Report 2013-123 Recommendation 9 Responses

Report 2013-123: California Community College Accreditation: Colleges Are Treated Inconsistently and Opportunities Exist for Improvement in the Accreditation Process (Release Date: June 2014)

Recommendation #9 To: Community Colleges Chancellor's Office

The chancellor's office should monitor community colleges for issues that may jeopardize accreditation. To the extent that the chancellor's office believes it needs additional staff to accomplish this task, it should develop a proposal for the fiscal year 2015-16 budget cycle that identifies the specific activities it would undertake to find and correct issues that could lead to sanctions of the community colleges and identify the staffing level needed to conduct those activities.

1-Year Agency Response

The 2014-15 State Budget provided the Chancellor's Office with nine additional positions and $2.5 million in local assistance funds to provide greater oversight, intervention, and assistance to the colleges. The 2015-16 State Budget recently provided an additional 6 positions and $15 million in local assistance funds to advance these efforts. These resources will allow the Chancellors' Office to more proactively identify struggling colleges and then provide appropriate intervention and assistance. While not exclusively focused on accreditation deficiencies, much of this work will address issues that are critical to accreditation. To date we have hired a Vice Chancellor for Institutional Effectiveness, a newly established position, and additional staffing to support these efforts. We have also contracted with College of the Canyons to implement the local assistance portion of this initiative. Teams of expert practitioners from across the California Community College system have been recruited to serve on resource teams that visit colleges and assist in improving institutional effectiveness. Thirty-eight site visits will be performed by the end of the 2015-16 fiscal year. A set of "leading indicators" to measure the operational health of colleges have been developed and are being used to monitor colleges and identify areas of concern. With the recent funding augmentation, we will provide expanded professional development opportunities for college personnel to build expertise and skills to promote effective operation of our colleges. While these efforts will be expanded and refined over time, the letter and spirit of this recommendation have been achieved.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

The 2014-15 State Budget provided the Chancellor's Office with nine additional positions and $2.5 million in local assistance funds to provide greater oversight, intervention, and assistance to the colleges. These additional resources will allow the Chancellors' Office to be more proactive in identifying when a college is struggling and then providing appropriate intervention and assistance. While not exclusively focused on accreditation deficiencies, much of this work will address issues that are critical to accreditation. The Chancellor's Office is currently in the process of hiring these new staff and developing the technical assistance services that will be supported by the local assistance funds. We have hired a Vice Chancellor for Institutional Effectiveness, a newly established position, who will oversee these efforts. We have also contracted with College of the Canyons to implement the local assistance portion of this initiative. As the Chancellor's Office works to implement these expanded functions, we are reviewing where additional resources might be needed in order to provide appropriate oversight and assistance to the colleges. Requests for additional resources to assist in these efforts will likely be proposed by our office in the 2015-16 budget process.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

The 2014-15 State Budget provided the Chancellor's Office with nine additional positions and $2.5 million in local assistance funds to provide greater oversight, intervention, and assistance to the colleges. These additional resources will allow the Chancellors' Office to be more proactive in identifying when a college is struggling and then providing appropriate intervention and assistance. While not exclusively focused on accreditation deficiencies, much of this work will address issues that are critical to accreditation. The Chancellor's Office is currently in the process of hiring these new staff and completing the contracts necessary to expend the local assistance funds. As the Chancellor's Office works to implement these expanded functions, we are reviewing where additional resources might be needed in order to provide appropriate oversight and assistance to the colleges. Requests for additional resources to assist in these efforts will likely be proposed by our office in the 2015-16 budget process.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2013-123

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.