Letter to ACCJC
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has expressed various concerns with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) regarding faculty participation and representation on the Commission’s committees and on on-site evaluation teams through a variety of means, including resolutions passed by the body, concerns expressed to the California Community College
Chancellor’s Office, and the Board of Governors, and letters sent by the Academic Senate to the U.S. Department of Education (USDE)1; and
Whereas, The ACCJC expects its member institutions to reflect honestly and critically about areas identified as being non-compliant with Commission policies and accreditation standards and to address them in a timely manner;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges urge the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges to model and exemplify for its member institutions effective and transparent self-evaluation practices by acknowledging and addressing any areas of non-compliance identified in evaluations by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) Accreditation Group and the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Improvement (NACIQI), and to document and make public what steps it will take to address any areas of non-compliance.
MSC
1. Official expressions of concern about lack of faculty representation on ACCJC teams and committees include resolutions passed by the body dating back to 2004 that describe inadequate faculty representation on accreditation visiting teams, a letter sent in 2010 by then-President Jane Patton expressing concerns about the ACCJC not observing its bylaws regarding faculty appointments to the ACCJC Commissioner Selection Committee, and a third-party comment sent to the USDE in September 2013 by President Beth Smith describing the ongoing concerns the Academic Senate has with the ACCJC with respect to faculty representation.