The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges has disgraced itself again

The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges sometimes shows more interest in protecting board members, insurance companies and lawyers than in helping students.

In San Diego, the ACCJC got involved in the bizarre scandal at MiraCosta College, in which the majority board members eventually spent about $1.5 million on an out-of-control investigation of $305 of stolen water. Then it spent another $1.5 million on lawyers and a settlement that was invalidated in court.

The ACCJC also silenced minority board members on the board by threatening to take away the college's accreditation if they continued to speak out. Apparently they did this in order to protect the majority board members and San Diego County Office of Education's Diane Crosier and her pal Daniel Shinoff.

See all posts for Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).

U.S. faults panel that criticized City College of San Francisco
U.S. Department of Education gives the panel a year to correct problems after it comes under fire for moving to revoke accreditation of City College of San Francisco.
By Carla Rivera
LA Times
August 14, 2013

A panel that moved to revoke the accreditation of City College of San Francisco is under fire, accused of violating several federal regulations in its review of the campus.

In a letter to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, the U.S. Department of Education took issue with many aspects of the agency's review process, including the lack of faculty on its teams, among others.

The accrediting agency decided in July to end City College's official recognition next year after finding that the two year-school had failed to improve its fiscal planning, administration and student support services, among other programs.

If the college, the largest in the nation, loses its accreditation, it also could lose state aid and could close. It remains unclear, however, what effects the education department's letter may have on the status of City College.

The accrediting agency was faulted for not clearly identifying deficiencies and allowing the college to be out of compliance with standards for more than two years. And the department identified the appearance of a conflict of interest because one of the evaluating team members was the husband of commission President Barbara Beno.

Beno could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The commission was given one year to correct the issues "in order to avoid initiation of an action to limit, suspend or terminate ACCJC's recognition," Kay W. Gilcher, director of the Department of Education's accrediting group, wrote in the letter that was sent Tuesday.

The education department launched its inquiry after faculty unions filed a 300-page complaint. On Wednesday, the faculty groups urged the commission to withdraw its action against the 78-year-old institution.

"This letter powerfully validates our complaints … and confirms what we have known now for some time, that the ACCJC has operated as a rogue agency and created a climate of fear and retaliation throughout the community college system," Joshua Pechthalt, president of the California Federation of Teachers, said during a telephone news conference.

The accrediting commission, a private, nonprofit regional agency that is part of the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges, must be recognized by the federal government to review colleges. An application to renew its authority will be heard in the fall.

In a press release, the commission said it was disappointed in the department's findings and would make "necessary policy changes to appropriately address the department's concerns."

But the agency said the findings included some factual errors. It defended its actions, saying, for example, that it acted in a "timely fashion" in moving last month to terminate City College's accreditation after a 2012 review.

The commission also questioned the department's finding on faculty representation, saying "directions to accreditors remain vague and will require clarification."

California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris appointed a special trustee last month to govern the multi-campus institution, which traditionally has served more than 80,000 students annually.

The Department of Education doesn't have the authority to require the commission to change any accreditation decision it has made, spokeswoman Jane Glickman said.

Many educators and others have become concerned at the large numbers of community colleges cited by the commission for failing to maintain standards.

Harris created a task force to study ways to smooth accrediting procedures at two-year schools. Rather than wade into the commission dispute, he is focused on fixing the problems that exist at City College, spokesman Paul Feist said.

On the first day of classes Wednesday, enrollment of about 25,800 students was down 10% compared to last fall, Feist said. Fallout from the accreditation fight is one of many factors for the decline that officials said could also include more people choosing to work rather than attend college.

A City College faculty representative said spirits on campus were lifted somewhat by the recent events.

"The first day of the semester is really about focusing on students, getting them into classes, so the excitement of that first day of school is really there," said English instructor Alisa Messer, who is president of the campus faculty union. "The mood is relatively positive even under challenging circumstances."

