260C.47 - ACCREDITATION OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROGRAMS.
260C.47 ACCREDITATION OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE
PROGRAMS.
1. The state board of education shall establish an accreditation
process for community college programs by July 1, 1997. The process
shall be jointly developed and agreed upon by the department of
education and the community colleges. The state accreditation
process shall be integrated with the accreditation process of the
north central association of colleges and schools, including the
evaluation cycle, the self-study process, and the criteria for
evaluation, which shall incorporate the standards for community
colleges developed under section 260C.48; and shall identify and make
provision for the needs of the state that are not met by the
association's accreditation process. For the academic year
commencing July 1, 1998, and in succeeding school years, the
department of education shall use a two-component process for the
continued accreditation of community college programs. Beginning
July 1, 2006, the state accreditation process shall incorporate the
standards developed pursuant to section 260C.48, subsection 4.
a. The first component consists of submission of required
data by the community colleges and annual monitoring by the
department of education of all community colleges for compliance with
state program evaluation requirements adopted by the state board.
b. The second component consists of the use of an
accreditation team appointed by the director of the department of
education, to conduct an evaluation, including an on-site visit of
each community college, with a comprehensive evaluation to occur
during the same year as the evaluation by the north central
association of colleges and schools, and an interim evaluation midway
between comprehensive evaluations. The number and composition of the
accreditation team shall be determined by the director, but the team
shall include members of the department of education staff and
community college staff members from community colleges other than
the community college that conducts the programs being evaluated for
accreditation. Beginning July 1, 2006, the accreditation team shall
monitor the quality faculty plan implemented by each community
college pursuant to section 260C.36.
c. Rules adopted by the state board shall include provisions
for coordination of the accreditation process under this section with
activities of accreditation associations, which are designed to avoid
duplication in the accreditation process.
2. Prior to a visit to a community college, members of the
accreditation team shall have access to the program audit report
filed with the department for that community college. After a visit
to a community college, the accreditation team shall determine
whether the accreditation standards for a program have been met and
shall make a report to the director and the state board, together
with a recommendation as to whether the program of the community
college should remain accredited. The accreditation team shall
report strengths and weaknesses, if any, for each program standard
and shall advise the community college of available resources and
technical assistance to further enhance strengths and improve areas
of weakness. A community college may respond to the accreditation
team's report.
3. The state board shall determine whether a program of a
community college shall remain accredited. If the state board
determines that a program of a community college does not meet
accreditation standards, the director of the department of education,
in cooperation with the board of directors of the community college,
shall establish a plan prescribing the procedures that must be taken
to correct deficiencies in meeting the program standards, and shall
establish a deadline date for correction of the deficiencies. The
deadline for correction of deficiencies under a plan shall be no
later than June 30 of the year following the on-site visit of the
accreditation team. The plan is subject to approval of the state
board. Plans shall include components which address meeting program
deficiencies, sharing or merger options, discontinuance of specific
programs or courses of study, and any other options proposed by the
state board or the accreditation team to allow the college to meet
the program standards.
4. During the time specified in the plan for its implementation,
the community college program remains accredited. The accreditation
team shall revisit the community college and shall determine whether
the deficiencies in the standards for the program have been corrected
and shall make a report and recommendation to the director and the
state board. The state board shall review the report and
recommendation, may request additional information, and shall
determine whether the deficiencies in the program have been
corrected.
5. If the deficiencies have not been corrected in a program of a
community college, the community college board shall take one of the
following actions within sixty days from removal of accreditation:
a. Merge the deficient program or programs with a program or
programs from another accredited community college.
b. Contract with another educational institution for purposes
of program delivery at the community college.
c. Discontinue the program or programs which have been
identified as deficient.
6. The director of the department of education shall give a
community college which has a program which fails to meet
accreditation standards at least one year's notice prior to removal
of accreditation of the program. The notice shall be given by
certified mail or restricted certified mail addressed to the
superintendent of the community college and shall specify the reasons
for removal of accreditation of the program. The notice shall also
be sent by ordinary mail to each member of the board of directors of
the community college. Any good faith error or failure to comply
with the notice requirements shall not affect the validity of any
action by the director. If, during the year, the community college
remedies the reasons for removal of accreditation of the program and
satisfies the director that the community college will comply with
the accreditation standards for that program in the future, the
director shall continue the accreditation of the program of the
community college and shall transmit notice of the action to the
community college by certified mail or restricted certified mail.
7. The action of the director to remove a community college's
accreditation of the program may be appealed to the state board. At
the hearing, the community college may be represented by counsel and
may present evidence. The state board may provide for the hearing to
be recorded or reported. If requested by the community college at
least ten days before the hearing, the state board shall provide for
the hearing to be recorded or reported at the expense of the
community college, using any reasonable method specified by the
community college. Within ten days after the hearing, the state
board shall render a written decision, and shall affirm, modify, or
vacate the action or proposed action to remove the college's
accreditation of the program. Action by the state board is final
agency action for purposes of chapter 17A. Section History: Recent Form
90 Acts, ch 1253, §49; 90 Acts, ch 1254, § 2
C91, § 280A.47
92 Acts, ch 1040, §1
C93, § 260C.47
93 Acts, ch 82, § 5, 6, 11; 96 Acts, ch 1215, §34; 99 Acts, ch
114, §15; 2002 Acts, ch 1047, §6, 7, 20 Footnotes
Department of education to conduct a review of community college
accreditation process; 2008 Acts, ch 1181, § 10