Northwest Commission on College and Universities (NWCCU)
Annual Update for WSQA
Academic Year 2014, 2015
Due November 6, 2015
College Name: Tacoma Community College
Contact Person: Dr. Mecca Salahuddin
Contact Phone: 253. 566.5124
Contact email: msalahuddin@tacomacc.edu
Accreditation recommendations to the
College and year of recommendation
The institutions accreditation
documentation can be viewed at:
http://www.tacomacc.edu/abouttc
c/accreditation
Tacoma Community College’s
regional accreditation was
reaffirmed on July 17, 2014 on the
basis of the Spring 2014 Year Seven
Mission Fulfillment and
Sustainability Evaluation. In
reaffirming accreditation, the
Northwest Commission on Colleges
and Universities (NWCCU)
requested TCC address
Actions taken by the college to address
recommendations
Recommendation 1 –
In 2015-2016, TCC made significant steps
to address Recommendation 1 by
approving several additional positions:


Social Sciences Faculty - To
address program review, low
completion rates in 101, and
expand and build WRAC
curriculum.
Written Communications Tenure
Track (3)- To address program
review, low completion rates in
101, and expand and build WRAC
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Improvement results
Recommendation 1 in an Ad Hoc
Report without a visit in Spring
2017 and Recommendation 2 in an
Ad Hoc Report in Fall 2015.

The Recommendations are as
follows:
Recommendations
1. The evaluation committee
recommends that the
College seek strategies to
address the workload
created by the 15 percent
increase in enrollment since
2009, coupled with the
reduced staffing that
occurred when employees
retired or resigned and were
not replaced due to the
double-digit reduction in
state funding since 20072008. The College’s
increased emphasis on
creating an environment of
continuous improvement
and a culture of assessment
and evidence may generate
additional workload. The
institution must employ a
sufficient number of
qualified personnel to
maintain its support and
operations functions
(Standard 2.B.1)
2. The evaluation committee
recommends that for each







curriculum.
Education Transfer Tenure Track To provide full-time faculty in
program
Physical
Science/Engineering - To address
the need due to increase in
student FTEs in the program
Math Tenure Track - To address
the need as a high priority in the
program review
Biology Tenure Track - To address
the need as a high priority in the
program review
lnformation Technology Tenure
Track - To address the need as the
highest priority in the program
review librarian Tenure Track - to
support hybrid and online
programs and courses,
instructional activities, student
research and technology, & the
development of the literary
collections
lnternational Admissions
Coordinator - Source of funding
change only. 50%to come from
Operating Budget.
Customer Service Coordinator One full time staff to replace three
hourly staff in order to provide
consistent and efficient service.
Program Manager for Access
Services - To address the
increased ADA needs of our
students.
Human Resources Consultant lncreased volume of recruitment
2
year of operation, the
College undergo an external
financial audit and that the
results from such audits,
including findings and
management letter
recommendations, be
considered, in a timely,
appropriate and
comprehensive manner by
the Board of Trustees
(Eligibility Requirement 19
and Standard 2.F.7)

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
and screening due to faculty/staff
increases and turnover.
Application Developer - To
support continued enhancement
of the College's visibility on the
web and social media.
Foundation Operations
Coordinator
Counselor - increase availability
during the summer
In addition, TCC leadership is engaging
the Board of Trustees in conversations
around a target FT/PT faculty ratio with
an intent to improve those ratios with
additional faculty.
Recommendation 2 - In a letter dated March
26, 2015 Interim Accounting Services
Director Joann Wiszmann for the
Washington State Board for Community
and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) informed
the College Presidents they would be
moving to an annual preparation and
submission of financial statements.
Based on this decision, in May 2014,
along with 8 other Washington state
community colleges, TCC was scheduled
for an audit of our 2013-2014 financial
statements during the 2015 winter
quarter. Due to staffing issues the State
Auditor’s Office (SA0) was unable to
conduct the audit.
Upcoming Plans to Address
Recommendation 2
Since the 2013-2014 financial statement
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was not audited in winter quarter 2015
and the 2014-2015 financial statements
are scheduled to be audited during the
2015-2016 year, the SAO requested that
both the 2013-2014 and 2014 -2015
financial statements be audited together.
Given the two-year timeframe prescribed
in the NWCCU reaffirmation letter to
address and resolve Recommendation 2,
TCC will provide an update on the results
both the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015
audits to ensure we remain in compliance
with the Commission’s Standards and
Eligibility Requirements.
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