of evaluators to the University of Central Missouri campus from March 10-12 to review the UCM as part of its reaccreditation process, according to a press release.

Innovative Public Relations, the student-run PR firm, is conducting an Instagram photo contest that runs now through March 5 as a way to generate awareness of the visit. All UCM students, faculty and staff can participate in the contest. The rules are as follows:

1. Snap a photo exemplifying one of the Four UCM Reasons to Believe (Engaged Learning, Future-Focused Academics, Worldly Perspective, Culture of Service).

2. Post it to Instagram using the hashtag #UCMBelieves and indicate which one of the four reasons is being shown in the photo.

3. After that, participants are automatically entered into the contest, which ends March 5.

4. There will be four winners, one for each of the Four Reasons with each winner receiving and Apple iPad. Winners will be announced via Instagram on March 7.

This photo contest brings attention to talking points that will be important during the reaccreditation visit. HLC accreditation impacts transfer options for students, the university’s eligibility for grants, and the ability to obtain and award financial aid. The accreditation process gives the university an opportunity to do an intensive review of its strengths and weaknesses and to use this information to direct its continuous improvement efforts.

Representatives on the HLC site team will visit the main campus, the Missouri Innovation Campus, and speak to students and faculty in classes and on campus. By understanding the four reasons to believe, students can articulate UCM’s values and identity to the site team.

According to the commission’s website, the HLC is an independent corporation and one of two commissions members of the NCA, which is one of six regional institutional accreditation in the United States. The HLC accredits degree-granting post-secondary institutes in the North Central region. UCM has been accredited by the commission since 1915. The HLC’s last site visit to UCM was in 2004.

Find out more about the contest at www.ucmo.edu/hlc.