Accreditation

The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACCJC) accredits community colleges and other associate degree-granting institutions in the Western region of the U.S. The ACCJC is one of seven regional accrediting commissions in the U.S. The ACCJC is authorized by the U.S. Department of Education through the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. 

ACCJC provides a process for third parties to comment on an institution’s compliance with accrediting standards. More information is available at the ACCJC Third Party Comment website.

College of Alameda maintains accreditation by meeting standards established by the ACCJC. Over the course of the (previously six-year) now seven-year accreditation review cycle, the College engages continuously in internal, mission-driven evaluation processes. These are accompanied by regular external peer evaluation and Commission evaluation. Together, these result in continual institutional self-improvement.  Documents produced during this cycle include: a comprehensive Institutional Self-Evaluation Report (ISER), external evaluation report, midterm report, annual reports, and annual fiscal reports.

• 2020-2021 Institution Self Evaluation Rep
• ACCJC Letter 1/27/22
• ACCJC October 2021 Follow-up Report
• ACCJC Action Letter 6/28/21
• Follow-up Peer Review Team Report 11/11/21

Accreditation Site Visit (Virtual): March 1 – 4, 2021

A team comprising peer external reviewers and led by ACCJC representatives will conduct a virtual site visit of College of Alameda in spring 2021. All interested parties are invited to submit comments about College of Alameda to the ACCJC ahead of the site visit by completing a third-party comment form on the ACCJC website.

Accreditation Peer Review Visiting Team Members
College of Alameda will be hosting the Accreditation Peer Review Visiting Team, virtually, during spring 2021. This is a team of professional peers from community colleges throughout the state. Visiting team members review College of Alameda’s Institutional Self-Evaluation Report (ISER) and accompanying documents, conduct interviews with campus groups, and provide insight and support to advance institutional effectiveness and student learning and achievement. Information about the visiting team can be found here.

Accreditation Site Visit (Virtual): March 1 – 4, 2021
A team comprising peer external reviewers and led by ACCJC representatives will conduct a virtual site visit of College of Alameda in spring 2021. All interested parties are invited to submit comments about College of Alameda to the ACCJC ahead of the site visit by completing a third-party comment form on the ACCJC website.

Accreditation Peer Review Visiting Team Members
College of Alameda will be hosting the Accreditation Peer Review Visiting Team, virtually, during spring 2021. This is a team of professional peers from community colleges throughout the state. Visiting team members review College of Alameda’s Institutional Self-Evaluation Report (ISER) and accompanying documents, conduct interviews with campus groups, and provide insight and support to advance institutional effectiveness and student learning and achievement. Information about the visiting team can be found here.

Open Forums During the Site Visit
All community members are welcome to attend one of two Open Forums. These are available for participants to share views with and ask questions of the ACCJC Peer Review Team

2020-2021 ISER Writing Process and Teams

In Fall 2019, Dr. Tina Vasconcellos, Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO), formed the College of Alameda Accreditation Institution Self Evaluation Report (ISER) Teams in collaboration with the President, Executive Cabinet and the Academic Senate. The team was comprised of 75 members including faculty, classified professionals, students and administrators. Team members were invited to join based on their expertise or position on a participatory governance committee. Standard team leads included an administrator and either a classified professional or a faculty member. Each Standard writing team consisted of at least one faculty member, classified employee, and manager, and was assigned to discuss evidence, review drafts, and write drafts to submit to the Accreditation Liaison Officer for editing and final draft development. The Director of Research and Planning assisted the ALO in finalizing evidence links and formatting. The College Public Information Officer formatted the document for publication.

Peralta Community College District (PCCD) formed teams to respond to Standards III.A., III.B., III.C., III.D. and Standard IV.C. and IV.D.. The PCCD teams consisted of representatives from each resource area and responded to all standards from the District service center perspective.

College and District team members participated in the Institution Self Evaluation Report (ISER) training provided by Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) on September 25, 2019. In October 2019, a College Accreditation ISER Teams kickoff meeting provided further insight and examples in collecting evidence and support in responding to the Standards. The ISER training meeting provided the format, timeline, the Portal site (share point), and use of shared files in developing the report. The College teams were reminded of their assigned Standards and focus. Throughout the process, the Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) read the drafts and communicated with the College Standard writing teams providing feedback. The Peralta Community College District (PCCD) team focused responses were provided to the College for editing and integration with the College response in August The first draft of the College of Alameda Institutional Self Evaluation Report (ISER) was shared with College constituency groups on October 16, 2020 for input and recommended edits.

Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) distributed the draft in sections and scheduled four input sessions between October 19, 2020 to October 30, 2020 to discuss each section with constituency members and gather feedback. Faculty, classified professionals and administrators had access to each section and were able to provide recommended edits electronically. A second draft was released to the College Council, Academic Senate and Classified Senate on November 4, 2020 for review and recommended edits. Each participatory governance group was given the opportunity to review and provide recommended edits through the two-week college-wide vetting process. The draft was submitted to the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees on November 10, 2020 for a first read with a final review and approval on December 8, 2020. The Accreditation Liaison Officer made final edits, the Director of Research and Planning finalized evidence archiving and the Public Information Officer consultant formatted the final document submitted to the Commission.

 

2023 Accreditation Documents

• Follow-Up Visit Peer Review Team Report

• ACCJC Presentation – Dr. Cathy Webb

2021 Accreditation Documents

• Peer Review Team Report
• ACCJC Action Letter – 1/20/21
• Teach Out Plan

ACCJC 2020 Special Report

• February 2021 ACCJC Action Letter to College of Alameda
• Special Site Visit Team Report- December 2020
• November 2020 Special Report to ACCJC
• January 27, 2020 ACCJC Action Letter to College of Alameda

2019 Accreditation Documents

ACCJC Action Letters: 2019

• Commission Action Letter June 2019 -Special Report

CoA/PCCD Special Report

• PCCD Cover Letter- May 2019
• Special Report-Five-Year Financial Plan

2018 Accreditation Documents

ACCJC Action Letters: 2018

• Commission Action Letter

CoA Mid-Term Report: 2018

The College of Alameda is required to submit a Midterm Report to ACCJC in March 2018 for a site visit in October 2016. Below is a link to the final CoA 2018 ACCJC Mid-Term Report.

• CoA 2018 ACCJC Mid-Term Report

2017 Accreditation Documents

ACCJC Action Letters: 2017

• Commission Action Letter
• Statement of Accredited Status

2016 & 2015 Documents, and Final Self-Evaluation and Individual Standards in OneDrive