Friday, April 25, 2008

Huh? Accrediting "process audit" to be conducted at Irvine Valley College

.....I just got word that the Accrediting agency—ACCJC—is sending someone to Irvine Valley College right away for a “process audit.” The audit, which could take two or three weeks and is expected to be completed by the end of the semester, involves an examination of documents and records along with interviews.
.....The point of the audit, of course, is to examine the college/district processes (as opposed to finances) and to determine whether they are what they should be. And since what exists on paper isn't necessarily what exists in reality, interviews are crucial.
.....Many of us feel that the difficulties in our district do indeed concern "process"—something routinely ignored or subverted by a certain powerful administrator—and so this audit may be a very good thing indeed.
.....No word yet on whether the ACCJC is sending a (or this) process auditor to Saddleback College also.
.....Presumably, the audit comes as an unwelcome surprise to the Chancellor, who is already under fire for causing our 50% difficulty and the massive FUBAR that has been the recent full-time faculty hiring initiative.
.....Stay tuned.
.....For those who don’t follow SOCCCD news, here's some background: our two colleges are expected to turn in reports to the accreditors in October, finally satisfying them, after three years, that we have overcome such difficulties as trustee micromanagement and a “plague” of fear, hostility, and despair. If a college fails to satisfy ACCJC that the trustee meddling and "plague" are at long last overcome, it will lose its accreditation.
.....This audit is a strange development indeed. It seems to come from out of the blue.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dude, instead of Jodie Foster, you should use a picture of Bob, and Bob from Office Space.

Roy Bauer said...

You want Bobs? I'm givin' you Bobs.

Anonymous said...

Dear Chunk:

Hi! Is this a special visit by the Accreditation committee? It just doesn't seem that long ago that they were there doing their reports on the Saddleback & IVC. To me this sounds a bit unusual for them to come out a second time during the same school year.:-)

Anonymous said...

Dear Chunk:

Hi! P.S. What could this committee possibly be looking for this time around? I agree w/you in that it does seem to be a bit odd. How often does this accreditation usually come up? Wouldn't this be the 2nd visit this school year? Have they ever done this before?:-)

Anonymous said...

ACCJC is not sending anyone. The district hired a consultant to look at decision making processes at the colleges, district and the Board and suggest improvements.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for clearing this up for me. For some reason it sounded like a separate committee was coming out. How often do they do these sorts of "check ups?" Why in the world was this consultant actually hired? To me it doesn't make sense unless TPTB just want to justify their own actions. Perhaps I'm just too cynical (gee, I wonder how all this came about?)now to trust anyone that this district would hire to look into anything & give advice.:-)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for clearing this up for me. For some reason it sounded like a separate committee was coming out. How often do they do these sorts of "check ups?" Why in the world was this consultant actually hired? To me it doesn't make sense unless TPTB just want to justify their own actions. Perhaps I'm just too cynical (gee, I wonder how all this came about?)now to trust anyone that this district would hire to look into anything & give advice.:-)

Anonymous said...

1:08 am - you are too cynical ;-) have some faith. also get some sleep ;-)

Anonymous said...

Of course I probably just don't understand this entire thing too well. However, I'm beginning to wonder if TIIC only just want to get the feed back that they want to hear. I'm not so sure that they'd listen to any of the suggestions that this committee would give them, especially Goo. They just seem to go through the motions, & do what they want too anyway.:-(

Anonymous said...

I hate to say it, although I am a member of the public I too feel like a victim of the Goo machine & some of the board members since 1996. I have unwittingly become a bit of what they have created, & I'm not so sure I like it, but it's more or less been engrained into my psyche. Can't sleep. Too wired from being out half the evening & overdose of straight root beer.

Anonymous said...

Well, I suppose you could also look at the big picture & that is this corrupt board on top of the paranoia & cynicism that the "W" Administration has created since 2000. Of course, on this board it's the constant reflection of Fuentes (the f*cking bastard) being on this board. Rigged elections, security guards posted @ voting booths (long time ago, but it's the epitomy of the local GOP) and the hiring of the worst chancellor in all of California. Hell, from what I understand Goo is even being laughed at in LA County, like Long Beach.:-)

torabora said...

Your Goo is our Goo way up here in the North part of the state. He is infamous.

You folks need to drop the BDS nonsense. You DO NOT HAVE GOO because of W!!!! You had Goo long before the country had W. Texas had W back then.

You have Goo because you have a bad board.

Pool your money, find candidates, and win those board seats.

Anonymous said...

Give old Goo a break - he's not as bad as you folk make him out to be - just follow every order, provide unwavering loyalty, and keep your trap shut and you'll prosper beyond your wildest dreams ;>)

Anonymous said...

A lot of the ACCJC standards explicitly or implicitly require processes to take a certain form (e.g., open dialogue). If the consultant understands what the ACCJC is looking for and can adjust our processes to better match these expectations, then I'm all for it.

Anonymous said...

More taxpayer money wasted on consultants. Aren't administrators paid big bucks to analyze and improve decision making processes? Instead, the District pays even bigger bucks to consultants to recommend improvements that the administrators are incapable of implelmenting. Does it ever end?

Anonymous said...

Oh, I know that we don't have Goo b/c of "W," however, he is willing to suck up to "W's" buddy Tom Fuentes to meet & greet these GOP politicos. He's been bending over backwards to kiss their asses (especially Fuentes') ever since he was on the SVUSD board of trustees (whom by the way I'd also been informed by a couple of the trustees who worked w/Goo also saw him as a corrupt Neanderthal when he was on that board too) I was just saying that I've become more cynical b/c of the "W" administration as well as the b.s. that has gone on w/this board since 1996. I never really used to be as cynical as I've become before that. Goo is a suck up of the most dangerous kind b/c from what I can see he's not here for the students or the instructors, but instead here to feed his own ego & become what he think is high & mighty among the local GOP. Chancellors are supposed to be as political as he is. The guy is a joke & deserves to be fired, but I don't see that happening unless we can get one more trustee to grow some balls & band together to do this.:-(

Anonymous said...

Of course I'm a bit luckier. I don't have to be this "good little soldier" like Goo expects. I think the only reason I pretend to be cordial to him at all is that a) this is my nature, & b)I don't want him taking it out on the instructors whom I do like in the district. Trust me, from what I've witnessed this guy is stupid & petty enough to do this, so I do what I can.:-)

Roy Bauer said...

The hiring of the consultant and the sending of a "process" auditor are two entirely separate events.

The accrediting agency (ACCJC) is indeed sending someone down, but not to consult. To assess.

Anonymous said...

I hope you're right, Chunk. Maybe the ACCJC will assess before the consultants arrive, come to the conclusion that after 3 years of recommendations the District has no ability to affect change, and save the taxpayers some money by calling off the consultants and taking matters into their own hands. It would be about friggin' time...

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...