At-Risk Colleges in the ACCJC Region

The Commission Actions and Status page of The Follow-Up Report has been revised to incorporate the June 2009 actions of the Commission. New charts have been added to illustrate the 2003-2009 trends. The following charts illustrate the trend for an increased proportion of ACCJC colleges being classified as at-risk:

Sixty-seven schools have been sanctioned (Warning, Probation, or Show Cause status) by the Commission one or more times between January 2003 and June 2009. In other words, half (49.3%) of the schools in the ACCJC region have been sanctioned within a seven-year period. An additional fifty-five schools (40.4%) had to have their continued accreditation status confirmed through a Follow-Up, Interim, Progress, or Focused Midterm Report showing progress on resolving issues of concern to the commission. Only 14 schools (10.3%) had their accreditation affirmed or reaffirmed without first being sanctioned or required to submit a confirmation report.

The average number of schools sanctioned per year increased by 364% from 2003 (5.5 schools) to 2009 (25.5 schools) with the average percentage of schools sanctioned per year increasing from a low of about four percent (2003) to a high of over eighteen percent (2008 and 2009).

ACCJC June 2009 Commission Actions

The June 2009 actions of the ACCJC Commission are now available on the "Recent Commission Actions" page of their website and some colleges have already posted copies online of their action letters and corresponding accreditation reports. The "Action Letters and Reports" page of The Follow-Up Report has been updated with the latest actions and available links for each college. The following table summarizes the actions of the Commission for 2009 (click on the image to see a larger version of the table):

The June 2009 actions will soon be added to the analysis and charts on the "Commission Actions and Status" page of The Follow-Up Report. Meanwhile, it is interesting to note that over 300 degrees, programs, or certificates were submitted for substantive change approval in June for exceeding 50% or more delivery through a distance or electronic delivery mode (more than twice the number submitted for approval in January). It appears that the rumors and warnings of a "rampant creep" of offerings to online delivery without the required prior approval of the Commission may have been accurate. I wonder how many colleges are currently auditing their offerings and writing after-the-fact requests for substantive change approvals? How many more should be? How much additional catch-up time will the Commission give us before it starts issuing sanctions?