Special trustees updates community on Compton College
Accreditation seven years away
Veteran educator Genethia Hudley-Hayes, above, recently delivered a state-of-the district report for Compton College, and told the audience bluntly that the two-year college is about seven years away from gaining its accreditation as an independent educational institution.
Hudley-Hayes was appointed special trustee by California Community College Chancellor Jack Scott, who also spoke at the meeting, and she is the fifth person to hold that position, since the state intervened in May 2004.
Hudley-Hayes said that in order for the college to even begin thinking about accreditation, it must fulfill the 21 criteria that would make it eligible to apply for candidacy. These include developing an educational master plan, an infrastructure master plan, a sound fiscal program, and insuring the district’s board of trustees is well trained in how to conduct its business and has a code of standards unique to the college and its situation.
Once the 21 eligibility requirements have been met, El Camino College, which partnered with the district to take over the college and insure that student’s classes would count toward graduation must present the school to the accrediting body—the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior College (ACCJC). The AACJC will come out to evaluate and insure the Compton College District is doing what is says it’s doing. Hudley-Hayes said this must be sustained for two years, before the campus can even apply for candidacy for accreditation.
At the end of two years, the school would move from eligibility to candidacy, then must complete a self-study.
Hudley-Hayes said her job is not to throw stones at the previous four special trustees who were supposed to be moving Compton along the road to accreditation during the nearly seven years since accreditations was revoked but to instead to make sure there is fiscal accountability and stability; make sure the education master plan gets completed; and to make sure that the college is ready to be presented to the accrediting body by spring of 2013.
Keith Curry, Ed.D., who is currently the interim chief executive officer of the Compton Community College District, has been appointed to that position on a permanent basis by state Special Trustee Thomas Henry in consultation with El Camino College Superintendent/President Thomas Fallo. The four-year contract was approved at the Compton College April 16 board of trustees meeting, and is effective July 1.
Curry has been serving as the interim CEO since March 2011 and previous to that was the El Camino College Compton Center dean of student services beginning in 2006.
Graduating seniors who complete their undergraduate degrees between May 1 and September 1, as well as undergraduates are eligible to apply for one of 74 internship at arts organizations throughout Los Angeles County.
As school districts continue to juggle finances, summer school is once again a casualty. A survey of local agencies finds that in the Los Angeles Unified only students who have failed classes and need to recover credits are eligible to attend summer school, and that most of the classes offered will be available online.
The vast majority of African American college-going students in this state go to California’s Community Colleges—still one of the truly great bargains in America. That being said, there are plenty of current problems in the process.
Torrance, CA – Young people ages 14 to 27 who are interested in learning how to start, operate and grow a business can take free training during an eight-week program offered by the Youth Entrepreneurial Training Program (YEP) 2009 Spring Buzz on Biz Academy.
An orientation will be held Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. at El Camino College, and then each week students will learn a different aspect of business during classes held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Their program also includes guest speakers, a business plan competition and an opportunity to do a mentor shadow day.
