Updated Jan. 5 to correct Brice Harris’ opinion
A judge gave City College of San Francisco a break in it efforts to remain open, ruling that the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges cannot revoke the school’s accreditation without a trial or further court order.
The consequences of closing City College, which serves nearly 80,000 students, would be “catastrophic,” San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis E.A. Karnow wrote in a 53-page ruling issued Thursday. “The impact cannot be calculated and it would be extreme,” Karnow wrote. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera requested the injunction in an August lawsuit.
Last June, the accrediting commission voted to revoke the school’s accreditation on July 31 unless it fixed a number of ongoing financial and management violations of standards. Since then, the college has been under the administration of a special trustee.
The City Attorney accused the commission of violating the state’s unfair competition law and creating a conflict of interest by stacking the evaluation team that reviewed City College with people predisposed to supporting the commission’s action, not including enough college professors on the team, and placing the commission president’s husband on the evaluation team.
The suit also accused the commission of failing to give the college a clear and detailed report indicating where it was out of compliance with standards and didn’t give the school enough time to make the improvements.
Although the judge indicated that no one claimed that the commission would have reached a different decision with a different evaluation team, he suggested that in a trial the City Attorney would be able to prove that some of the commission’s practices were unfair or illegal. A spokesman for Herrera’s office said a trial date could be set this month.
In the same ruling, Karnow rejected a motion by Herrera to halt the commission from sanctioning any of the state’s 112 community colleges. He also denied a motion by the teacher’s union to reinstate City College’s accreditation.
The judge also rejected a pre-trial request for a stay of his ruling by the commission, which argued that it was premature since the college still has time to make the needed changes and to appeal the commission’s action through administrative procedures.
State community college Chancellor Brice Harris took no position on the City Attorney’s lawsuit but, in a letter to Herrera, wrote that he’s concerned that characterizing the court cases as “a “last-ditch” effort to “save” City College are inaccurate and will do additional damage to the college’s enrollment.” Between 2012 and 2013, City College’s enrollment dropped by nearly 13 percent. Harris outlined all the progress that City College has made toward retaining its accreditation and wrote that “court intervention is not necessary to keep City College open.”
To get more reports like this one, click here to sign up for EdSource’s no-cost daily email on latest developments in education.
Comments (2)
Comments Policy
We welcome your comments. All comments are moderated for civility, relevance and other considerations. Click here for EdSource's Comments Policy.
Paul 10 years ago10 years ago
It is incredibly hard to fail a US-style accreditation review. Institutions self-certify, writing whatever they want in a "self-study" report and putting on a nice show for a team of distinguished guests who lack the time, the inside knowledge, the bad manners, and the authority to question the institution's claims. At worst, the team will include a few gentlemanly suggestions -- usually devoid of objectively measurable goals -- in its report. Repeat in several years' … Read More
It is incredibly hard to fail a US-style accreditation review. Institutions self-certify, writing whatever they want in a “self-study” report and putting on a nice show for a team of distinguished guests who lack the time, the inside knowledge, the bad manners, and the authority to question the institution’s claims. At worst, the team will include a few gentlemanly suggestions — usually devoid of objectively measurable goals — in its report. Repeat in several years’ time.
That City College of San Francisco’s wanton spending, its overempowered but underworked senior faculty, and its hapless management were noticed is a miracle.
The court’s decision does not bode well: when you can’t fake it convincingly anymore, just sue the accrediting agency.
I hope that students will see through this and take their tuition dollars — which account for a rapidly increasing share of any California community college’s budget — to institutions run for the benefit of students, not of senior faculty members.
De-accreditation would not have severe consequences. A neighboring, still-accredited institution (there’s one in each county bordering San Francisco) simply purchases the failed institution and resumes academic service using the same facilities, and many of the same people.
Karen Saginor 10 years ago10 years ago
This injunction will strengthen the ability of CCSF to attract and keep students because it promises that fairness and the rule of law will protect the college from an accrediting commission that has not been fair to CCSF so far. This will be even more important in a few months than it is now. Since no-one expects the January ACCJC meeting to reverse the July 2014 revocation, it will all come down to the June, … Read More
This injunction will strengthen the ability of CCSF to attract and keep students because it promises that fairness and the rule of law will protect the college from an accrediting commission that has not been fair to CCSF so far. This will be even more important in a few months than it is now. Since no-one expects the January ACCJC meeting to reverse the July 2014 revocation, it will all come down to the June, 2014 meeting of ACCJC – with results not announced until early July. We will have ended the Spring 2014 and be half way through our summer session before we know whether ACCJC, that has given us nothing but harsh treatment to date, will or will not grant us a Fall semester. The injunction puts our fate in the hands of the state court, a much more reliable authority than ACCJC, a private organization whose leaders have characterized their struggles with CCS as the classic battle between good and evil.