ACCREDITATION EVALUATION REPORT DE ANZA COLLEGE 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd Cupertino, California 95014 A Confidential Report Prepared for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges Western Association of Schools and Colleges This report represents the findings of the evaluation team that visited De Anza College on October 24-27, 2011 Raúl Rodríguez, Ph.D., Team Chair 1 DE ANZA COLLEGE Roster of Site Visit Evaluation Team October 24-27, 2011 Dr. Raúl Rodríguez (Chair) Ms. Linda Melendez (Assistant) Chancellor Assistant to the Vice Chancellor Rancho Santiago Community College District Rancho Santiago CCD Dr. Loretta Adrian President Coastline Community College Dr. Tania Beliz Professor of Biology College of San Mateo Dr. Lawrence Bradford Vice President, Student Services Los Angeles City College Ms. Alma Johnson-Hawkins Vice President, Academic Affairs Los Angeles Mission College Mr. Adam O’Connor Interim Asst. Vice Chancellor Fiscal Services Rancho Santiago Community College District Mr. Frank Pinkerton Dean PE/Athletics Chaffey College Ms. Lisa Putnam Institutional Researcher Moorpark College Mr. Gilbert Rodriguez Dean, Liberal Arts & Sciences Los Medanos College Mr. Daniel Sanidad Educational Dean, Instruction and Student Support Services Mission College 2 Summary of the Evaluation Report INSTITUTION: De Anza College DATE OF VISIT: October 24-27, 2011 TEAM CHAIR: Dr. Raúl Rodríguez, Chancellor Rancho Santiago Community College District An eleven-member accreditation evaluation team visited De Anza College from October 24 through October 27, 2011 to accomplish several tasks. Foremost among these was to determine whether the institution is meeting the Commission’s Eligibility Requirements and the 2002 Accreditation Standards. Other major purposes of the visit were to evaluate how well the college is achieving its stated purposes as delineated in the college mission statement, to provide recommendations for quality assurance and institutional improvement, and to make a confidential recommendation to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) regarding the accredited status of the college. The accreditation evaluation team originally consisted of twelve members, but one team member withdrew prior to the site visit. In preparation for the site visit, the team chair attended a training session for team chairs on August 30, 2011. All of the team members, including the team chair, attended a one-day training orientation and study session on September 7, 2011 at the Oakland Airport Hilton. The team chair and team assistant conducted a pre-visit to De Anza College in Cupertino on September 8, 2011 and to the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Office in Los Altos Hills on September 9, 2011. Prior to the visit, the team reviewed the De Anza College Institutional Self Study Report (2011), the evaluation report of the team that visited De Anza College in 2005, the Focused Midterm Report submitted by the college in 2008, the Follow-Up Report submitted by the college in 2009, the Follow-Up Report submitted by the college in 2010, and the correspondence over the last six years between the college and the ACCJC. The team also reviewed college documents, such as the 2010-2011 College Catalog and the 2011 Fall Class Listing, as well as evidence cited in the self study that could be accessed through the college website. Based on responses to a questionnaire sent out by the team chair, the members of the visiting team were assigned to one of the four accreditation standards. Further, four individuals from the team were assigned the duty of serving as a lead team member for each one of the four standards. Lead team members made work assignments to each member of the work team for their particular standard. As part of the overall duties of serving on the visiting team, each team member completed two written assignments prior to the visit. These team assignments assessed the college self study, the responses to the recommendations of the previous evaluation team, and the college planning agendas. Commendations The visiting team identified six areas for commendation: 3 • The team commends the Board of Trustees for its clear understanding of its role as trustees, as exemplified by the Board Philosophy and Mission Statement, and for its commitment to student-centered leadership and decision making. • The team commends the college for its stellar environmental stewardship. Specifically, the Environmental Studies program is a cutting-edge learning program with world class facilities. The Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies facility reflects the purpose of the program with its energy efficient and sustainable design along with the Cheeseman Environmental Study Area, which provides a working model and living catalogue of California’s diverse plant life. • The team commends the De Anza Student Body (DASB) for its high level of commitment to the college as shown by its active and widespread participation in college governance and its considerable financial contributions to learning resources and a variety of other college programs and activities that support student learning. • The team commends the De Anza administration, faculty, staff, and student leadership for their passionate pursuit of fostering and supporting diverse ethnic, cultural, religious, economic and other life experiences that constitute the fabric of the college community. Similarly, the college is to be commended for infusing cultural competence as a core value into all aspects of teaching, learning and learning support services. • The team commends the Office of Staff and Organizational Development for providing college personnel with a rich and robust professional development program. A range of evidence convinced the team that the professional development program implemented at De Anza College provides numerous benefits to college personnel. • The team commends the college for its efficient management of the major facilities construction over the past six years and for the resultant inviting and impressive physical environment of the campus. Recommendations After carefully considering the evidence and discussing the position of the college in relation to the accreditation standards, the team formed three recommendations to the college. Recommendation 1 To meet the Standard, the team recommends that the college mission statement clearly identify the intended student population for whom the college will provide programs and services (Standards I.A, I.A.1). Recommendation 2 In order to fully meet Standards, the team recommends that the college systematically evaluate the newly implemented integrated planning, assessment and resource allocation model. The model should also be evaluated for its effectiveness in improving programs, services and student learning. At the appropriate point in the cycle, the college should then assess its evaluation processes (Standards I.B.3, I.B.4, I.B.6, I.B.7, III.A.6, III.B.2.b, III.C.2, and III.D.1.a). 4 Recommendation 3 To meet the standard at the level of proficiency by 2012, the team recommends that the college accelerate the implementation of the SLO, SSLO, and AUO assessment cycles at the course, program and institutional levels. The college should assess the effectiveness of these processes aimed at improving programs, services, and student learning. Additionally, the college is reminded that the standard requires accredited institutions to include “effectiveness in producing learning outcomes” in the evaluation of faculty and others directly responsible for student progress toward achieving stated student learning outcomes (Standard II.A.1.a, II.A.1.c, II.A.2.b, II.A.2.f, II.A.2.h, II.A.2.i, and III.A.1.c). 5 ACCREDITATION EVALUATION REPORT FOR DE ANZA COLLEGE Evaluation Site Visit October 24-27, 2011 Introduction De Anza College, founded in 1967, is one of two colleges in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District. The college is situated on a 112-acre campus in Cupertino, California and consists of several historical buildings relating to the prior use of the site as a private estate that also served as a winery. Many additional buildings and specialized facilities have been erected on the campus during the intervening years. The physical environment of the campus is well- maintained and it has been greatly enhanced by the proceeds of general obligation bond measures that were passed by local voters in 1999 and 2006, respectively, to renovate already existing facilities and to construct new facilities. The passage of these bond measures is one example of the strong support that De Anza College receives from its local community. The college draws approximately 80% of its students from outside of its defined service area boundary. Recently, De Anza College experienced a slight enrollment decline, particularly in the full-time equivalent student enrollment. However, the college still serves a headcount of approximately 23,000 credit students per fall term. The college attracts a large number of international students and, unlike most community colleges that typically have a higher percentage of female students, has a roughly equivalent number of male and female students. The distribution of the student body by ethnicity is interesting in that the largest single group consists of students of Asian/Filipino/Pacific Islander background. They comprise over 40% of the student body. The next largest group is white students (23%) and the third largest group is students in the other/unknown