In an unexpected turn of events, the U.S. Department of Education is threatening to “limit, suspend or terminate” federal recognition of the accrediting commission that has threatened City College of San Francisco with shut down next June.
In a six page letter to the Barbara Beno, president of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), the Department of Education said that the commission needed to take “immediate action” to correct several areas of non-compliance with federal regulations. The letter came in response to a 200 page complaint filed by California Federation of Teachers against procedures and actions taken by the commission in ordering the shut down of City College unless it is able to respond more fully to a series of concerns raised by the commission in its accreditation review. The California Federation of Teachers is the union representing faculty and other staff at City College,
In its response to the complaint, federal officials found that several aspects of the commission’s accreditation review process did not meet the U.S. Secretary of Education’s criteria for providing recognition to an accrediting commission. ”We have determined that in order to avoid initiation of an action to limit, suspend or terminate ACCJC’s recognition, ACCJC must take immediate steps to correct the areas of non-comopliance identified in this letter,” the letter signed by Kay Gilcher, director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Accreditation Group, concluded.
Concerns raised in the letter included the commission only having one academic represented on