CC clears accrediting team visit

Clarendon College cleared a significant step last week in its decennial accreditation review by the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges.

A ten-member SACS on-site team spent three days in Clarendon reviewing 27 compliance issues an off-site team had flagged six months ago and found only two issues that still needed to be addressed.

“The team was very helpful and complimentary of our faculty and staff,” CC President Robert Riza said. “They said it was one of the smoothest visits they had been on.”

Accreditation by the regional association is important because it ensures that credits earned by CC students transfer to other colleges and universities and it also ensures CC is able to receive federal financial aid funds. Successful re-accreditation has been the priority of the Riza administration for almost two years.

Riza said the issues CC must still address are “very fixable.” One concerns the hours and staffing level of the college library, and the other is the need to develop a facilities master plan, which is already a priority in the college’s strategic plan.

“We have five months to respond to these issues, and then the SACS board will vote on our reaccreditation in June,” Riza said.

The SACS team also reviewed CC’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), which is titled “Attend to Learning” and sets goals for improving student success.

“We had two recommendations on the QEP that were very minor,” Riza said. “They want to see a more defined timeline for professional development and for assessment. Overall it was an outstanding report.”

Riza singled out several individuals for their work on the SACS visit – Vice President of Student Services Tex Buckhaults, Vice President of Instruction Roger Schusteriet, QEP Chairman Brian Fuller, and Marketing Coordinator Ashlee Estlack.

“It’s a lot of hard work on a lot of people’s behalf, and they came through and got it done,” Riza said.

The SACS visit was the highlight of Thursday’s CC Board of Regents meeting, and chairman Jerry Woodard thanked those who helped make the process successful.

“We appreciate every one of you and how you represented this college during the SACS visit,” Woodard said. “They had nothing but good compliments. For everyone from the leader to the janitors, we appreciate what you do.”

In other business, regents accepted bids on tax delinquent property, including a bid on a trailer house that had been seized for back taxes and previously tabled by the college. The board approved a revised tax abatement policy; appointed Regents Bill Sansing, Lon Adams, and Susie Shields to work with Dr. Riza and Vice President of Administrative Services Lana Ritchie to review HVAC and equipment recommendations by Trane; and learned the college had received a $65,000 no-strings grant from the coordinating board for CC’s nursing program.