The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges is out of control and using its vast power not only to severely impact City College of San Francisco, but in recent weeks it has issued warnings to several other colleges in the state that, if upheld, could lead to the same drastic sanctions. Last month, the ACCJC made the rare decision to revoke accreditation from City College, effective next July. While the school is appealing, the move has already resulted in a sharp decline in enrollment as many of the school's 85,000 students fret about their future. That's unfortunate as the college remains fully accredited now, and classes are being offered.
The loss of accreditation would be a devastating blow. Students would no longer be eligible for financial aid and other colleges and universities wouldn't have to accept completed coursework as transfer credit.
But the chances for a successful appeal are questionable. Rather than have an outside agency investigate City College's case, it turns out that the school can only appeal to the same body that issued the blistering report, the ACCJC. Interim City College Chancellor Thelma Scott-Skillman and Special Trustee Robert Agrella last week sent a letter requesting a review of the ACCJC's "adverse action to terminate accreditation effective July 31, 2014." But appealing to the same body that is investigating you is like having to ask the fox guarding the henhouse. We've written before about City College's work to meet the recommendations that the ACCJC issued last year, but apparently its progress wasn't good enough as the commission issued its revocation letter in spite of new leadership and significant cuts and administrative reorganization.
The Los Angeles Times got it right in an editorial last month, when it noted that while the problems at City College are serious, the ACCJC also bears some responsibility. "[T]he situation also illustrates some of the problems with the accreditation process. It is at times focused more on disciplining schools and obscure governance deficiencies than on the educational issues that matter most," the editorial noted. The paper pointed out in a subsequent story that the ACCJC is a private, nonprofit panel. The federal government authorizes it, but there is not much oversight.
It's time for Community Colleges Chancellor Brice Harris to step in; he's created a task force to study ways to smooth procedures, the Times reported, but in the case of City College, more action is needed.
That brings us to local accountability, which is sorely lacking at the moment. In the last month, Agrella has unceremoniously stripped City College's elected trustees of their power. Board meetings have been canceled and two trustees, Rafael Mandelman and Anita Greer, were dropped from the search committee for the next chancellor. The trustees will only have a role if Agrella sees fit to engage them. And while we understand that Agrella is under tremendous pressure, local voices in the future of City College are critical if the school is to succeed. Canceling meetings only avoids providing a forum for public discussion and comment, and we don't see that as an effective way to garner public support for the school or expressing legitimate criticism with the ACCJC's secretive process.
In an op-ed in this paper a few weeks ago, Mandelman pointed out the harm caused by the ACCJC's determination: depressed enrollment, leading to a decrease in revenue, making it harder for City College to retain existing staff as well as recruit a strong chancellor.
The ACCJC must undertake an unbiased examination of its July 3 decision to revoke City College's accreditation. If it does so, we're confident that it will find that while the school does have tough choices and changes to make, it can continue to be accredited so that students can take courses knowing that they will count toward a degree or job training program. City College is a rich resource that can be saved. The only question is whether a group of education bureaucrats can give it a fair shake.