Challenges Of The New Accreditation Standards - Research Paper Example

 Challenges Of The New Accreditation Standards Abstract The challenges faced by the California Community Colleges range from faculty hiring to fund inflow. As a result of the budget crunch there is an attempt to reduce district revenue that has directly hit student enrolment in the degree courses. At the same time the raising of the standards by making compulsory higher level Math and English for earning the AA/AS degree has demoralized students. The new accreditation requirements too demand an overhauling of the curriculum and educational infrastructure that has posed serious challenge for the faculty and administrators to manage within limited fund supply. Therefore it would be a great deal better if the Government spare the community colleges while making educational policies and grant more funds for the development of the community colleges Introduction The California Community Colleges are in for a lot of challenges over issues critical to the development of their infrastructure. Issues relate to especially the hiring and filling of positions of lecturers, introducing changes and modifications in student learning and finally the fiscal aspects concerning the inflow and consumption of funds in the right way and for the right purposes. The new regulations along with the constant recommendations and amendments of laws relating to them have offered challenges that need to be settled and resolved for educational and student development purposes. But it cannot be denied that as a result of the issues a lot of positive changes are in the process that might turn out to be beneficial for the growth and modernization of the Community Colleges. Title 5 Regulations: Challenges Budget crunch and faculty positions As per title 5 regulations community colleges are to increase the number of full-time faculty positions depending on the rate of growth and the amount of fund increase. Therefore it has been decided that in those instances where there isn’t cent percent occupancy of the faculty positions district’s revenue is to be decreased. However on the other hand the ‘base number of full-time faculty positions’ (Title 5 Regulations, 2003, p.1) has to be retained even if there has been no growth or increase in funds. The conditions laid by the regulation do not fit the present situation of funds decrease in the mid-year and has further enhanced the difficulty for fund allocation for full-time faculty. This had generated pressure on the administration. As a result the Board has requested the Chancellor to raise the issue in the May meeting for further considerations of making the regulation more flexible. The mid-year budget slash has grossly affected those who have enrolled for the classes. As almost hundred classes have been cancelled with almost no hiring of course instructors the career of a large number of students is at stake (Jones, 2003). Raising standard of AA/AS course There has been another issue in the recommendation included within title 5 regulations. It has to do with students’ admission in the respective degree course offered by the community colleges and obtaining the ‘Associate in Arts’ (AA) or ‘Associate in Science’ (AS) degree. According the new set of regulations in order to get an AA or AS degree students have to enrol in both the Mathematics and English of college level standard and of ‘three semester hours’ (Raising Title 5, n.d, p.2). Such a recommendation would inevitably pose difficulty to student service organizations as there would be a steady decrease in the number of students opting for the degree due to heightened educational expectations. Therefore students would take longer time in getting their degrees. Earning a degree would not be easy like before as it would now involve real hard work both on the part of the students and tutorial services. Community Colleges have to arrange for more number of student helping services like tutorials and expert tutors in order to help students who had been weak or low scorers in the respective subjects and also that would invariably need the churning out of more funds than used to be previously allotted before. In regard to raising the standards of AA and AS degree level there are arguments over the local colleges losing their control in framing the courses based on their respective priorities. Therefore AS/AA requirements are ‘established by the faculty of each college that are best suited to its students and reflective of the particular values of the college’ (Raising Title 5, n.d, p.5). Moreover it would affect the vocational students who want to earn a degree for the purpose of entering into a career. The regulation’s shortcoming lies in the fact that it has only considered students who want to opt for higher education and have not thought about those students who want to attain a degree for the sake of non-academic jobs which do not require knowledge of higher maths or writing skill. Educational Centres Establishing educational centres which are more of a ‘community college off-campus operation’ (Community College Educational Centres, 2008, p.2) is a challenge for the community college administration system. As the Commission is unsure about the beneficial consequences of conditional approval of such centres it would not grant permission to the community