As City College of San Francisco (CCSF) continues to be scrutinized since the warning of a possible campus closure issued by the Committee of Accreditation, Skyline prepares for their upcoming evaluation.
Even with all the problems clouding around CCSF, there was shockingly not an increase of enrollment here at Skyline. With CCSF less than 10 miles away, you would think students would be swarming to nearby colleges.
Currently 10,167 students are enrolled this semester at Skyline, whereas last spring we had 10,795 students.
“What role the possible closure of CCSF has played in our current enrollment is difficult to say without doing some additional analysis.” said David Ulate, Interim Dean of Office Planning, Research & Institutional Effectiveness.
CCSF was put on warning for several reasons, some of which had been around for some time. They had failed to fix shortcomings that the commission had required them to. The downfall of this institute was a lack of action on the policy level instead of micro-management elsewhere, such as individual class schedules, planning issues and government problems.
“We are very different from City College of San Francisco.” said Donna Bestock, co-chair of Accreditation Steering Committee. “Be assured that we expect a very positive result from our accreditation process.”
Accreditation is a system designed to insure the quality of education and encourage consistent progress within that institution. It was developed by higher-education institutions to evaluate and certify institutes that could provide degrees or certificates that students and the community can trust.
The process of accreditation happens periodically every 6 years, in which the institution must plan years prior to the arrival of the committee.
The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior College (ACCJC) falls under the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), one of the six regions under the United States system that is recognized by federal government.
The commission likes to focus on the policy procedures confirming that students are receiving the proper knowledge from the curriculum through assessments also known as Student Learning Outcome (SLO). The SLO is a continuous improvement log that is demonstrated and done so systematically, to exceed the accreditation committees’ expectations. It is also documented in each Program Review.
“Basically that is what an assessment is, this is what we want the students to learn, here’s how we show that in fact they have learned it, this is what we are going to do on the bases of that data to make the course more responsive to student needs.” said Bestock. “Then you go back and assess it again.”
Program Review also lists alongside of schools’ strengths their suggestions for improvements. Some of which were new and exciting classes offered this semester such as Hip Hop: Culture and Politics, Dance Appreciation and History of Latinos.
These courses were added to satisfy the needs of students during this transition of providing AA-T degrees (Associate in Arts for Transfer).
“I think it’s an improvement especially if it’s credited and people are able to transfer those units to universities.” said Skyline Student Jennie Lyn Tolentino.
As each department begins to complete their Program Review, the writing process had already begun since last spring. This Friday marks the deadline for the first draft written by the Accreditation Writing Team that consists of faculty, administration and students. The review documents every standard that has been met and show how they’re actually being met.
A great way for students to be involved with accreditation and have a sparkling transcript would be to join the writing team. Student writers contribute immensely by investigating and checking how much of the standard was completed and followed through.
“We would truly appreciate if students stepped up and help us help them take charge of their institutional atmospheres,” said Bestock.
It is one of the most significant documents that allow Skyline to operate and for students to help write for their institute would also greatly benefit them in the future. Students are able to join the writing team and may do so by contacting Dean Donna Bestock or the AAAJC.
Once the first draft is reviewed, an open forum for the whole college campus will take place on October 4. At the open forum anyone can project their comments about the document. The next draft of corrections would be released to the campus.
This upcoming spring 2013 in the beginning of May, the document would be taken to the four governing bodies: Associated Student Council, Management Council, Academic Senate and Classified Council. Then it is sent to college council, which is the umbrella group, so each of the four. On approval, it is finally then we send to the board of trustees.
