143
AGENDA ITEM BACKGROUND
TO:
GOVERNING BOARD
FROM:
PRESIDENT
DATE:
Sept. 17, 2012
SUBJECT:
Accreditation Self Study Update
REASON FOR BOARD CONSIDERATION
ITEM NUMBER
INFORMATION
D.6
ENCLOSURE(S)
Page 1 of 4
BACKGROUND
Cabrillo College is proceeding on schedule with the process of its Institutional Self Study in
Support of Reaffirmation of Accreditation, part of the six-year cycle of accreditation which was
last completed in 2007. The Self Study Report will be presented to the Governing Board in April
of 2013 for Information for feedback and input. The Self Study will come back to the Board in
May 2013 for second reading and approval. The report will be submitted to the Accrediting
Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC) in June 2013. The visiting
accrediting team will visit the College in fall 2013. The two Cabrillo Accreditation Co-Chairs
were appointed in spring 2011: Rory O’Brien, Political Science instructor, as Faculty Co-Chair
and Renée Kilmer as the Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO). In Renee’s absence, Rachel Mayo
has been appointed as the ALO.
Summary of 2007 Accreditation Process
Cabrillo is utilizing an accreditation process that was very successful in 2007. The college was
reaccredited for the maximum six-year period in 2007. At that time, the AACJC approved full
reaccreditation for Cabrillo on the consent agenda without comment. The 2007 report included
four commendations (for our rich culture of open dialog, for the innovative Digital Bridge
Academy [now known as the Academy for College Excellence], for the Cabrillo College
Library, and for the college’s valuing accessibility). The visiting team had only four
recommendations for the college. Each of these recommendations has been fully implemented:
1. The team recommends that Student Support Services develop and implement student
learning outcomes and measurements for all its departments, collect and analyze the
data, and link the results to planning and program improvement.
This recommendation has been fully implemented. The program planning information for
Student Services is available on the Cabrillo website:
https://www.cabrillo.edu/services/studserv/StudentServicesProgramReviewsandSLOs.html
2. The team recommends that the next master plan include an emphasis on planning for
distance education and all off campus sites with regard to instruction and support
Administrator Initiating Item:
Rachel Mayo, Dean Education Centers
Academic and Professional Matter
If yes, Faculty Senate Agreement
Senate President Signature
 Yes  No
 Yes  No
Final Disposition
144
services. Further, the master plan should address the evolving classified needs in light of
new technologies, facilities expansion, and operational needs.
The current Cabrillo Strategic Plan explicitly includes planning for distance education
and off campus sites. This portion of the recommendation has been fully implemented.
With respect to evolving classified staffing needs, the college has implemented and
utilized a shared governance classified prioritization process in times when new resources
have been available for distribution. Unfortunately, since 2008 the challenge has been
reducing the college budget and at times reducing staffing. The college has utilized the
Services and Programs Reduction Advisory Committee (“SPRAC”), a committee of the
College Planning Council (“CPC”), to develop thoughtful, difficult plans to address
staffing priorities in a time of shrinking resources. This portion of the recommendation
has also been fully implemented.
3. The team recommends that the college adopt a formal reserve policy. The college should
establish a clear financial reserve policy to protect the financial stability of the college in
support of institutional effectiveness.
Immediately following the 2007 site visit, the Governing Board revised Board Policy 4030 to
establish a minimum operating reserve consistent with the recommendations of the California
Chancellors Office (currently five percent [5%]). In each year since the site visit, the college has
maintained the 5% general operating reserve. This recommendation has been fully implemented.
http://www.cabrillo.edu/services/president/Board%20Policies%20and%20Administrative%20Re
gulations/400099%20ARs%20and%20BPs%20rev%20dates%20AdminServices/4030BPBudgetPrepFeb08.pdf
4. The team recommends that the college update the “Governance Manual” to reflect the
current governance processes used by the constituent groups of the college. The college
should describe the charge of the committees and the composition and membership and
how often they meet.
