ACCREDITINGCOMMISSION
for
COMMUNITY
and
JUNIORCOLLEGES
Westem
AssocietionofSchoolsandGo/leges
10COMMERClALBOULEVARD
SUITE20.1
NOVATO,CA9d949
TELEPHONE:(415)506·0234FAX:(4151;";;06·0238E·MAIL:
accJc@occjc,org
WWW.OCCj\;")Ig
CholrpersonMICHAEL
T.
ROTAUnIversIty·of
HowOII
vlcechorporscn
SHERRILL
l.
AMADOR
PublicM9mberPre~ldent
BARCARA
li"
BENO
Vice
Ple~:dent
SUSANS,
CUFrORD
VicePreSident
KRISTAJOHNS
VicePresident
GARMANJACKPOND
AssocioteVicePresident
JOHN
NIXON
Associate
Vice
Presldenf
NORVALv·/ELlSfRY
July2,
2012
Dr,PamilaFisher
InterimChancellor
CityCollegeofSanFrancisco50PhelanAvenueSanFrancisco,CA94112DearChancellorFisher:TheAccreditingCommissionforCommunityandJuniorColleges,WesternAssociationofSchoolsandColleges,
<It
itsmeetingJune6-8,2012,consideredtheinstitutionalSelf
Study
Report,
the
reportoftheevaluationteamwhichvisitedCityCollegeofSanFranciscoMonday,March12-Thursday,March
J
5,
2012,andtheadditionalmaterialssubmittedbytheCollege.TheCommissioniscompelledtoorderShowCauseandtorequirethattheCollegecompleteaShowCauseReport
by
March15,2013.Thereportwillbefollowed
by
avisitofCommissionrepresentatives,CityCollegeofSanFranciscoisalsorequiredtoprepareaClosure
Report
byMarch15,2013,
whichistobesubmittedwiththeinstitution'sShowCauseReport.TheCommissionalsorequirestheCoJlegetodevelopanoverall
plan
ofhow
it
willaddressthemission,institutionalassessments,planningandbudgetingissuesidentifiedinseveralofthe20]2evaluationteamrecommendations,andsubmita
SpecialReport
describingthe
plan
by
October
15,2012,1
CityCollegeofSanFranciscounderwentacomprehensiveevaluationinapplicationforreaffirmationofaccreditation;reaffirmationisdelayedduringtheShowCauseorder.TheaccreditedstatusoftheinstitutioncontinuesduringtheperiodofShowCauseanduntiltheCommissionactstoterminateaccreditationorwhenissuesthatgaverisetoShowCauseare
fully
resolvedandtheinstitutionisremovedfromsanction,ShowCauseisissuedwhentheCommissionfindsaninstitutioninsubstantialnon-compliancewiththeCommission'sEligibilityRequirements,AccreditationStandards,orpolicies,orwhentheinstitutionhasnotrespondedtotheconditionsimposed
by
theCommission,CityCollegeofSanFranciscomustshowcausewhyitsaccreditationshouldnotbewithdrawnbytheCommissionatitsJune2013Commissionmeeting,whichisscheduledtooccuronoraboutJune
10,by
demonstratingthat
it
hascorrectedthedeficienciesnoted
by
theCommissionandisincompliancewiththeEligibilityRequirements,AccreditationStandards,and
Commissionpolicies,The
burden
of
proofrestson
tl1~
institutiontodemOl!5tntewhyItsaccreditationshould
QC
continued,
Page1
of8
........•..
II.
T'".....
-,.JU['1P'1
.
-l~
Or.PamilaFisher
CityCollegeofSanFranciscoJuly2,2012
Sincethe
loss
ofaccreditationwouldlikely
cause
CityCollegeof
SanFranciscotoclose,
during
the
show
causeperiod,theCollege
must
makepreparationsforclosureaccordingtothe
Commission's
PolicyonClosingonInstttutton.
ShowCausewas
ordered
forCity
College
ofSan
Francisco(CCSF)because
theCollege
has
[ail
ed
to
demonstrate
that
itmeetsthe
requirementsoutlinedina
significant
numberof
Eligibility
Requirementsand
Accreditation
Standards.
It
hasalsofailedtoimplementtheeightrecommendations
ofthe
2006
evaluationteam;five
ofthese
eightwereonlypartiallyaddressed,
and
threewere
completelyunaddressed.
The
College
is
remindedthatan
institutionisexpected
to
fullyaddress
all
of
the
recommendations
ofa
comprehensiveevaluation
team
before
the
nextcomprehensiveevaluationvisitoccurs.Initsdeliberations,the
Commission
consideredthecontentoftheEvaluationReport,includingitsfindings>conclusions,
and
recommendations.Forspecificreferencetothe
Eligibility
Requirements
andAccreditationStandardsthatCCSFwas
found
by
the
evaluation
teamandtheCommission
notto
meet,either
fullyor
partially,theinstitutionisreferred
totheEvaluation
Reportwhich
connectseach
ofitsfindings,conclusions,andrecommendationstotheapplicable
Eligibility
Requirements
andAccreditation
Standards.
