Two colleges revisit accreditation requirements

New long-term educational plans and oversight committees are being implemented on two local community college campuses in response to warnings earlier this year that accreditation standings could be lost if a list of fixes were not addressed.

In January, the College of San Mateo and Cañada College in Redwood City were put on warning by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. A visit in October will check on the progress made on the campuses to make improvements in two main areas: Creating an educational master plan and writing standards students should learn during each course. A follow-up report on changes will go before the San Mateo County Community College Board of Trustees tomorrow. Losing accreditation is a long way from becoming a reality. If it did happen, however, students’ credits may not be accepted at other institutions.

All three colleges in the San Mateo County Community College District were visited for accreditation last October. Schools are revisited every six years. Skyline’s accreditation was reaffirmed. It will be visited in two years. Cañada and CSM, on the other hand, will be visited this October.

Nearly 90 pages are used to outline the changes on the two campuses. It is one of two required follow up reports on Oct. 15 of this and next years.

"I’m really proud of the way this college responded,” said CSM President Michael Claire who pointed out the recommendations dealt with planning rather than the academic rigor of the school. "We had over 50 faculty, staff, administration and students actively involved in one way or another. This was a lot of work in a very short amount of time and we accomplished it.”

Planning and the need to make data-driven decisions raised concerns among those on the accreditation team, according to the ACCJC report. All three campuses need to complete a write-up of the outcomes expected from all courses, including classes taken remotely like online or via television.

In response, Cañada is revisiting the student learning outcomes and assessment cycle, called SLOAC, which is faculty centered. It plans to integrate student services and instructional assessments, which were previously separate. Reviewing programs will be an annual process, officials said.

CSM took a different approach by establishing PRIE, office of planning, research and instructional effectiveness, headed by the dean of planning with plans to foster and enhance instructional programs on campus, according to the staff report. PRIE already developed a number of data in areas such as high school trends, CSM student demographics, student performances, student success rates and distance education.

This information will directly affect future planning, explained Vice President of Instruction Susan Estes.

Cañada and CSM also needed to create educational master plans. For CSM it was a matter of updating an outdated plan.

One change was the addition of objectives under general goals with strategies of how to achieve those targets. The first year of planning will serve as a base for measurements of success in upcoming years, according to the report.

Cañada’s plan includes: The technology plan, bond-funded projects; resource allocation guidelines, descriptions of student support services and an analysis of space needed to house projected growth, according to the staff report.

A small portion of the accreditation teams will revisit the campuses in November.

To read the full report visit www.smccd.net and download the board packet.

The board meets at noon Wednesday, Sept. 24 at the District Office board room, 3401 CSM Drive, San Mateo.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.