February 6, 2012
Accreditation news for Cuesta College can be found on the following press release.
February 4, 2011
Cuesta College Makes Progress on Accreditation Status
The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACCJC), took action to continue Cuesta College’s probation status, while noting that the College has made progress and has completely satisfied some of the ACCJC recommendations.
Cuesta College remains an accredited institution throughout the process, meaning the College’s classes, past and present, are transferable to other four-year colleges and universities.
A news conference is scheduled today at 2:30 p.m. in the president’s office in Building 8000 on the San Luis Obispo campus.
Cuesta College has satisfied two of the ACCJC’s recommendations involving Board of Trustees policies and the leadership and governance structure of the College. Continued progress is required for the remaining four recommendations that involve long-term planning and assessment, technology resources, long-term financial planning and administrative capacity, according to the report.
“Although I am extremely disappointed with the Commission’s action, it is consistent with the visiting team report in that we have not completely ‘fixed’ some deficiencies that were identified by the previous teams,” said Cuesta College Superintendent/President Dr. Gil Stork. “The Commission’s recommendations do not reflect on Cuesta’s outstanding faculty and exemplary student services.”
The report from the ACCJC did praise Cuesta College for the progress it has made and extended the deadline for resolution “because the institution has completed much of the work necessary to address these issues.”
The next step for Cuesta College will require continued progress on the remaining four recommendations – progress which will be detailed in a follow-up report to be submitted to ACCJC by Oct. 15, 2011. Following that report, another accreditation team will visit Cuesta College in November, and the ACCJC will meet again in January 2012 to re-evaluate the College’s progress.
“I know this continues to be an arduous task, but I am confident that we will complete our compliance obligations, our accreditation will be reaffirmed and the College will no longer be on sanction status,” said Dr. Stork.
October 14, 2010
Cuesta College completed our Follow-up Report and submitted it to the accreditation team members on Tuesday, October 5, 2010. The two team members (listed below) will visit on November 5, 2010 to verify that there is evidence to support the actions taken to address the recommendations.
Dr. Andreea Serban (Chair)
Superintendent/President
Santa Barbara City College |
Mr. James Barr
Senior Research Analyst
American River College |
February 5, 2010
Cuesta College received notice from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) on February 3rd, that the college has been placed on probation.
The college is and will remain an accredited institution throughout the response process.
"I want to assure our students and the community that Cuesta College remains accredited," said Dr. Gil Stork, Cuesta College Superintendent/President. "We take the process and outcomes of the Accrediting Commission’s findings very seriously. We will focus our responses on the recommendations and take corrective actions within the established timeline."
For additional information about accreditation, please go to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) website: http://www.accjc.org/
Cuesta College was placed on warning status in January of 2009 by the ACCJC with recommendations to make improvements in nine areas. The announcement was followed by a report filed by the college and a site visit in October 2009. Based on the findings of that report and the site visit, the ACCJC took action to place the college on probation.
Moving forward, Cuesta College will continue to improve on the recommendations made by the ACCJC and file a follow up report by Oct. 15, 2010. Another site visit will occur by mid November, and recommendations will be made based on the college’s continued progress. The ACCJC will review the visitors’ findings and adjust the college’s accreditation status accordingly, releasing their findings in a report in late January or early February of 2011.
"It is my responsibility to provide leadership to our excellent faculty, staff and administration to meet this challenge," said Dr. Stork. "We will bring our college up to the standards established by the Accrediting Commission."
Cuesta College will provide accreditation updates on this web site when appropriate.
For additional information, please contact A. Cathleen Greiner, Ph.D., Assistant Superintendent/Vice President Academic Affairs anna_greiner@cuesta.edu, or 805-546-3122.
