PEER REVIEW TEAM REPORT Contra Costa College
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PEER REVIEW TEAM REPORT Contra Costa College 2600 Mission Bell Dr San Pablo, CA 94806 This report represents the findings of the Peer Review Team that conducted a virtual visit to Contra Costa College from October 5, 2020 to October 8, 2020. The Commission acted on the accredited status of the institution during its January 2021 meeting and this team report must be reviewed in conjunction with the Commission’s Action letter. Dr. Claudia Habib Team Chair 1 Contents Summary of Peer Review Team Report 6 Team College Commendations 8 District Commendations 8 District Recommendations to Meet Standards: District Recommendation 1: 8 Introduction 9 Eligibility Requirements 11 Checklist for Evaluating Compliance with Federal Regulations and Related Commission Policies 13 Public Notification of an Peer Review Team Visit and Third Party Comment 13 Standards and Performance with Respect to Student Achievement 14 Credits, Program Length, and Tuition 15 Transfer Policies 16 Distance Education and Correspondence Education 17 Student Complaints 18 Institutional Disclosure and Advertising and Recruitment Materials 19 Title IV Compliance 20 Standard I 22 I.A. Mission 22 I.B. Assuring Academic Quality and Institutional Effectiveness 23 I.C. Institutional Integrity 25 Standard II 28 II.A. Instructional Programs 28 II.B. Library and Learning Support Services 32 II.C. Student Support Services 33 Standard III 35 III.A. Human Resources 35 III.B. Physical Resources 38 III.C. Technology Resources 38 III.D. Financial Resources 39 Standard IV 44 IV.A. Decision-Making Roles & Processes 44 IV.B. Chief Executive Officer 45 IV.C. Governing Board 47 2 IV.D. Multi-College Districts or Systems 51 Quality Focus Essay 54 3 Contra Costa College Comprehensive Peer Review Visit Peer Review Team Roster Dr. Claudia Habib, Team Chair Porterville College President Dr. Michelle Miller-Galaz Team Assistant Porterville College Interim Dean of Instruction ACADEMIC MEMBERS Dr. Bernadette Anayah Folsom Lake College Professor of English as a Second Language Dr. Hayley Ashby Riverside City College Professor, Library Services Dr. Michael Cawdery Leeward Community College Associate Professor Ms. Denise Schulmeyer Grossmont College Communication Professor Dr. Kelly Cooper West Hills Community College District Vice Chancellor - Education and Technology ADMINISTRATIVE MEMBERS Dr. Kelly Hall Southwestern College Assistant Superintendent/Vice President Dr. Cynthia Olivo Pasadena City College Vice President Student Services Dr. Tracy Huang San Mateo County Community College District Interim Director of Districtwide Research and Institutional Effectiveness 4 Dr. Tre’Shawn Hall-Baker Santa Monica College Dean of Human Resources ACCJC STAFF LIAISON Dr. Stephanie Droker President Dr. Kevin Bontenbal Vice President 5 Summary of Peer Review Team Report INSTITUTION: Contra Costa College DATES OF VISIT: October 5-8, 2020 TEAM CHAIR: Dr. Claudia Habib A 13-member accreditation team conducted a virtual visit to Contra Costa College October 5, to 8, 2020 for the purpose of determining whether the College continues to meet Accreditation Standards, Eligibility Requirements, Commission Policies, and USDE regulations. ACCJC’s decision to conduct virtual visits for the Fall 2020 comprehensive reviews was based upon the Commission’s authority to implement flexibilities to accreditation processes and practices afforded by the federal government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Education’s March 17, 2020 guidance, as well as all updates, permits accreditors to perform virtual site visits for institutions as long as the accreditor follows up with an onsite visit in a reasonable amount of time to meet the statutory and regulatory requirements (though not necessarily a full peer-review site visit). Consistent with on-site visits practices, ACCJC provided team chairs, peer reviewers, and colleges being reviewed with: the Guide for Conducting Virtual Visits, an Addendum for Peer Review Team Chairs, Team Members, and Colleges. The virtual peer review team’s visit to Contra Costa College relied on an engaged and interactive format, conducting multiple interviews with college representatives, participating in team meetings to discuss findings, and conducting the required campus forums. The team evaluated how well the College is achieving its stated purposes, providing recommendations for quality assurance and institutional improvement. In preparation for the visit, the team chair attended a training workshop via Zoom on August 4, 2020 and held a virtual pre-visit meeting with the college CEO on September 18, 2020. During this virtual pre-visit, the team chair met with campus leadership and key personnel involved in the