City College of San Francisco Warned Accreditation At Risk Over Governance

City College of San Francisco has been issued a warning from the commission that accredits community and junior colleges nationwide while it seeks to retain its accreditation as a part of a regular evaluation of the college.

In a letter sent from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges to Chancellor David Martin dated Jan. 16, the commission shared that it voted to issue a warning to the college after reviewing the college’s self-evaluation report and other materials.

While in the warning status period, the City College’s accreditation remains active. 

The letter said City College must submit a follow-up report to the commission by no later than March 1, 2025, that will be followed by a visit from the commission’s peer review team. A five-member peer review team visited the college last October and held an in-person forum for students, faculty and staff to submit feedback to the peer review team.

In the follow-up report, the ACCJC said in its letter that the college must demonstrate compliance in three areas:

• Requiring the governing board to consider “​​long-range fiscal implications when making financial decisions in order to assure financial stability”
• Requiring the governing board to “Board act in a manner consistent with its policies and bylaws”
• Allowing the chancellor to carry out and administer board policies without board inference

In compliance with federal regulations and AACJC policies, the college must meet the compliance requirements within three years, by January 2027. The ACCJC said that the commission will take adverse action if compliance requirements are not demonstrated by the deadline.

Last January, Martin shared on the City College website that the college was placed on enhanced monitoring by the ACCJC for three consecutive years. Martin added that sanctions were not issued at the time, but that any decisions by the ACCJC would be deferred after last year’s accreditation evaluation.

• Related: City College of San Francisco Chancellor To Step Down in 2024

“We appreciate the evaluation conducted by the accrediting commission stating that City College meets all eligibility requirements, commission policies, and 116 of the 119 standards,” said Alan Wong, president of the college’s Board of Trustees. “City College remains accredited and open to serve. We take the identified areas of concern seriously and are committed to promptly implementing necessary changes. City College of San Francisco remains steadfast in its mission to provide quality education and foster a supportive learning environment for our students."

The college was thrust into turbulence after it nearly lost its accreditation a decade ago.