The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) and Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) granted Fullerton College 18 month accreditation during their onsite visit to the campus Monday, Oct. 9-12, 2017.
Preparation for the onsite visit was a four stage process that took two and a half years for FC to complete, beginning in the spring of 2015 and lasting until fall of 2017 when an ACCJC team evaluated the campus.
Upon completion of the visit, there were two main areas that Fullerton College must address to make sure it’s in compliance with the ACCJC requirements.
The areas are as follow: The Institutional Learning Outcomes (ISLOs) and the policy on distance and correspondence education.
FC has been assured for 18 months of accreditation with a follow-up report and onsite revaluation due Mar. 1, 2019.
“Accreditation is key to any college to demonstrate that it’s doing what it’s suppose to be doing in educating students. It’s like our report card,” said Lisa McPheron, Director of Campus Communications.
Lisa McPheron, Director of Campus Communications and member of the FC Institutional Integrity Committee. Photo credit: Fullerton College
During preparation for the previous on-site visit , the college collectively put together an extensive Institutional Self Evaluation Report (ISER). The sole purpose of this report is to present an overall internal assessment of the campus in every area to make sure it follows policies and procedures set forth by ACCJC.
“It requires a lot of time and collaboration to develop the ISER, which is mostly driven by faculty, staff and students at FC,” McPheron added.
This rigorous process done by ACCJC is essential because they set standards and policies that educational institutions such as FC must abide by to ensure that students are receiving a quality education.
Although FC has recommendations to follow up on, there are seven compliments of the campus within the report.
“The findings from the review team were really positive. They really praised our campus culture and identified that as something that distinguishes Fullerton College as special. It was really reaffirming to hear from the site team how much they saw that ‘Hornet Spirit’,” McPheron continued.
According to ACCJC, “some of the commendations highlight extensive student support programs and centers, high quality facilities, beautiful historical preservation with a welcoming atmosphere, access to technological resources, promotion of the ‘transfer mindset’ and some of the astounding practices that support academic success for students.”
“Hearing the positive with the critique is really important. It demonstrated their complex understanding of our college,” McPheron stated.
Accreditation for FC is highly important for students so that they know the school they are attending is providing the best education possible and that they’re able to transfer their course work to other colleges.
Once recommendations are cleared after the follow up due in 18 months, FC’s accreditation will be extended for seven years.
