Accreditation Board Seeks Fuller Update in April on College Consolidation Plan

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In correspondence sent to Mark E. Ojakian, President of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system, David Quigley, Chair of the New England Commission of Higher education, responded to the latest proposal to merge Connecticut’s 12 community colleges into one institution by 2023.  The correspondence, dated July 12, 2019, is substantially abbreviated here and available in its entirety at this link. 

 

… the (CSCU) System be asked to report in Spring 2020 on its progress toward:

1) merging the twelve community colleges into a single institution, with emphasis on Organization and Governance, The Academic Program, Students, and Institutional Resources;

2) ensuring that the separately accredited institutions continue to meet the Commission's Standards for Accreditation with particular emphasis on the Commission's standards on Planning and Evaluation, Organization and Governance, and Institutional Resources;

  •  that representatives of the System, its governing board, and a representative sample of leadership of the community colleges be asked to meet with the Commission to discuss the report;

  •  that until the Commission approves any merger of the Connecticut community colleges, each separately accredited institution will continue to be monitored by the Commission under its current schedule, as updated, among the considerations to be whether the institution continues to meet the Commission’s Standards for Accreditation;

  •  that the letter representing a public comment be accepted for consideration by the Commission as it reviews the plans for the CT Community College consolidation.

The Commission gives the following reasons for its action.

The Commission appreciates the update provided by the System on its plans to merge the twelve community colleges into a single institution in 2023. The Commission recognizes the commitment reflected in the name of the initiative to put "Students First" in the planned changes.

The Commission also appreciates the conditions in Connecticut: a relatively large number of separately accredited community colleges in a time of declining enrollments and financial challenges. The Commission understands that the Connecticut State College & University System is committed to not closing any of the community colleges in the System.

 The Commission requests a report from the System in Spring 2020 so that the Commission can be updated on the progress toward the planned 2023 merger of the twelve community colleges into a single institution. While we will welcome a full report of the progress, the Commission requests particular emphasis on how the proposed institution will meet the Commission's standards on Organization and Governance, The Academic Program, Students, and Institutional Resources.

 In the Spring 2020 report, we are interested in learning how the proposed organizational structure, particularly in the area of academic administration, will demonstrate "administrative capacity, by assuring provision of support adequate for the appropriate functioning of each organizational component." (Organization and Governance, Statement of the Standard).

 While we understand there will be an academic administrator on each campus and a chief academic officer for the merged institution, to date the Commission has not seen plans to establish a centralized academic administration office of sufficient capacity to support the twelve campuses, dozens of degree programs, and projected student enrollment.

 While we understand there will be an academic administrator on each campus and a chief academic officer for the merged institution, to date the Commission has not seen plans to establish a centralized academic administration office of sufficient capacity to support the twelve campuses, dozens of degree programs, and projected student enrollment.

 In addition, the Commission asks that the report include plans for how the new institution will place "primary responsibility for the content, quality, and effectiveness of the curriculum with its faculty [and assure that] faculty have a substantive voice in matters of educational programs, faculty personnel, and other aspects of institutional policy that relate to their areas of responsibility and expertise" (3.15). While the Commission prescribes no particular means of accomplishing this requirement, we note the inherent complexities of developing, implementing, and ensuring the effectiveness of a governance system involving faculty from twelve campuses.

 Because a major purpose of the proposed consolidation is to put "Students First" in the combined institution, we look forward to an update about the System's planning to ensure that The Commission also asks that the report in Spring 2020 address how the twelve separately accredited institutions continue to meet the Commission's Standards for Accreditation until any merger occurs with particular emphasis on Planning and Evaluation, Organization and Governance, and Institutional Resources.

 Because the System's planning for the combined institution will continue for another four years, it is important to ensure that the current separately accredited institutions continue to operate within the Commission's Standards for Accreditation even as they participate in planning for the new institution.

Given these new appointments and the growing authority of the System office, we are interested in how the System can ensure that the separately accredited institutions have "sufficient independence from any other entity to be held accountable…”

 With respect to Organization and Governance, we are interested in how the three regional presidents will function before and after the proposed merger; we note that at the time of our recent meeting, the regional presidents were not yet appointed and the expectations for their positions were not fully outlined. Given these new appointments and the growing authority of the System office, we are interested in how the System can ensure that the separately accredited institutions have "sufficient independence from any other entity to be held accountable for meeting the Commission's Standards for Accreditation."

 Finally, through the report prepared for Spring 2020, we look forward to understanding how the separately accredited institutions will continue to meet the Commission's standard on Institutional Resources:

The institution has sufficient human, financial, information, physical, and technological resources and capacity to support its mission. Through periodic evaluation, the institution demonstrates that its resources are sufficient to sustain the quality of its educational program and to support institutional improvement now and in the foreseeable future. (Statement of the Standard)

The institution employs sufficient and qualified personnel to fulfill its mission (7.1).

 The Commission expressed appreciation for the report prepared by the Connecticut State College and University System and hopes its preparation has contributed to future planning. The

Commission appreciates your cooperation with the effort to provided public assurance of the quality of higher education in New England.

 You are encouraged to share this letter with all of the System's constituencies.  The Commission hopes that the process has contributed to institutional improvement.  It appreciates your cooperation with the effort to provide public assurance of the quality of higher education In New England.