Educators ordered to “make preparations for closure.”
The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges today ordered the closure of California's largest college and a beacon of higher education in America’s most progressive and prosperous cities. The City College of San Francisco (CCSF) serves 90,000 students and has produced the thousands of thousands of police officers, firefighters, nurses and teachers who protect and serve our communities. This outrageous, ill-conceived and unprecedented decision will have a harsh, immediate and irreversible impact on the academic future of current students and will undermine the achievements of College alumni.
We share the anger and disappointment of colleagues, dedicated professionals who have worked tirelessly to build CCSF into one of the premier post-secondary institutions in the nation.
Make no mistake however; we will fight back.
At no point in the accrediting commission’s so-called assessment has anyone faulted the quality of education our students receive.
This arbitrary and punitive action by the Commission, coming on the heels of numerous protests over its illegal evaluation processes, serious conflicts of interest by its president and other representatives, and violations of Federal and State law, reveals the extent to which the Commission is out-of-touch with its primary mission, to recognize, and collaboratively assist colleges in meeting Federal requirements for the benefit of their students.
The ACCJC has cultivated a climate of fear and intimidation throughout the entire community college system. They have usurped the authority of the Chancellor’s office of the California Community College system by involving itself in financial operations of the community colleges. Yet, efforts to raise questions about their behavior and conflicts of interest have been followed with further sanctions against the institutions that have dared to speak out.
The CFT believes a robust, thorough, and transparent accrediting process conducted by qualified and legitimate educators and one that engages the entire education community is critical to developing workable short and long-term strategies for academic achievement.
Coercion and intimidation to impose its own top down and extremist philosophies on colleges have no place in our schools or our democratic society. This most egregious example of a reign of terror has gone unchecked by top-level system wide bureaucrats.
The CFT will continue to stand with the students, faculty and staff of CCSF. We will work to overturn this unjust decision that threatens the entire City College community and colleges throughout California and the western region.
The CFT Will Fight for Students, Faculty and Staff and to
Maintain A Quality Public Education for All