Accrediting agency under federal pressure to be tougher on community colleges - by Louis Freedberg
The commission that accredits California’s community colleges, and has ordered City College of San Francisco to prepare for possible closure, has come under pressure from the federal government to make sure that the colleges under its jurisdiction comply in a timely way with the deficiencies it identifies. If it does not, the commission risks losing its federal “recognition” as a legitimate...
The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges has been the target of vigorous criticism over the past decade for being too tough on California’s community colleges – or too lax.
The ACCJC is the accrediting agency for public and private colleges offering two-year associate degrees in California, Hawaii, and also in Pacific territories such as Guam.
For main story on the ACCJC, go here.
Tensions between the community colleges and the commission have increased in recent years in tandem with the larger number of sanctions imposed on colleges seeking renewal of their accreditation.
In 2005, for example, the California Federation of Teachers passed a resolution saying the commission was “a private organization that is accountable to no one it serves.” In 2006, the head of the Peralta Federation of Teachers, the union representing faculty and other staff at four East Bay community colleges, accused the commission of being “out of control.” In 2010, the Academic Senate representing faculty at all 112 colleges considered introducing a motion of no confidence in the commission, but withdrew it after circulating it widely. Earlier this year, the Academic Senate