President’s Desk

• Commission President, Dr. Barbara A. Beno posts communications to member institutions on this page. You can also find letters sent to the field listed by date and topic.

  FEDERAL UPDATES
  

  • Institutional researchers and planners can now look at the USDE Plan for IPEDs data on 2-year college students.
  • The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has developed an Action Plan for Improving Measures of Postsecondary Student Success which includes recommendations for expanding reporting data in IPEDS to better reflect student outcomes at 2-year institutions.
  • NACIQI Final Report on Accreditation (April 2012)
  • Alternative to the NACIQI Draft Final Report 2012
  • The USDE released Guidelines for accreditor recognition for 2012.
  • President Beno's letter regarding the NACIQI Draft Report on the Future of Accreditation and the NACIQI Discussion Draft: Higher Education Accreditation Reauthorization Policy Considerations (October 18, 2011).

    GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT

  • USDE released the Final Regulations on the Gainful Employment rule on June 1, 2011.  Supplemental information about this rule is available for download here.
  • USDE letter regarding implementation of regulatory requirements related to Gainful Employment Programs. 

     STATE AUTHORIZATION and CREDIT HOUR
  

  • The USDE has announced it will not enforce provisions of state authorization.
  • The USDE Dear Colleague letter of 7-27-12 reveals the Department of Education will not move forward to enforce distance education provisions of the state authorization regulations.  See the WCET discussion of implications from this decision.
  • 10 Steps You Can Take to Begin the State Authorization Process, WCET Blogpost by S. Basu Conger, M. Boeke, S. Thompson, R. Poulin and Others (May 17, 2012).
  • A contact list for state authorization is available on the SHEEO (State Higher Education Executive Officers) website: http://www.sheeo.org/stateauth/stateauth-home.htm.
  • USDE letter clarifying the enforcement of State Authorization regulations.  
  • ACCJC is a signatory of letters submitted by the American Council on Education (ACE) on April 26, 2011, to Congress members, requesting assistance in blocking regulations introducing a federal definition of 'credit hour' and state authorization.  The letters are available for download here:   ACE Letter April 26, 2011   ACE Letter April 26, 2011   A letter to Deputy Under Secretary J.R. Kvaal is available for download here.
  • Letters from the USDE explaining new federal regulations on state authorization and on credit hour, that include President Beno's letters to the field in regard to each.
  • ACCJC is a signatory of  letters submitted by the American Council of Education on March 2, 2011 and February 16, 2011, to Secretary Arne Duncan expressing concerns about the establishment of a federal definition of 'credit hour' and state authorization regulations.
    
  • ACCJC is a signatory of a letter submitted by the American Council of Education on March 10, 2011, to Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, Ms. Virginia Foxx expressing concerns about the regulations to establish a federal definition of ‘credit hour’ and expand state authorization requirements. 
   
     PROPOSED RULEMAKING
  
  • The ACCJC is a signatory of the response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) posted in the Federal Register July 26, 2010, Docket ID-2010-OPE-0012 submitted by the American Council on  Education on September 9, 2010.  The response was submitted jointly by over 60 higher education associations and accrediting agencies. 
  • The ACCJC is a signatory of the response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) posted in the Federal Register on June 18, Docket ID-2010-OPE-0004 submitted by the American Council on Education on August 2, 2010.  The response was submitted jointly by over 70 higher education associations and accrediting agencies. 
  • The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) was passed by Congress in September 2008. This describes what is new for accreditation in the act.
  • The HEOA, Negotiated Rulemaking, and Accreditation
    
   
  OTHER MESSAGES FROM THE PRESIDENT
   
  • ACCJC Announcement of Commission Vacancies and Request for Nominations-Applications.
  • ACCJC External Evaluation Team Responsibilities for Compliance with USDE Regulations HEAO 2008 including 2010 & 2011 regulations Interpreted through July 2012.
  • Accreditation and Trustees Roles and Responsibilities.  Dr. Beno's presentation to governing board members at the California Community College Trustees (CCCT) Annual Conference, May 2012.
  • Announcement of Commissioner Election Results_June 2012.
  • Invitation for comment at the Commission's hearings on the review of Accreditation Standards and practices from Commission Chair and President; Suggestions for Change to the Accreditation Standards and practices form.
  • Commission Chair Mr. Michael T. Rota's November 9, 2011 letter to college Superintendents, Chancellors and Presidents regarding Accreditation Standards review.
  • The New Ecology for Higher Education: Challenges to Community College Accreditation, a paper prepared for ACCJC/WASC by Dr. Peter Ewell (NCHEMS).
  • The Commission has developed a document that introduces Twelve Common Questions and Answers About Regional Accreditation meant to provide basic information about regional accreditation to college staff and students. 
  • On March 4, 2011, U.S. Senator Durbin asks 60 accrediting agencies, including the ACCJC, for an explanation of standards they use to ensure quality at colleges and universities. 
  • Commission President Dr. Barbara Beno's August 27, 2010 letter to member institutions regarding the U.S. Department of Education's finding on ACCJC's compliance with federal regulations.
  • The findings of the 2006-07 External Review Committee, which examined the implementation of the 2002 Accreditation Standards, are published in Quality Assurance: A Formative Review.  The Review presents the general findings in 3 areas – college implementation of the Accreditation Standards, team evaluations of colleges using the Standards, and Commission support to improve the college implementation of the Standards. 
  • Regional Accreditation: Changing Roles and the Impact for Community and Junior Colleges. An interview with President Barbara Beno by WCET-WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies.
  • Toward Effective Practice-Discouraging Degree Mills in Higher Education published by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in June 2009.
  • Summary of Data about Colleges on Sanction, January 2013
  • Summary of Data about Colleges on Sanction, January 2012
  • Summary of Data about Colleges on Sanction, January 2011
  • Summary of Data about Colleges on Sanction, January 2010
  • Summary of Data about Colleges on Sanction, January 2009