Skyline College was given accreditation following the visitation of the WASC team last October.

The team was on campus Oct. 22-25, 2007, where they examined the campus, talked to over 100 students, teachers, administrators, and district personnel and observed the way that the campus functions. College of San Mateo and Canada College were also visited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges team; however they were both issued warnings. This means that they have been given a set of suggestions that they need to improve upon before the next accreditation cycle, or they will be at risk of losing their accreditation.

“We are thrilled that we received official confirmation of reaccreditation,” said Ray Hernandez, co-chair of the 2007 steering committee in an email. “The college community came together to participate in this self study. It was a collaborative effort which was evident in the self study document.”

While in the process of preparing for the visiting team the schools had to conduct a self-study, which had them take a look into the way they manage things, and how they can improve themselves, or what they are doing well.

According to the Affirmation of Accreditation letter that was sent to Skyline President Victoria Morrow, the team requires a progress report from Skyline. This is a common requirement from the team, because it helps the school in preparing for the next cycle, and it lets the team know that any suggestions made are being put to work.

At the district level there were some suggestions made, that were noted in the Affirmation of Accreditation letter, such as having the district and the colleges meet regularly to monitor the effectiveness and institutional success.

The team said that the Skyline self-study was well-written, and well organized, as well as accurately reflecting the college’s strengths and weaknesses, in the Visiting Team Final Evaluation Report.

Also included in the report were the suggestions made specifically for Skyline, which includes the school submitting new documents that will outline the online classes, and make sure that they meet the requirements held by the WASC team, establish and publicize a standard of professional ethics for all of the college personnel, and that the college makes a clear plan on how decisions are made.

The accreditation process is ongoing, and Skyline is already taking the suggestions made by the team and putting them into practice.

“Though the written portion is complete and the reaffirmation of accreditation has been awarded, the process continues as we move self recommendations forward to make this college better for its students and the community,” said Hernandez.

CSM and Canada have also been given suggestions specified for their campuses, and will have to put those suggestions into action in order to keep their accreditation.