What Does the Accreditation News Mean to Me?
The Board,
Administration,
Faculty, and Staff
take the order to
“Show Cause”
sanctioned by the
Accrediting Commission for Community
and Junior Colleges
(ACCJC) very
seriously. We know
that you, your fellow
classmates, and our
communities are
counting on us to
return the College to
full accreditation
status.
President Carrizosa
has appointed a
Accreditation
Response Task Force
which will respond
to each of the
recommendations .
Between October
2013 and January
2014, an evaluation
team and officers
from the ACCJC will
be at our institution
for visits. In January
2014, the report and
the findings of the
visits will be evaluated by the Commission. It is our plan
and expectation that
the problems will be
resolved and that
our institution will
be taken off the
Show Cause list.
For More Information:
www.cos.edu/accreditation
Prospective Student
Q. What is accreditation?
A. Accreditation is the process for evaluating and assuring the quality of education used by
the higher educational community. Community colleges, like COS, go through the accreditation process every six years by Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior
Colleges (ACCJC) which is a division of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
(WASC). The process focuses on self-evaluation, peer review, and quality improvement.
Accreditation allows all coursework by College of the Sequoias students to be transferable
to other accredited institutions.
Q. What does “Show Cause” mean?
A. Under this designation, COS has until October 2013 to “show cause” for why we should
continue as an accredited institution by correcting all areas of non-compliance. Failure to
achieve this compliance will result in the ACCJC revoking the College’s accreditation at the
end of the Spring 2014 semester and will result in college closure. We take this very
seriously, and we expect that we will be able to address and solve the identified by the
Commission.
Q. What happens to my classes for the 2013-2014 semester?
A. COS will continue to operate throughout the academic year. The College will continue
to be accredited, you will still have the same eligibility for financial aid, and the courses you
take will still be accepted as articulated courses--meaning that where applicable, they will
be eligible for transfer credit. During the Spring 2014 semester, we expect that the institution will have met the necessary steps and processes to be removed from “Show Cause.”
Q. I’ve heard COS might close, what does that mean?
A. We at COS take the “Show Cause” very seriously. We are doing the necessary work to
return the college to full accreditation status. COS would only close if we are unsuccessful
in this process, but we believe that other institutions that have been in this situation that
we will overcome this obstacle.
Q. Is COS the only community college that has had such sanctions?
A. No, and while many institutions have been on Warning, Probation, or Show Cause for
similar situations, many have also had the additional burden of fiscal insolvency and board
issues--neither area for which COS received sanctions.
Q. What if I have a specific question I don’t see on this list?
A. Please email [email protected] and your question will be answered.
Q. What exactly are the problems?
A. The ACCJC ruled on seven recommendations. The following is an overview, but the
report and specific information can be found on the College’s Accreditation website.
Planning
Campus
Dialogue
Research
Capacity
Student
Learning
Outcomes
(SLOs)
Integrate,
strengthen,
and formalize
planning
process for
continuous
improvement
Create
dialogue that
embodies a
culture of
respect,
civility, and
trust.
Use research
to provide
data to guide
decisionmaking for
institutional
effectiveness
Use SLOs to
improve
student
learning and
strengthen
institutional
effectiveness.
Student
Support
Services
Human
Resources
Processes
Evaluation
of
Processes
Insure
equitability of
student and
library
services for
evening,
online, and
Center
students.
Improve
hiring
procedures
and create
linkages
between
employee
evaluation
and
Improvement.
Integrate,
strengthen,
and formalize
planning
process for
continuous
improvement