The board majority damaged MiraCosta College

From the North County Times

February 12, 2008

We are being poorly served

By: LEON P. BARADAT - Commentary:

The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges has just issued a warning to MiraCosta, long lauded nationally as a model community college, for breaches of leadership and governance. Unless remedied, these infractions can cost the college its accreditation. Without accreditation, students cannot transfer their credits to universities and are denied government loans or scholarships.

Not many years ago, John Petersen, then Accrediting Commission executive director, volunteered that he saw MiraCosta College as among the very best in the state. He also asserted a good college can be improved only marginally by an excellent president, but a bad president could quickly ruin a good one. How, then, did MiraCosta fall from such a lofty station to seeing its accreditation jeopardized?

MiraCosta's precipitous descent is attributable mainly to two entities: the Board of Trustees and the local editorial pages.


The four members of the MiraCosta board's perpetual majority (Carolyn Batiste, Charles Adams, Rudy Fernandez, and Greg Post) deny responsibility for current problems, foisting blame on the board minority (Gloria Carranza, Jacqueline Simon and Judy Strattan). While both factions have made mistakes, to be sure, the majority's actions have clearly ruined MiraCosta's reputation and status. After all, they are the majority; it's their policies that have been implemented.

From refusing to tell the public truthfully about their shabby treatment of loyal, dedicated employees, to arrogantly refusing to admit when they were wrong, to abandoning the long-established culture of consultation with faculty and staff ---- these trustees have violated MiraCosta's once vaunted culture of collegiality and the public's expectation of good government.

The North County Times also has some responsibility for this sad affair. Although reporters Philip Ireland and David Garrick were quick to assess the situation at MiraCosta, the NCT editorial board apparently has not digested their articles. The editors seem stuck in a 1950s time warp, refusing to seek the truth.

With scant contradiction, the NCT has repeatedly given voice to its own uninformed editorial writers and to irresponsible community gas bags, each of whom has badly distorted the truth. Indeed, during the past two-and-a-half years of controversy, which has seen numerous innocent MiraCostans sacrificed, I have read only a tiny number of commentators in the NCT who appeared knowledgeable about the unfolding crisis.

The MiraCosta board majority and the North County Times have served the people badly in this tragedy and owe each of us an apology and an immediate change of course.

-- Leon P. Baradat was a professor of political science at MiraCosta College between 1970 and 2003 and a member of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges between 1992-2000. He lives in Oceanside.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/13/opinion/commentary/19_04_232_12_08.txt

Carolyn Batiste of MiraCosta College wants to "put away," not "dig up" the past; This is a recipe for repeated disaster

Carolyn Batiste is smart enough to know that history repeats itself if nothing is done to change basic structures. Batiste worked closely with corrupt lawyers, and helped to cause the problems that caused MiraCosta College to hemmorhage money and morality the past several years.

But she doesn't want to examine her mistakes. Neither do MiraCosta's insurance companies and their lawyers, who make a lot of money when things go wrong.

If crimes were committed by the college, such as extortion against Julie Hatoff, then it seems that Carolyn Batiste is trying to cover them up.

Get rid of Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz, Ms. Batiste. Insist that Diane Crosier at SDCOE-JPA provide the college with ethical lawyers. If Crosier won't do that, then you should go elsewhere for liability insurance.

This is what North County Times write Philip K. Ireland wrote yesterday:

http://nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/09/news/coastal/21_26_742_8_08.txt

Hendrickson said two recent workshop meetings have targeted the issue of board cooperation: a January retreat that focused on state open meeting laws, and a meeting last Tuesday to help board members understand the college's cycle of planning and budgeting. However, during both meetings, trustees blamed one another for the last two years of turmoil, underscoring the continuing deep divide.

Board President Carolyn Batiste acknowledged the problem but said the board needs to keep moving forward.

"I thought (the commission report was) right to the point and reminded us once again that we must put away the things that have mired us down," Batiste said.

She said that she and Hendrickson will meet with the leaders of key campus groups to hear their concerns.

However, Batiste said she would resist efforts by minority board members and employees to "dig up the past," referring to the turmoil of the last two years.

"Discussing actions that have already taken place (does) not allow the momentum to get us where we need to be," Batiste said. "There is no going back."