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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2015 | VOL XCI ISSUE 1 tccclarion.com f/ccclarion T@ccclarion
WELCOME FRESHMEN
Clubs and other programs tabling at Citrus College Welcome Day for “I Will Complete College” students on August 20, 2015. (Megan Bender/Clarion)
J U D G M E N T D AY Administration anticipates comprehensive accreditation site visit in September.
UPCOMING BOARD ELECTIONS FEATURE FAMILIAR FACES BY EVAN SOLANO MANAGING EDITOR
ESOLANO@CCCLARION.COM
What was expected to be a quiet board of trustees election has become controversial as longtime Area 5 Trustee Joanne Montgomery’s seat is being challenged by a former board member who lost his Area 1 seat in 2013. Gary L. Woods, J.D., who served as the Area 1 trustee on the Citrus Community College board of trustees from 1983 to 2013 said he has moved from Azusa to Monrovia. He has filed paperwork with the Los Angeles Country Registrar’s office in an election bid for the Area 5 seat to represent Monrovia and portions of Duarte. Each of the five members of the board of trustees represents residents and students from the Photo Illustration: Evan Solano Clarion
Arvid Spor,Ed.d, vice president of academic affairs, serves as the Accreditation Liaison Officer for Citrus College. The self-evaluation report was released on June 23.
BY MEGAN BENDER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
MBENDER@CCCLARION.COM
The time of reckoning is fast approaching. A team of education leaders representing the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges is scheduled to visit Citrus College from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1. Their mission: to evaluate the quality of education and institutional effectiveness of Citrus College. The accreditation process currently runs on a six-year cycle that in future evaluations will be expanded to a seven-year process. “Accreditation is the federal
government’s way of assuring quality in education,” said Arvid Spor, Ed.D., vice president of academic affairs and the Accreditation Liaison Officer. “Loss of accreditation means your degree will not mean anything to companies or if students wanted to transfer.” More than 300 members of the Citrus College community contributed over three years to a 339 page self study report evaluating performance outcomes according to four standards set by ACCJC. “[Students] are at Citrus to receive an education and use it to transfer to a university or enter the workforce,” said Student Trustee Pat Cordova-Goff. “With that, we are
“We are depending on our education to be valued by others and we depend on the Citrus community to work together and remain accredited.” -Pat Cordova-goff
Student Trustee
depending on our education to be valued by others, and we depend on the Citrus community to work together and remain accredited.” During its site visit, the accreditation team, which is comprised of administrators and faculty from other colleges within ACCJC’s region, will conduct interviews and inves-
tigate the campus to ensure that the self-evaluation report meets or exceeds the four accreditation standards. When the accreditation team does interview individuals or committees, it is usually to fact check something specific or clarify any misunderstandings between the SE E ACCREDI TATI ON • PAGE 6
citrus goes green
The college will host the third annual Gumby Fest, celebrating a legendary TV icon’s 60th birthday. PG. 10
communities of Azusa, Claremont, Glendora and Monrovia and portions of San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Duarte, Irwindale, Covina and Bradbury. The governing board establishes policies and approves education plans and programs for Citrus College. Woods, who held the Area 1 seat representing Azusa and portions of Duarte for 32 years, said he moved to Monrovia about eight months ago to care for his ailing mother, who is 97. “I stayed in Azusa up until last January, but it became increasingly more difficult to care [for her],” Woods said. “I moved closer, but I still wanted to participate in what’s going on at Citrus. Community colleges have been part of my life.” S E E WOOD S • PAGE 5
Enrollment numbers fall short of target BY MEGAN BENDER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ESOLANO@CCCLARION.COM
Despite an improvement in number of full time students enrolled for the fall 2015 semester, Citrus College is not quite meeting its projected enrollment growth targets determined by the state. According to an enrollment report released on Aug. 25 the college had 37,205 total enrolled students compared to last year’s total 37,385 enrolled resident students after the census report. Although this is an improvement the goals for projected enrollment unit targets have not been met and this number changes every day. The targets are set at the beginning of the year for summer, fall, win-
ter and spring to predict exceeding, or decreasing, enrollment rates in comparison to last year’s numbers. According to Sam Lee, Ph.D., dean of Language Arts and Enrollment, the budget projected a 3 percent growth with a 1.5 percent buffer. “Our whole budget is based on what the State says they will fund us for each year.” Lee said. “We budget everything in the college based on the income we expect to be able to get at the end of the year.” Resident enrollment is the main contributing factor that the state uses to allocate a budget for colleges and when enrollment targets are not met schools are in danger of spending more S E E EN R OLLM EN T • PAGE 5