self-evaluation preparation process. The entire peer review team received team training provided by staff from ACCJC via Zoom on September 2, 2020. The peer review team received the college’s self-evaluation document (ISER) and related evidence several weeks prior to the virtual college visit. Team members found the ISER to be a comprehensive, well written document detailing the processes used by the College to address Eligibility Requirements, Commission Standards, and Commission Policies. The team confirmed that the ISER was developed through broad participation by the entire College community including faculty, staff, students, and administration. The team found that the College provided a thoughtful ISER containing several self-identified action plans for institutional improvement. The College also prepared a Quality Focus Essay. 6 Prior to the virtual visit, team members completed their team assignments, identified areas for further investigation, and provided a list of interview requests. Also prior to the visit, on October 2, 2020 team members spent the afternoon discussing their initial observations and their preliminary review of the written materials and evidence provided by the College. The college kicked off the virtual visit by meeting with the leadership of the college and the accreditation team leads. During the visit, team members met with approximately 28 faculty, administrators, classified staff and students in formal meetings, group interviews and individual interviews. The team held two open forums, which were well-attended, and provided the college community and others an opportunity to share their thoughts with members of the evaluation team. Listening to participants in these forums helped us bridge the distance created by the virtual format. The Team Chair and Chair of Chairs met with each of the five trustees from the District. The team reviewed pieces of evidence supporting the Self-Evaluation Report that were provided in electronic form as well as made available on a shared drive upon request. The evidence was highly organized and it clearly identified how it supported the Accreditation Standards, Eligibility Requirements, Commission Policies, and USDE Regulations. Examples of evidence reviewed by the team included institutional master plans, technology plan, audit reports, program review procedures and sample reports, distance education course outlines, student learning outcomes assessments, college policies and administrative regulations, enrollment data, student demographic information, employee evaluation procedures and samples of completed evaluations, resource allocation reports, and the college governance structure. In addition, the team reviewed agendas and minutes from meetings of the Board of Trustees, College governance committees, and student government meetings. The team found the College to be in-compliance with the vast majority of the Accreditation Standards, Eligibility Requirements, Commission Policies, and USDE Regulations. Overall The team found many effective practices and programs that support the mission of the College. In addition, the team identified areas where the College met the Standard, but could increase its effectiveness. One area the college should pay attention to is to ensure that its definition of Regular and Substantive Interaction is being consistently implemented and applied. The team also encourages the college to continue working on the self-improvement plans as outlined in the ISER and other documents. In order to meet some of the Standards, District Recommendations were offered by the evaluation team. The members of the Peer Review team took notice of the enthusiasm of the College faculty, staff, and students throughout the visit. The manner in which Contra Costa employees responded to our requests for additional interviews and pieces of evidence, was very professional and accommodating. The College responded in a timely manner to all requests made by the evaluation team. The team thanks the College staff for coordinating and hosting the virtual visit meetings and interviews, and ensuring a smooth process which held high standards for the integrity of the peer review process. 7 Major Findings and Recommendations of the Peer Review Team Report Team College Commendations None Team College Recommendations None District Commendations None District Recommendations to Meet Standards: District Recommendation 1: In order to meet the standard, the team recommends that the District develop a process by which all classified employees are regularly and systematically evaluated (III.A.5) District Recommendation 2: In order to meet the standard, the Team recommends the Governing Board should follow its Board policy related to the Chancellor’s evaluation process. (IV.C.3) District Recommendation