The college is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Select programs (e.g. Nursing) require special accreditation. HCC is a publicly funded organization. The state coordinating board is the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC).

The key indicator system for the Board of Trustees combines the MSCHE and MHEC requirements, stakeholders/supplier survey data, external feedback from the quality award process, HCC's strategic plan, and best practice methods and tools into a comprehensive, dynamic, and ongoing assessment program. After examining national models, the Board of Trustees decided to align its key performance indicator system with the Baldrige Educational Excellence Criteria.

The six Board Core Ends are:

Leadership
Strategic Planning
Student, Stakeholder, and Market Focus
Measurement,  Analysis, and Knowledge Management
Faculty and Staff Focus
Educational and Support Process Management

At the board of trustees regular meetings, these measures and progress towards benchmarks are reviewed; reports are then posted on the web for full community accountability.