The Western Association of School and Colleges (WASC) started a four-day evaluation of Mesa College Monday in the culmination of a six-year accreditation cycle.

After the last on-site visit in 2004, nine recommendations, three of which were determined to be district recommendations, were issued to Mesa College administrators and faculty.

Dr. Brice Harris, chancellor of Los Rios Community College District, and 10 team members from throughout the WASC territory are attending meetings, forums and classrooms to ensure Mesa College is following the guidelines set forth by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

These administrative and instructional peers determine if Mesa College is operating in a capacity which warrants the transferability of credits to other institutions, the awarding of degrees and certificates and the eligibility for state and federal grants.

Accreditation Liaison Officer and Vice President of Instruction Tim McGrath leads the self-study committees with the aid of faculty co-chairs Jill Baker; dean of Business, Computer Studies and Technology; Juliette Parker, articulation officer; and administrative co-chair Yvonne Bergland, dean of Instructional Services, Resource Development and Research.

Over the last six years many steps have been taken to ensure Mesa’s reaffirmation of accreditation.

Students have become more involved in the participatory governance of Mesa College. Since the hiring of a permanent dean of Student Affairs, Ashanti Hands, student participation has continued to rise

The smoke-free campus initiative and more extensive health services have resulted from an increase in student involvement in governance.

Student learning outcomes were strengthened and refined to allow for a simpler way to evaluate the success of instruction and learning.

The President’s Cabinet, in response to recommendations, formed the Educational Master Plan Subcommittee on May 9, 2005 to consolidate the myriad existing planning efforts into a single streamlined plan focused on the college’s mission statement. The committee was later reorganized as the Strategic Planning Subcommittee in April of 2008.

The Strategic Planning Committee ensures all planning upholds Mesa’s mission “to inspire and enable student success in an environment that is strengthened by diversity, is responsive to our communities, and fosters scholarship, leadership and responsibility.”

A campus-based researcher was hired in 2006 to perform unbiased institutional research. These findings empower the school by offering a method to evaluate the needs, health and success of faculty and staff. A website, attached to the college’s main site, was created in 2008 to make the information more readily available.

During the 2004 accreditation self study prior to that on-site visit, 17 self-identified deficiencies were discovered by Mesa’s administration.

All but one goal, “developing and implementing a strategic plan to hire faculty and staff under current budget restraints” is in progress and waiting for additional funding, have been accomplished.

Student tutoring programs have been reorganized to fall under the leadership of a single administration. This facelift of tutoring services has cut expenses and will offer a single destination for students once the new Academic Skills Center is completed under the Proposition S construction plan.

The Classified Staff Development Subcommittee established on May 1, 2007 allows staff to help determine what types of training they will be offered during their two-day training conference.

These improvements are an ongoing endeavor that serves to bolster Mesa College as an effective provider of higher education. While many shortcomings have been addressed it is certain that in the turbulent climate of colleges and universities more opportunities for improvement will arise.