CCSF ACCREDITATION FIGHT

Resolution calling on ACCJC to grant CCSF full accreditation is endorsed by AFT 1493, Chancellor Galatolo and the San Mateo County Central Labor Council

Faculty at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) have been circulating a detailed petition to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), calling on the Commission to fully accredit CCSF until the next time it would be normally evaluated, which is 2018. The resolution has been endorsed by Chancellor Ron Galatolo, AFT 1493 and, on September 15, by the San Mateo County Central Labor Council (SMCCLC). Endorsees have also sent their endorsement of the resolution to the ACCJC.

The resolution explains the purpose of accreditation and how the ACCJC has been empowered.  It then explains the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) goal for accreditation and lays out the findings of the ACCJC’s 2012 visiting team whose findings strongly suggests that CCSF exceeded the U.S. DOE goals for accreditation because, among other things, it offered “high-quality instruction” and “comprehensive” student services.  The resolution questions the ACCJC’s claims about the poor state of CCSF’s finances.

It provides other descriptions offered about the better than average educational programs at CCSF.  It then covers many of ACCJC’s own deficiencies as pointed out by the U.S. Department of Education and a state government audit of the ACCJC and indicates that the ACCJC, according to a judge, engaged in “significant unlawful practices” when deciding to close CCSF.  It ends by describing how the state-imposed special trustee was extremely critical of CCSF and how he said things about the college to the ACCJC that encouraged the ACCJC to close CCSF.  However, under oath, last year, he declared CCSF to be in substantial compliance with accreditation standard.

The resolution concludes that CCSF should be fully accredited so that this extremely questionable accreditation crisis can be brought to an end.

The full resolution can be read here.