The Higher Learning Commission has removed Pima Community College from probation, but the school must do more to show it should remain free of the sanction.
A five-page letter from the Chicago-based accreditor released Tuesday outlines 11 areas PCC needs to work on in the next 15 months to shake off the lesser sanction it received of being “on notice” — which means without continued improvements, it is still in danger of losing its accreditation.
By July 1, 2016, the college must submit a notice report to the HLC that shows the progress in those 11 key areas, including:
A complete review of the college’s mission, show evidence that new polices and procedures are working, provide an assessment of the human resources office, provide information on the effectiveness of the college’s new dispute resolution office, provide details of several academic and faculty changes, show evidence of leadership stability, and show that the college’s new strategic plan is being implemented.
The college had been on probation since 2013, after the accreditor’s review found evidence of systemic mismanagement and lax governance.
PCC Chancellor Lee Lambert said Tuesday that being taken off of probation was the best practical outcome for the college.
“It is great news for the college for all the work that we’ve put in for the last year and a half plus,” Lambert said in a phone interview.
In a message to employees, Lambert said while the news was welcome, the status of being “on notice” comes with “serious consequences for failing to live up to the HLC’s standards.” He told employees he was confident the college would continue to work to “attain the fullest confidence of our accreditor.”
The letter from the accreditor cautions that while the district has put a number of changes in place, they have not existed long enough to prove they are effective.
Some of those new changes include improvements to its human resources department, changing its purchasing processes, establishing a new governance framework, developing policies on sexual harassment and retaliation, improving openness, creating a finance and audit committee and some academic changes.
Lambert readily acknowledges there is a lot of work to be done, saying the next step is to outline steps to address all 11 areas. “We know we have many things we need to work on,” he said.
One of the 11 areas the commission is looking for progress in is evidence of changes to improve learning and teaching at PCC. Lambert said the college struggled with this issue long before it was put on probation.
“That has been a perennial concern going back since as far as I am aware since 2000,” Lambert said.
