Accjc gone wild
Parallel to Compton College
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- July 8, 2013 CFT Remarks to the Board of Governors
Parallel to Compton CollegeThe Commission review letter in the case of the denial of accreditation at Compton College does not give much hope for a solution in the arena of Commission Review. As in all of their letters, the level of sheer arrogance and intransigence on the part of the Commission is nothing short of shocking. It is possible that an appeal to the ruling could serve a purpose although the appeal board is appointed by the ACCJC. If it chooses people that have already drunk the Kool Aid, it may be that the appeal is also denied. This will leave the Department of Education to act or the college or the CFT takes the case to court. The setting up of a Special Trustee to run the college is exactly what was done in Compton. In Compton, the Commission actually used the fact of the Special Trustee to assert that the College did not have a functioning board and was thus in violation of Standard One and deserved to have their accreditation removed. The Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) was called in to look at the financial situation in San Francisco and it was also involved in tearing the college down in Compton. In San Francisco the FCMAT team found what they believed to be problems with a general lack of fiscal controls which make the college vulnerable to fraud although no fraud was found. Also decision which affect the college’s finances are of made in order to keep peace in the college. The lack of institutional memory due to the rapid turnover of administrative staff was also mentioned. Comments Before the California Community College July 8, 2013 CFT Remarks to the Board of Governors“Board of Governor’s Public Meeting Regarding Agenda Items AA July 8, 2013 Comment of Monica Henestroza, Legislative Director, CFT on behalf of the California Federation of Teachers, AFT, AFL-CIO Good afternoon: My name is Monica Henestroza and I am appearing on behalf of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) regarding Agenda Item AA involving creation of a special trustee at the San Francisco Community College District. I ask that my written comments, which I will provide to the Board, be made a part of the record of this proceeding. The CFT and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) local 2121 vehemently oppose the decision of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) to deny accreditation to the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) effective July 2014. This punitive action by the Commission denying accreditation to CCSF, coming on the heels of numerous protests over serious conflicts of interest by the Commission’s president and other representatives, and violations of Federal and State law, reveals the extent to which the Commission is out-of-touch with its primary mission of working collaboratively with member colleges in order to assist them in meeting Federal requirements for the benefit of their students. The Commission needs to be opened up to a rigorous and thorough review of their approach to the accrediting process by our elected leaders and the government bodies responsible for overseeing the Commission. ACCJC’s decision to terminate CCSF’s accreditation is certainly its most appalling decision, but the entire California community college system has been victimized by the high-handed, arbitrary and vindictive approach that has characterized the work of the Commission under its current leadership for the last decade. Although we applaud Chancellor Harris and the Board of Governors for taking steps to appeal this unjust decision, we have both doubts and questions about the actions being taken today. Most notably, in the case of disaccreditation of Compton Community College District, the ACCJC determined that the College was in violation of Standard One because it did not have a functioning board of its own. In affirming its 2005 disaccreditation of Compton, the Commission specifically relied on the continued appointment of a special trustee to disaccredit, writing: ‘The Commission notes that the Chancellor chose to extend [the authority of the special trustee] in June 2005 rather than returning the operations of Compton to its Board of Trustees.’ Ultimately, we have a tremendous level of skepticism that the accreditation climate for California community colleges can normalize or that the educational futures of the Bay Area’s deserving students can be restored as long as ACCJC is allowed to continue operating with its current leadership and no effective oversight. Since last summer City College has turned itself upside down to address the ACCJC’s demands. Much has been achieved, but still CCSF, which has served so many so well, is now facing extreme risk of a completely unnecessary closure. More than 80,000 students would be denied access to the quality education CCSF provides. We are additionally concerned that today’s action by the Board of Governors will contribute to significant downward pressure on this fall’s enrollment. Without aggressive community outreach and a comprehensive public relations plan geared to bolster enrollment -- something the administration over the last year failed at miserably -- a downward spiral of enrollment decline followed by loss of funding leading to shrinking the number of course offerings and then fewer students, etc., could ensue. We hope that in the days and weeks ahead we will witness a new commitment to openness, transparency and accountability that will lead to a real inclusive process allowing for the many dedicated people at the college and throughout the Bay Area to lend their support and participate in a process of renewal and rebuilding of this vital California resource. The CFT and AFT 2121 believe a robust, thorough, and transparent accrediting process conducted by qualified and legitimate educators -- and that engages the entire education community -- is critical to develop workable short and long term strategies for strengthening academic achievement. We want CCSF to be an even stronger, better college. And we want an Accrediting Commission that follows state and federal law and its own policies and procedures and that works in partnership with its member institutions.” Dean Murakami, representing FACCC, called for the recognition of the need for a functioning Board of Trustees at CCSF using the example of Compton College when the State Chancellor appointed a Special Trustee to run the district. Jim Mahler, president of the CFT Community College Council, recommended that the Board of Governors not pass the motion at this meeting. This would leave time to fully consider the effect of this move on the accreditation of CCSF. Richard Hansen of the California Community College Independents supported the other speakers and backed up the point regarding the hard work done by the faculty at CCSF. A student spoke in favor of not acting on the motion at this meeting but give time for students to be represented. Scott Lay of the CCLC spoke in favor of the motion. He did not feel that it attacked the autonomy of local districts. The six members of the Board of Governors present voted in favor of the motion to add language to regulations which allow for the appointment of a Special Trustee. The Board of Governors lawyer stated that the new language could also allow the Board to appoint a Special Trustee for a college on any level of sanction. Since the change is an emergency change it will come back at the next Board meeting for first reading and could be changed at that point. A number of speakers including CCSF Trustees, faculty, and students from CCSF spoke against turning the college over to a Special Trustee. They outlined the positive changes that have been made at CCSF in the last year as well as the high quality education that is offered at the college. The Board then approved the appointment of a Special Trustee for CCSF. Chancellor Harris suggested that the Special Trustee will appoint a permanent Chancellor for CCSF at least by October of 2013. He stated that it will also be important to appoint other permanent administrators at CCSF. Bob Agrella, the current Special Trustee, will be appointed to be the new Special Trustee. How long he will be in the position is not known at this time. Chancellor Harris and his team will have daily interaction with Agrella. 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