LTCC accreditation

March Mt.News

Accreditation team dings LTCC

By Kathryn Reed

Getting the accreditation team off their backs seems to be a lingering process for Lake Tahoe Community College administrators.
The college found out last month that the progress report it sent last fall to the Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, which is a branch of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, was accepted. However, the team wants the college to prepare another report by April 1.
“They did laud us on our efforts, particularly in the area of implementing quantifiable learning outcomes for our students,” said Lori Gaskin, vice president of academic affairs. “However, there is one area they want us to pay particular attention to. It has to do with linking those learning outcomes to our planning, budgets and resource allocation processes.
“What they are saying is don’t do any of these processes in a vacuum; so what happens in the classroom is the basis for strategic planning, departmental planning, budget planning, and resource allocation.”
Gaskin believes the college is doing this, but needs to prove it in a more detailed manner for the commission to be satisfied. She said procedures were implemented to show how all of processes are linked. Flow charts will be used on campus and sent to the commission detailing how everything is linked.
Because the commission only meets twice a year, LTCC will not know if it has cleared the latest hurdle until summer.
LTCC was accredited for six years in the 2005-06 academic year. A midterm report, which all colleges must do, will be sent in the upcoming school year for review by the commission.