Hartnell Faculty, Staff Rift Blasted: Accreditation Team Says Discord Needs Fix

By Claudia Mel, The Monterey County Herald, Calif.

Mar. 23–Hartnell College faculty and staff received a stern warning from a visiting accreditation team, a group of community college professionals who expressed deep concerns with the rift between administrators and teachers.

Although the 10-member team of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges found much to praise about the 10,000-student college, it also witnessed the entrenched division between faculty and staff — evidenced by the school’s strike in the fall — a chasm it said needs to be bridged if the institution is to move forward.

In the accreditation team exit report, which Napa Valley College director Christopher McCarthy read to about 45 teachers Thursday afternoon, the college learned there are issues that were not resolved from the previous accreditation process six years ago.

The college was told in 2000 to update all of its course outlines and to make its governance more “transparent,” something that has not occurred.

“This is a matter of utmost importance,” McCarthy said.

The team also advised the college to work in several areas: Develop a code of ethics that would serve as the basis for constructive dialogues between faculty and administrators; agree upon a consistent program and budget review; plan a process for staffing and maintenance of new and old buildings; address declining enrollment and deficit spending; and develop a better method to evaluate student achievement.

The group found issues with the behavior of the board of trustees, saying they had not followed procedure at times.

But the team praised the college for its implementation of Measure H and the buildings the school bond made possible, such as the new library; for its partnership with the agriculture industry to start its new agricultural program; and for the evident enthusiasm of teachers and administrators to serve the students.

“We find a vibrancy that’s not diminished, a shared dedication among faculty and staff,” McCarthy said.

The report was nothing new for administrators and staff members, who are still trying to rebuild relationships in the campus after a five-day strike in October. Before and after the walkout, the first in the school’s history, teachers and students had been pointing to what they called the administration’s lack of transparency as well as the lack of opportunity to have input in school affairs.

The accreditation team spent four days on campus. Members of the team interviewed students and faculty, visited the King City campus, held two open forums and talked to members of the board of trustees. Their visit is part of a comprehensive review that takes place every six years to re-affirm the accreditation of universities and community colleges.

Accreditation is needed for students to be eligible to receive financial aid and for their courses to be transferable. Once earned, colleges rarely lose their accreditation.

After the report was read, the accreditation team quickly left the building without answering questions. The team’s evaluation is part of a comprehensive evaluation process that becomes final in June, when the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges makes public its final recommendation.

The commission has a range of choices in making evaluations, including reaffirming accreditation or placing schools on warning or probation.

Despite the admonishment, Faculty Association President Christine Svendsen said she did not expect the college to be severely penalized.

“We won’t lose accreditation,” she said. “Maybe we’ll be given a warning or put on probation. Too much good is happening here. It would be a severe blow, and we don’t anticipate that happening.”

Hartnell College president Ed Valeau, who announced two weeks ago that he is leaving at the end of June, described the report as a “call to return to where we want to be and do what we do best. We’re a good institution.”

As far as the school not complying with the 2000 recommendations, Valeau said he wanted to learn more specifics before making a comment.

“There are things we have done. To what degree we’ve been effective, I don’t know,” he said.

Claudia Melendez Salinas can be reached at 753-6755 or cmelendez@montereyherald.com.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Monterey County Herald, Calif.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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