colleges for putting up such centres. Rather the condition set by the Commission is that the centre would not be able to compete for ‘State capital outlay funds until it generates 500 annual FTES’ (Community College Educational Centres, 2008, p.2) Accreditation Challenges The challenges that the new accreditation model has placed before the community colleges are manifold as it requires a complete refurbishing and overhauling of both the educational and administrative infrastructure. Firstly the colleges have to figure out the most cost-effective way of going with the necessary changes and modifications so that the budget of the college remains intact. As the main challenge in introducing changes is mainly due to limited funds a way has to be sought out to make effective the modifications as per the new accreditation requirements without draining out college funds. The community colleges have planned out to deal with the new parameters by utilising grants and ‘alternative funding sources’ (New Accreditation Standards, 2003, p.6). Secondly there is an emphasis of aligning with the present strategies of the community colleges. To this extent teaching faculty members need to revise and restructure the curriculum. Moreover by the Accreditation Standards the faculty is also to evaluate and essentially confirm the ‘information competency’ (Information Competency, n.d) of the students that ensures better learning outcomes. Outcome assessment programs are emphasized by the new accreditation requirements that concentrate on assessment methods like student-focused assessment, institution focussed assessment and process-focused assessment (Garcia & Floyd, 2002) and thereby places challenges before the faculty and student services of the community colleges to meet the demands within limited scope both in matters of funds as well as infrastructure that needs complete refurbishing. Funding Proposals Community colleges receive program-based funding which means that no growth or no new projects, no funds. Moreover as the growth funding is decided by the number of additional students the state accommodates, the district on including excess students get no special compensation that puts a kind of financial burden on the community colleges. The policy to subtract local property tax revenue makes it difficult for the community colleges to extend quality education to the rural communities who are in need of good educational services (Serving Rural and Remote Communities, 2006, p.6). With the shocking state of decrease in student enrolment due to the budget crunch and hike in student fees Faculty staff of community colleges fear of the colleges being plunged into financial crisis if a considerable number of enrolments are retrieved (Berry, 2004). Conclusion In conclusion it could be said that as the community colleges serve extensively in imparting degrees and trainings to students and individuals from different academic as well as professional backgrounds like nursing, fire-fighting Government should see to their proper infrastructural and educational growth. But in reality the administrators, faculty and students associated with the California community colleges experience challenges that sometimes pose serious problems to the general progress of students and in implementing and executing of plans for different educational programs held by the colleges. Unfortunately observation shows that most of it results from limited funding and budget crunch. The Government must consider the role played by the community colleges and spare them from financial burdens by permitting better funds and fiscal support. Reference Berry, K (2004). Student Shortage Threatens Santa Monica College Coffers. Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 28th March 2009 from High Beam Research. Garcia, J.A & Floyd, C.E (2002). Addressing evaluative standards related to program assessment: how do we respond? Journal of Social Work Education. 38(3). Retrieved 28th March 2009 from High Beam Research. Jones, R.B (2003). Students Scramble As Colleges Cut Back on Services. San Diego Business Journal. Retrieved 28th March 2009 from High Beam Research. Addressing the Challenge of the New Accreditation Standards (2003). Retrieved 28th March 2009 from http://www.ccsf.edu/Offices/Research_Planning/pdf/finalpaper.pdf Information Competency as Graduation Requirement: Information Competency Task Force Report (n.d). Retrieved 28th March 2009 from http://wserver.scc.losrios.edu/~chens/infocomp/report.doc Prospectus for Examining the Challenges Community College Districts Face in Serving Rural and Remote Communities (2006). Retrieved 28th March 2009 from http://www.cpec.ca.gov/completereports/2006reports/06-06.pdf Proposed Revisions to the Commission’s Guidelines for Approval of Community College Educational Centres (2008). Retrieved 28th March 2009 from http://www.cpec.ca.gov/completereports/2008reports/08-23.pdf Raising Title 5 English and Math Requirements for AA/AS Degrees: Backgrounds and Arguments (n.d). Retrieved 28th March 2009 from http://www.asccc.org/localsenates/Correspondence/RequirementsAACD/AAASDegreeRequirements.pdf Title 5 Regulations: Full-Time Faculty Hiring Obligation (2003). Retrieved 28th March 2009 from http://www.cccco.edu/Portals/4/Executive/Board/2003_agendas/may/05-3-T5_Regs_FT_Faculty.pdf. . . . . . Read More