Ending the blame game at college district
02/23/2012
Oxnard and Ventura Colleges in the last year have been working toward fulfilling recommendations to meet accreditation standards of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. The commission had placed the two schools on warning for governance, communication and policy issues that the commission apparently felt indicated deficiencies. The schools’ subsequent efforts were deemed worthwhile, and the commission notified the colleges it was satisfied. The district office, which includes the chancellor, the vice chancellors and their staff, and the board of trustees had also been given a set of different recommendations for improvement. Apparently because the district did not adequately respond to the commission’s recommendations, all three community colleges were placed on probation, including Moorpark, which had been in good standing.
For all three colleges, being on probation threatens not only the livelihood of all the faculty, staff and administrators, but also the prospects of those looking to attend community college locally. Should the colleges fail to fulfill the requirements, that would put the district one step closer to losing accreditation, which would leave the district in a sticky situation, having to actually “show cause” as to why the colleges should remain accredited. Should it go that far and the district be unable to prove its case, Ventura County loses its springboard for thousands of students seeking to earn credits to get into universities and obtain degrees higher than associate’s. The good news — all of the colleges are still accredited and will remain so, at least, until the commission may deem otherwise later this year.
As the district scrambles to satisfy the commission, it seems that a particular trustee has taken the blame for the district’s recent probation status. Art Hernandez, who has served on the board for 10 years, has been a focal point of the turbulent situation the district is in, although, according to those who have known and worked with Hernandez for years, his behavior hasn’t changed much since he was elected to the board. So why is he the fall guy now?
Late last year, Chancellor James Meznek announced that he would be retiring early but noted in a letter to the board (which was later leaked to the press) that he was concerned about a board member’s behavior. Shortly thereafter, the commission announced that the district and the three colleges were put on probation and identified its concern about a particular board member’s disruptive behavior. It appeared rather coincidental that both the chancellor and the commission singled out a longtime board member within months of each other, though Hernandez had remained a vocal critic of certain decisions of the board for years.
Although Hernandez promised, as an elected board member, to represent the district as a whole, he seemed to have taken up Oxnard College as his own personal cause. Instead of going to a conference that may or may not have been required to get off warning status, he chose to attend a forum presented by the Oxnard College students to represent the board and discuss programs deemed vital to the college’s identity and to the community. Afterward, various programs, including the popular auto tech and television courses, were taken off the list for recommended cuts.
Whether the district’s friend or foe, hero or enemy, Hernandez’s actions proved positive for Oxnard College, although the repercussions for the entire district apparently have made him rethink his position. While Hernandez’ behavior may have been out of line, it is fairly clear that he felt compelled to stand up for Oxnard College because it seems as though no one else was. Maybe he was too vocal and too pushy, maybe he wasn’t following protocol and perhaps the time had come to discontinue his so-called disruptive behavior, but the board is supposed to work as a team and listen to each other when concerns arise. The real issue is at hand, however, isn’t his behavior, but the fact that so many have blamed him for the entire district being on probation because he didn’t attend a conference and that he speaks up for Oxnard College. If that was the case, it would give Hernandez a tremendous amount of power to make or break the entire district.
As the colleges, the district and the board work toward meeting the commission’s recommendations, we hope the finger pointing will subside and that all involved will focus more on what everyone needs to do to keep the schools accredited. After all, these colleges hold the future of thousands of local students.
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Comments
Thanks much for your well-balanced editorial, though I do disagree with it to a certain degree.
The issue of whether Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD) Board of Trustees Vice-Chairperson Arturo Hernandez should have been in San Jose for mandated training by the Accreditation Commission of Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), Nov. 17-19, 2011, is a non-starter. The training was never mandated in writing by the ACCJC and Trustee Hernandez was absolutely where he should have been on the evening of November 17, 2011--in attendance at the "Save Oxnard College"/"We Love Oxnard College meeting--by rights, all five of the trustees should have been at the meeting which had been organized by the Associated Student Body (ASB) of the College.
Even though he would not have been required to attend, it would have been very beneficial for the Trustees if VCCCD Chancellor Dr. James Meznek could have attended the training in San Jose as the representative of the Board of Trustees. Chancellor Meznek could then have reported back to the Board and apprised them of the events that had transpired at the San Jose conference.
The argument that Trustee Hernandez should have been in San Jose for training, along with the other Trustees, Nov 17-19, 2011, also lacks merit given that according to the ACCJC accreditation team followup report, the Trustees had attended three major training events between October 2010 and the date of the report which is December 5, 2011. The ACCJC argument that the trustees seriously lack training is also seriously flawed given their participation in the three training events just mentioned. The ACCJC accreditation team followup report is a matter of public record and can be found on the following web site:
http://www.vcccd.edu/about_the_district/...
The VCCCD Board of Trustees do need to receive more training, but they have shown good faith in doing so to date and the VCCCD schools for that reason, and many others, should be removed from probationary status by the ACCJC immediately.
In sum, whatever issues the Board may have pale in comparison to the enormity of the challenges the Colleges face relative to severe budgetary/programmatic cuts and the challenges they face in helping to keep Ventura County's workforce competitive.
If the Colleges do not remain viable in their mission to educate and train the County's present and future workforces, Ventura County will founder and fail in economies of scale region wide, state wide, nationwide, and worldwide.
Best regards,
Dave S. Morse, MA, MMPA