Wednesday, February 1, 2006

The accreditation "Action Letter" has arrived!


just heard the news: the accrediting agency's "action letter" re Irvine Valley College arrived today. I suspect that Saddleback College's letter arrived today too, and that its content will be similar to what I describe here.

Essentially, the letter requires a progress report, due on October 15, followed by a site visit in about a year.

You'll recall that, a year ago, the ACCJC gave both colleges the lowest passing grade. Accordingly, we were compelled to respond to various recommendations. (Normally, a college at most is expected to turn in a three year report.)

In IVC's case, there were eight recommendations, and, arguably, the most serious of these were 6, 7, and 8. #6 concerned board micromanagement, #7 concerned unclarity concerning the "roles and responsibilities" of the various governance groups, and #8 concerned the "plague of despair" that afflicts the colleges.

This latest round of Accred spankage concern those three recommendations, which means that the ACCJC was less than impressed with our efforts to respond to the problems perceived in these three areas.

This result is a vindication of faculty (and other governance groups) and a rebuke of specifically the Board of Trustees and Chancellor Mathur.

But now things are getting serious. If Mathur and the Board don't shape up fast, we could end up with serious accreditation trouble. Keep in mind that Compton College had its accreditation pulled, not because of the faculty or classified, but because of its trustees and top administrators. If those people screw up, then everybody, including students, pays the price.

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