ursday

Two years of planning for Pierce College’s accreditation culminates this week a team of 11 educators, a team from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, visits the campus to evaluate classes and facilities.

The visit, which began Monday and will end Thursday, will determine whether Pierce meets standards that reaffirm the school’s accreditation.

“Accreditation is important to students because it enforces good health and validation to the school,” said Mia Wood, faculty accreditation coordinator. “Courses that are accredited in this institution give students the chance to transfer to a four-year institution.”

Full accreditation also enables the college to be federally funded, Wood said.

The team members will have full access to the school and will be able to walk into classrooms and meetings at anytime, according to Wood.

Back in Jan., the Pierce Accreditation Steering

“We respond to statements to show how the college does or does not show up to standards by providing evidence,” said Lyn Clark, chair of the Pierce College Council.

The standards provided by ACCJC go over the technology the school provides, where the funding for the school goes, how the school is guided by their leader, and the plan or mission for the school’s and its students’ futures.

“[The team comes] to this campus to confirm what they read in the document is what we do,” Wood said.

After the four days of evaluating, the team will put together a written assessment that determines if the school’s standards are up to code and then meet with the ACCJC and discuss their findings.

The commission will not make the final decision on Pierce’s accreditation until June.

On the last day of the team’s stay, it will provide an exit report of the accreditation team chair’s summary of commendation and additional information, according to Jeanie Dewhurst, accreditation team assistant.

Even though two of three colleges that were accredited last year were put on probation, Wood is confident that Pierce’s evaluation will not have a similar result.

“Everything that the standards asked us to address has been addressed,” Wood said. “It’s all but impossible that we would lose our accreditation.”

College President Kathleen Burke-Kelly said that, ultimately, what the team writes in its evaluation isn’t up to the school.

“We don’t know what the outcome will be in July,” Burke-Kelly said.

Wood said that the team is comprised of peers of the faculty and staff peers.

“We are fortunate in that the people who serve on these visiting teams are our colleagues,” Wood said. “And they are donating their time.”

There will be one more open forum, the last of three, for the faculty, and staff to address the team Wednesday at 10 a.m. before its exit report is presented Thursday at noon in the Great Hall.

Though the team will be available for comments and questions, “They’re not hanging out,” Wood said.

Dear Editors of the Roundup:

Our society has seen way too many movies and videos involving firearms, and, therefore, thinks too casually about these dangerous weapons. There are two basic reasons that I, a former United States Marine Corps 1st Lieutenant and rifle expert, will not carry a gun on campus:

1. Teachers do not wear uniforms. With approximately 210 full-time and 600 part-time faculty members on campus, how would we be able to tell who is shooting whom?

2. More significantly, Amanda Ripley in Time magazine’s “Your Brain in a Shootout: Guns, Fear and Flawed Instincts” (16 Jan. 2013) writes:

“In the New York City police department, . . . officers involved in gunfights typically hit their intended targets only 18% of the time, according to a Rand study (emphasis added). When they fired 16 times at an armed man outside the Empire State Building last summer, they hit nine bystanders and left 10 bullet holes in the suspect—a better-than-average hit ratio. In most cases, officers involved in shootings experience a kaleidoscope of sensory distortions including tunnel vision and a loss of hearing. Afterward, they are sometimes surprised to learn that they have fired their weapons at all.”

Please note that the NYC police officers routinely train extensively to be in top shape with their weapons.

For less skilled instructors to fire a weapon in a confusing and crowded classroom or on a busy walkway is unacceptably dangerous. As a senior professor on our campus, I’m not going to carry a firearm to class.

Sincerely yours, Richard J. Follett, D.A. Professor of English

Thumbs up & Thumbs down

Shapiro suitably steers students

A thumbs up to Dr. Leland Shapiro, the Director of the Pre-Veterinary Science program, and his goal of getting 200 students into Veterinary schools. Also, congratualtions to the 199 who have made it thus far. Good luck.

Cafeteria absence is an annoyance

A thumbs down to the anticipated cafeteria “Food for Thought” not being ready at the opening of the Library and Learning Crossroads.

While the food trucks do provide students with meals, the greasy food cannot be healthy to eat every day.

We request the cafeteria be opened soon.