Accreditation committee to finalize report Friday

The Accreditation Review Committee is scheduled to meet Friday to complete a final report on the question of whether to pursue single accreditation for the district, co-chair Jeff Hunt said Wednesday.

The committee was charged with exploring whether the Alamo Community College District should become an accredited institution or remain at the current structure of individual colleges under a governing district.

The committee's meetings are not open to the public.

Hunt said the three subcommittees that explored different aspects of single accreditation — how might single accreditation affect grants to the colleges; the process of making the district an accredited institution; and the costs associated with pursuing such a plan — have gathered data that will make up the final report.

Part of the committee's charge, as outlined in a July 2 memorandum from Chancellor Bruce Leslie, is to answer 13 questions that would help weigh the pros and cons of single accreditation, including the impact on grants, process and costs of becoming accredited, impact on the cultures of the colleges and other options to explore.

Hunt said the committee's goal is still to issue a final report to Leslie Dec. 1, but he added that the members are involved with many college and district activities and keeping the committee on track is difficult.

Hunt said he did not have any comment at this time on whether the committee's findings point to single accreditation being a good or bad decision for the district to consider. The committee's charge, furthermore, is not to make recommendations on what the board should decide, rather it is to find and report data.

Dr. Adriana Contreras, deputy to the chancellor and member of the committee's support staff, said Leslie will meet with the committee to discuss the report the first week or two after the report is issued to him.

Board Chair Denver McClendon said Wednesday the board will conduct a meeting — or perhaps multiple meetings — to present the committee's findings to the public.

He said the report will be made available to the public in advance of the meeting to let those interested in attending know what is being discussed.

Contreras said there is not a schedule for the public meetings at this time.

Northeast Lakeview College, which is seeking its own accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, is awaiting word from SACS on its application for candidacy, the first step in a multi-year accreditation process, Sarah Dycus, administrative assistant to Northeast Lakeview President Eric Reno, said Wednesday.

She said the college will meet with SACS in December on the college's candidacy.

Should SACS decide in Northeast Lakeview's favor, according to a March 26 memo from Reno, the college will host SACS visiting committee's from January through May of 2010, receive another decision from the executive committee, begin offering financial aid for fall 2010, begin membership process, and become a full member of SACS some time in 2012.