TheEvaluation
Report
foundlittleevidenceofthe
ongoing
assessment,
integrated
planning)
financing/budgeting,andimprovementthatisrequiredofan
accredited
institution.The
Commission
alsonoted
thatthe
funding
basefor
CCSF
appears
tobeinadequatetosupport
themissionofthe
collegeas
it
is
currently
conceived.The
institution
has
notimplementeda
planningprocessthat
connectsthe
resuJts
ofitsownneedsassessmentstothebudgetingprocess)andinsomecasesreliessolelyongrantsandcontractstoprovideresources
for
what
shouldbebasicoperational
expenses,Thisisdocumentedin
many
placesintheEvaluation
Report,includingthe
following
statement:"Theteamwasunabletoconfirmthat
CCSF
maintainsanddocumentsafundingbase,financialresourcesandplansforfinancialdevelopmentthatareadequatetosupport
student
learning
programs
andservices,
to
improve
institutionaleffectiveness,
andtoassurefinancial
stability.
n
(Evaluation
Report,page
18)TheEvaluation
Reportalsostatesthat,"thecollege
has
notmadeprogresstoaddressalong-
standingpatternoflatefinancialauditsanddeficitspending,whichharmthefinancialintegrityoftheinstitution."(Evaluation
Report)
page5)TheCollegehasnotadequatelyrespondedto
prioryearauditreports.(EvaluationReport,page56)The
Commission
isconcernedabouttheinstitution
I
sabilitytosuccessfullyadapttothcchangingresourceenvironment
facingpublic
community
colleges
andbelieves
thatthe.Collegehasnotdemonstrated,throughitsreviewof
the
institutionalmission,adequateattentiontotheimpact
onqualityastheresourceshavedeclinedwhile
broad
breadth
ofits
mission
hasbeen
maintained.
The
Report
states"Thelackof
self-examination
andfailuretoreacttoongoingreducedfundinghascausedtheinstitutionto
reach
aIinancialbreakingpoint.
Page
2
of8
{I'"--
Dr.PamilaFisherCityCollegeofSanFranciscoJuly2,2012TheCollege'sunrestrictednetassets
arc
inadeficitpositionforthethirdconsecutive
year
andthedeficitcontinuestogrow.Withoutsufficientcashflowandreservestomaintainfinancialstabilityandrealisticplansforthefuture,CCSFwillbechallengedtomaintainfinancialsolvency."(EvaluationReport,page55)Theinstitution's"shortrangefinancialplansdonotincorporateplansforpaymentoffutureliabilities.Thelong-rangeliabilitiesthathavenotbeenconsideredincludepost-employmentmedicalbenefits(OPEB)andasubstantialunderfundingofthedistrict'sworkerscompensationself-insurancefund.TheseliabilitiesclearlyareathreattothefinancialstabilityoftheCollege,Theprimaryreasontheseissuescannotberesolvedisbecausethe
unrestricted
general
fund
salariesand
benefitsexceed92%
of
thetotal
expendituresexcludingtransfers.Theremaining8%issimplynotadequateforallotheroperationsandmaintenance."(EvaluationReport)page56)TheCommissionisconcernedaboutadequacyofadministrativeleadership.Manyoftheadministrativestaffpositions,includingtheChancellorposition,arefilled
by
temporaryemployees,andtheColJegelacksadequatenumbersofadministratorswiththeappropriateadministrativestructureandauthoritytoprovideoversightandleadershipfortheinstitution'soperations,(EligibilityRequirement5)TheEvaluationReportnotesonpage27,"severalbarriers
to
governance
and
resolutionoffinancialissues
that
prohibit
the
effectivefunctioningofsomedementsofthe(planning)system."TheEvaluationReportalsonotesthatthereis"indirectresistancetoboardandadministrativedecisionmakingauthority."(EvaluationReport,page5)
The
CommissionrequiresthattheCollegetakethenecessarystepstoaddresstheadequacyandqualityofadministrativeleadership,ensurethatthereareappropriatelydefineddecision-makingrolesandresponsibilities)andthegoverningboardpayssufficientattentiontomaintainingeducationalqualityandadequatefinancialresourcestosupporttheeducationalmission.TheCommissionisconcernedthatleadershipweaknessesatalllevels,andestablishedcampusprecedentsforgovernancestructures,decision-makingprioritiesandprocesses,havekeptCity
CollegeofSan
Francisco
from
adaptingtoitschangedandchangingfiscalenvironment.TheCommissionrequirestheinstitutiontoactquickJyanddecisivelytomakeneededchangesingovernanceanddecision-makingprocesses.Someoftheinstitution'schallengesinmeetingAccreditationStandardswereidentifiedthroughtheeightrecommendationsofthe2006evaluationteam.The2012evaluationteamfoundthatCityCollegeofSanFranciscohadonly
partially
addressedfive,andcompletelyfailedtoaddressthreeofthe
eight
recommendationsprovided
by
the
2006
evaluationteam.
City
CollegeofSanFranciscohasnotdemonstratedan
ability
toaddressevaluationteamrecommendationsinatimelymannerandtherebyhasnotdemonstratedconsistentandreliablecompliancewithEligibilityRequirementsandAccreditationStandards.The2012evaluationteamhasrepeatedmuchofthecontentandintentofthe2006evaluationteam'srecommendationsasannotatedin
this
actionletter.Page3of8
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Letter to San Francisco City College
Accrediting Commission letter to City College of San Francisco Chancellor Fisher.
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