Report 2013-123 Recommendations and Responses in 2015-041

Report 2013-123: California Community College Accreditation: Colleges Are Treated Inconsistently and Opportunities Exist for Improvement in the Accreditation Process

Department Number of Years Reported As Not Fully Implemented Total Recommendations to Department Not Implemented After One Year Not Implemented as of 2014-041 Response Not Implemented as of Most Recent Response
Community Colleges Chancellor's Office 1 9 7 N/A 7

Recommendation To: Community Colleges Chancellor's Office

To ensure that colleges receive consistent and fair treatment and are able to address deficiencies, the chancellor's office should work with the community colleges and request clearer guidance from the commission regarding what actions would allow for the full two-year period in which to remediate concerns and what actions would constitute good cause for extending the time an institution has to address deficiencies beyond two years. In doing so, the chancellor's office should also encourage the commission to specify in its policies those scenarios under which it would exercise the good cause exception so that institutions would have a better understanding of when they might reasonably expect additional time to address deficiencies.

Response

The Chancellor's Office gathered input related to this recommendation from a broad range of California community college stakeholders. This was accomplished through discussions at Consultation Council as well as in other meetings with stakeholders. In addition, Chancellor Harris convened the Accreditation Task Force to make specific recommendations on improving the accreditation process for California community colleges. In late September, the Task Force released its report which contains recommendations to the Board of Governors (report can be found at http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/reports/2015-Accreditation-Report-ADA.pdf). Central to these recommendations is proposal that the Chancellor's Office develop a plan to find a new accreditor for the California Community Colleges. One option would be for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges to be merged with the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The Task Force recommendations were presented to the Board of Governors as an informational item on September 20, 2015, and will go before the Board as an action item in November 2015. If the Board takes action to adopt the Task Force recommendations, the Chancellor's Office will reach out to the ACCJC and attempt to schedule meetings to discuss moving forward with the proposed changes.

Recommendation To: Community Colleges Chancellor's Office

To ensure that community colleges and the public are fully informed regarding the accreditation process, the chancellor's office should assist community colleges in communicating their concerns to the commission regarding its transparency and in developing proposals for improving the commission's transparency policies and practices. The chancellor's office should also encourage the commission to publish policies describing the role of its staff in the commission's decision-making processes.

Response

The Chancellor's Office gathered input related to this recommendation from a broad range of California community college stakeholders. This was accomplished through discussions at Consultation Council as well as in other meetings with stakeholders. In addition, Chancellor Harris convened the Accreditation Task Force to make specific recommendations on improving the accreditation process for California community colleges. In late September, the Task Force released its report which contains recommendations to the Board of Governors (report can be found at http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/reports/2015-Accreditation-Report-ADA.pdf). Central to these recommendations is proposal that the Chancellor's Office develop a plan to find a new accreditor for the California Community Colleges. One option would be for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges to be merged with the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The Task Force recommendations were presented to the Board of Governors as an informational item on September 20, 2015, and will go before the Board as an action item in November 2015. If the Board takes action to adopt the Task Force recommendations, the Chancellor's Office will reach out to the ACCJC and attempt to schedule meetings to discuss moving forward with the proposed changes.

Recommendation To: Community Colleges Chancellor's Office

To make certain that institutions receive fair treatment in appealing decisions that terminate their accreditation, the chancellor's office should work with the community colleges to advocate that the commission change certain aspects of its appeal process. Specifically, in keeping with the spirit of accreditation, when institutions have taken steps to correct deficiencies that led to the decision to terminate accreditation, the institutions should be allowed to have information on those corrections heard as evidence in their appeal. Further, the commission president's involvement in selecting the appeal panel's counsel should be revisited.

Response

The Chancellor's Office gathered input related to this recommendation from a broad range of California community college stakeholders. This was accomplished through discussions at Consultation Council as well as in other meetings with stakeholders. In addition, Chancellor Harris convened the Accreditation Task Force to make specific recommendations on improving the accreditation process for California community colleges. In late September, the Task Force released its report which contains recommendations to the Board of Governors (report can be found at http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/reports/2015-Accreditation-Report-ADA.pdf). Central to these recommendations is proposal that the Chancellor's Office develop a plan to find a new accreditor for the California Community Colleges. One option would be for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges to be merged with the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The Task Force recommendations were presented to the Board of Governors as an informational item on September 20, 2015, and will go before the Board as an action item in November 2015. If the Board takes action to adopt the Task Force recommendations, the Chancellor's Office will reach out to the ACCJC and attempt to schedule meetings to discuss moving forward with the proposed changes.

Recommendation To: Community Colleges Chancellor's Office

To strengthen institutions' understanding of what they must do to comply with standards, and to provide them with the opportunity to address certain issues that could jeopardize their compliance, the chancellor's office, in collaboration with the community colleges, should encourage the commission to develop formal opportunities for institutions to communicate with and receive feedback from the commission on institutional self-studies and other reports before a formal evaluation takes place. In doing so, the chancellor's office should consider the practices of other regional accreditors and identify those that would best meet the needs of California's community colleges.

