The Latest News Surrounding
Accreditation
SA M FOST ER , S OU T H R E P RESENTATIVE
DAV I D MORSE , PAST P R ESIDENT
CR A I G R UTA N , A R EA D R E P R ESENTATIVE
History of CCCCO Accreditation Task
Forces
The Chancellor’s Office has created three different task forces to look
at accreditation (2009, 2013, and 2015)
The 2015 task force report was approved by the Board of Governors
in November 2015.
◦ Establish a new model for an accreditation agency for the California
Community Colleges
◦ Develop an implementation plan with a timeline
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
Implementation Recommendations
Following approval of the Task Force Recommendations, an
Implementation Task Force was formed
At the March 2016 Board of Governors meeting, the BoG directed
the Chancellor to:
◦ Recommend immediate changes to IMPROVE existing processes and
culture of ACCJC
◦ Pursue a MODEL for regional accreditation that aligns all segments
of higher education in the western region.
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
CEO Workgroups Formed
The CEOs (college presidents and chancellors) created two
workgroups to work on issues surrounding accreditation
Workgroup I
◦ Improve the operations and interactions with ACCJC
◦ Membership from CEOs, CIOs, ASCCC, and ACCJC
Workgroup II
◦ Future of accreditation in the California Community Colleges
◦ Membership from CEOs, ACCJC, WASC Senior
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
Workgroup I: Improving ACCJC Structure,
Function, and Communication
Goal: Work with the ACCJC to undertake significant improvements in
the structure and functioning of the Commission to address longstanding concerns of its members, giving special attention to the
concerns noted by the U.S. Department of Education requiring
compliance
Five Areas of Focus: Training and Selection, Communication,
Evaluation, Processes and Structure of the Visit, Commission
Operations
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
Changes Have Been Seen
Recent ACCJC Team trainings have been different. Additionally,
materials like the Guide to Evaluating Institutions have been
updated.
ACCJC hosted their first conference in April that included office hours
with commission staff.
Commission staff have agreed to send communications sent to CEOs
and ALOs will be shared with ASCCC to be distributed to senate
presidents
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
More Changes
ACCJC has appointed an Interim President, Richard Winn, and they
staff has been more responsive to inquiries
The public comment session for ACCJC meetings will be moved to
the first day, prior to when decisions on policy changes have been
made
ACCJC has provided clearer guidance to how certain standards (I.B.3
and I.B.6) should be evaluated
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
Still More Work to Do
Develop and implement a comprehensive evaluation process of
ACCJC
◦ Revise commission policies, procedures, and templates
◦ Develop an implement strategic plan
◦ Inform evaluation of President and commission staff
◦ Improve professional development offered by ACCJC
Reduce burden on colleges and visiting teams
Return collegiality to the peer review process
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
Faculty Commissioners
Resolution 2.03 F16 included:
◦ Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges
work with the chief executive officers’ workgroup on accreditation and
the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC)
to ensure that when faculty serving on ACCJC take administrative
positions, they are replaced as expeditiously as possible with active
faculty members.
Currently, ACCJC permits faculty appointees that become an
administrator to serve the remainder of their term.
Workgroup I has begun discussing this issue with ACCJC.
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
Workgroup II: Western Region Higher
Education Accrediting Model
Goal: Develop framework for assessing the regional higher
education accrediting landscape and determining the best approach
for regional alignment and implementation steps.
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
Key Elements for a MODEL System
Collegial learning community with accrediting commission as partner
Transparency in all aspects of commission governance and
operations
Well-developed infrastructure for training teams and colleges
Highly experienced and qualified technical assistance assigned to
each college
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
Key Elements for a MODEL System
Peer evaluation from colleagues who understand
the goal of accreditation is to improve institutions and serve the
“whole student”
Focus on clearly defined measures of student learning and success
that transcend courses and disciplines.
Opportunities for pathways and interactions between leaders,
faculty, staff from all segments of higher education
Willingness and ability to respond to changing needs and demands,
while remaining grounded in values.
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
Consensus of Workgroup II
After considering four different options, Workgroup II agreed that the
goal is a single accreditor in the western region!
◦ Likely would transition from ACCJC to WASC Senior
◦ Could take up to 10 years to change accreditor
◦ Would need to work with ACCJC and WSCUC to transition. It is not clear
that WSCUC would accept all 113 community colleges
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
Rationale for a Single Regional Accreditor
Community colleges as respected component of the higher education system
Shared goals, standards, students, communities served
Common focus on student success, stewardship, quality, improvement
Strength in unity facing accountability, accreditation changes
Overcome inconsistency in split system of Western region, unlike other 5 U.S. accrediting
regions
Increasingly blurred lines between higher education segments (CSU doctorate, community
college baccalaureate, university associate degrees; public/private/online)
Alignment across sectors to meet needs of workforce & STUDENTS (Associate Degrees for
Transfer, National Completion Agenda)
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
National Advisory Committee on
Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI)
Resolution 2.02 F16 included:
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges communicate its position to
the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) and the
Department of Education prior to their consideration of the Accrediting Commission for Community
and Junior Colleges’ (ACCJC) progress toward compliance with its §602.13(a) and its responsibilities
as a regional accreditor.
Julie Bruno and John Stanskas both testified at the NACIQI hearing sharing the
experiences ASCCC has had working with ACCJC
NACIQI recommended that
ACCJC be recognized as an approved regional accreditor for 18 months
ACCJC can now accredited new baccalaureate degrees, but only one per college
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA
Thank You for Joining Us
Do you have any questions?
Sam Foster – [email protected]
David Morse – [email protected]
Craig Rutan – [email protected]
2017 ASCCC SPRING PLENARY SESSION – SAN MATEO, CA