Through an ongoing collaborative effort, the Governance Manual has been completely updated
and now is posted on the Cabrillo website. This recommendation has been fully implemented.
http://www.cabrillo.edu/services/president/Governance%20Manual.html
Process and Institutional Dialogue
The process to develop the 2013 Self Study report is an inclusive, college-wide endeavor that
takes place over two years, starting with the designation of the co-chairs in spring 2011 and
continuing through summer 2013. The institutional dialogue, intended to be a group discussion
among colleagues to explore complex issues and reach a collective understanding that leads to
greater group insight, has been ongoing in the meetings of the accreditation standard teams to
lead to a better grasp of what it means to be a learning-focused institution.
2
145
In fall 2011 the first meeting of the Standard Co-Chairs was held, and teams meet regularly
throughout the semester. Two drafts of the standard chapters have been reviewed so far, and the
final drafts will be submitted by December. The teams are busy gathering evidence, reviewing
the goals from the last Self Study, and discussing the guiding questions provided by the AACJC.
Accreditation Standards
The following chart shows the four accreditation standards, the eleven sections they contain, and
the co-chairs for each standard. In addition, there is a Student Learning Outcomes chapter that
the College is including in the report.
Standard 1: Institutional Mission and Effectiveness
Alex Taurke, Mathematics instructor
IA: Mission
Stephanie Stainback, Laboratory Instructional Assistant, Alternate Media
Dale Attias, Instructional Program Analyst
IB: Improving Institutional
Michael Booth, Accounting/Finance instructor
Effectiveness
Standard II: Student Learning Programs and Services
Wanda Garner, Dean, Natural and Applied Sciences
IIA: Instructional Programs
IIB: Student Support Services
IIIC: Library and Learning
Support Services
Standard III: Resources
IIIA: Human Resources
IIIB: Physical Resources
IIIC: Technology Resources
IIID: Financial Resources
Michael Mangin, President, Faculty Senate
Margery Regalado, Dean, Counseling and Educational Support Services
Barbara Schultz-Perez, Director, Counseling
Georg Romero, Library Director
Victoria Bañales, Basic Skills Coordinator & English instructor
Barbara Shingai, Assistant Director, Human Resources
Dave Reynolds, Mathematics instructor
Joe Nugent, Director, Facilities Planning and Plant Operations
Gary Marcoccia, Director, Engineering Technology/Welding
Dan Borges, Director, Information Technology & Planning and Research
Francine Van Meter, Director, Teaching and Learning Center
Graciano Mendoza, Director, Business Services
Ray Kaupp, Director, Santa Cruz County College Commitment
Standard IV: Leadership and Governance
IVA: Decision-making Roles Melinda Silverstein, Executive Director, Cabrillo College Foundation
Jim Weckler, Dean, Business, English, and Language Arts
and Processes
Sarah Doub, Division Coordinator, Natural and Applied Sciences
Rachel Mayo, Dean of Education Centers
Debora Bone, Director of Allied Health & Stroke and Disability Center
IVB: Board and
Administrative Organization
Chapter on Student Learning Outcomes
Marcy Alancraig, SLO coordinator and English instructor
Sue Nerton, Program Chair, Computer & Information Systems/Computer Science
Accreditation Themes of Quality
Certain themes of quality are found throughout the AACJC standards of accreditation. One of the
most salient is that institutional planning process should be integrated and tied to evaluation and
the distribution of resources for the purpose of improving student learning. Another is that
evidence should be presented to show that student learning outcomes and administrative unit
3
146
outcomes should be measured and assessed on a regular basis so that improvements can be made
to college processes and programs in order to improve student learning. An important element of
the institutional planning cycle is dialogue, intended to involve the whole college community in
examining quantitative and qualitative data to determine how well the institution is meeting
student needs and to consciously make student learning the focus of resource allocation and
process improvement at the College.
4