Response

The Chancellor's Office gathered input related to this recommendation from a broad range of California community college stakeholders. This was accomplished through discussions at Consultation Council as well as in other meetings with stakeholders. In addition, Chancellor Harris convened the Accreditation Task Force to make specific recommendations on improving the accreditation process for California community colleges. In late September, the Task Force released its report which contains recommendations to the Board of Governors (report can be found at http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/reports/2015-Accreditation-Report-ADA.pdf). Central to these recommendations is proposal that the Chancellor's Office develop a plan to find a new accreditor for the California Community Colleges. One option would be for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges to be merged with the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The Task Force recommendations were presented to the Board of Governors as an informational item on September 20, 2015, and will go before the Board as an action item in November 2015. If the Board takes action to adopt the Task Force recommendations, the Chancellor's Office will reach out to the ACCJC and attempt to schedule meetings to discuss moving forward with the proposed changes. In addition, we note that the Chancellor's Office has launched an expansion of our capacity to provide technical assistance to colleges. This initiative, supported with resources provided in the State Budget, provides another mechanism to inform and assist colleges in matters related to accreditation.

Recommendation To: Community Colleges Chancellor's Office

Community colleges, as members of the commission, should communicate their concerns about and ideas for improvement of training on the accreditation process to the commission. To provide assurance to colleges that they may suggest this information freely, the chancellor's office should coordinate communication between the commission and the colleges. Further, in order to build collegial relationships, engage new people in the accreditation process, and extend additional training to those already involved in accreditation, the chancellor's office should encourage the commission to develop an annual conference focused on accreditation and oversight.

Response

The Chancellor's Office gathered input related to this recommendation from a broad range of California community college stakeholders. This was accomplished through discussions at Consultation Council as well as in other meetings with stakeholders. In addition, Chancellor Harris convened the Accreditation Task Force to make specific recommendations on improving the accreditation process for California community colleges. In late September, the Task Force released its report which contains recommendations to the Board of Governors (report can be found at http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/reports/2015-Accreditation-Report-ADA.pdf). Central to these recommendations is proposal that the Chancellor's Office develop a plan to find a new accreditor for the California Community Colleges. One option would be for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges to be merged with the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The Task Force recommendations were presented to the Board of Governors as an informational item on September 20, 2015, and will go before the Board as an action item in November 2015. If the Board takes action to adopt the Task Force recommendations, the Chancellor's Office will reach out to the ACCJC and attempt to schedule meetings to discuss moving forward with the proposed changes.

Recommendation To: Community Colleges Chancellor's Office

To allow colleges flexibility in choosing an accreditor, the chancellor's office should identify other accreditors who are able to accredit California community colleges or who would be willing to change their scopes to do so.

Response

The Chancellor's Office gathered input related to this recommendation from a broad range of California community college stakeholders. This was accomplished through discussions at Consultation Council as well as in other meetings with stakeholders. In addition, Chancellor Harris convened the Accreditation Task Force to make specific recommendations on improving the accreditation process for California community colleges. In late September, the Task Force released its report which contains recommendations to the Board of Governors (report can be found at http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/reports/2015-Accreditation-Report-ADA.pdf). Central to these recommendations is proposal that the Chancellor's Office develop a plan to find a new accreditor for the California Community Colleges. One option would be for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges to be merged with the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The Task Force recommendations were presented to the Board of Governors as an informational item on September 20, 2015, and will go before the Board as an action item in November 2015. If the Board takes action to adopt the Task Force recommendations, the Chancellor's Office will reach out to the ACCJC and attempt to schedule meetings to discuss moving forward with the proposed changes.

Recommendation To: Community Colleges Chancellor's Office

To allow colleges flexibility in choosing an accreditor, the chancellor's office should assess the potential costs, risks, and feasibility of creating a new independent accreditor.

Response

The Chancellor's Office gathered input related to this recommendation from a broad range of California community college stakeholders. This was accomplished through discussions at Consultation Council as well as in other meetings with stakeholders. In addition, Chancellor Harris convened the Accreditation Task Force to make specific recommendations on improving the accreditation process for California community colleges. In late September, the Task Force released its report which contains recommendations to the Board of Governors (report can be found at http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/reports/2015-Accreditation-Report-ADA.pdf). Central to these recommendations is proposal that the Chancellor's Office develop a plan to find a new accreditor for the California Community Colleges. One option would be for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges to be merged with the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The Task Force recommendations were presented to the Board of Governors as an informational item on September 20, 2015, and will go before the Board as an action item in November 2015. If the Board takes action to adopt the Task Force recommendations, the Chancellor's Office will reach out to the ACCJC and attempt to schedule meetings to discuss moving forward with the proposed changes.

Current Status of Recommendations

All Recommendations in 2015-041