UH Community Colleges receive full accreditation

WASC approval follows October site visits

Site visit teams from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges(WASC) liked what they saw when they toured the University of Hawaiʻi'sseven community college campuses last October.

CC Chancellor Joyce Tsunoda reported to the UH Board of Regents thisweek that the WASC Two-Year Commission has granted continued full accreditationstatus to all seven campuses.

"I'm pleased with the very positive and complimentary tone of thevisit reports," Tsunoda said. "The teams and the commission wereaware of the effects of the protracted and severe economic recession onour budgets and how we compensated for budget cuts. As might be expected,however, the reports raised concerns about how long such efforts could besustained.

"Each campus was commended for the pride and 'can-do' attitude exhibitedby faculty, staff and administration," she added. "I'm very proudof campus leadership and the dedicated faculty and staff throughout oursystem."

Along with the accreditation approval, WASC review teams recommendedthat the colleges:

- strengthen institutional research initiatives

- expand the academic program review process

- develop methods to more effectively assess and place students and assesstheir learning

- develop a comprehensive planning process and budget links

The next regular accreditation review will be in 2006, with interim andmid-term reports to be prepared by each campus on a prescribed two-threeyear timeline.