An Invitation to Participate from ACCJC

By Gohar Momjian, ACCJC Vice President

Accreditation would not be possible without you!  As you may know, the peer review accreditation process allows professionals from colleges in the Western Region to consider the academic quality and institutional improvement of ACCJC’s member colleges. This peer review process is unique to higher education accreditation in the United States. Commission staff develops peer review teams from a roster of experienced educators from across the region, and typically teams include a faculty librarian. If you are interested in contributing to the peer review process by serving as a peer reviewer on a team, please visit our website to learn about the qualifications and expectations and complete the Peer Reviewer Interest Form.

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for ACCJC’s 2019 Partners in Excellence Conference: April 30-May 3 in Burlingame. Join ACCJC as a partner in excellence and explore the awesome challenge educators face as they ponder What the Future Holds. The conference will feature multiple break-out sessions for members to weigh in on what they are doing to keep higher education responsive, effective, and relevant.  Plenary speakers include Martha Kanter (formerly Under Secretary of Education in the Obama administration, former Chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, and current Executive Director of the College Promise Campaign) and David Baime (Senior Vice President for Government Relations at the American Association of Community Colleges).  

For regular updates on what’s happening with ACCJC, please visit ACCJC President’s Monthly Essay page, where Dr. Richard Winn publishes a series of conversation-starters about key aspects of ACCJC’s work as an accrediting agency. Each month, he covers such topics as the role of sanctions, the work of a Commissioner, and ACCJC’s relationship with the US Department of Education. January’s essay, Take the Fear Out of the System, highlights important initiatives ACCJC is carrying out to ensure a meaningful accreditation process, one that promotes innovation and inquiry.   

In 2017, ACCJC adopted a new mission and core values to express not only its greater purpose, but also how it cares for its member institutions. ACCJC’s Mission emphasizes working with member institutions to advance educational quality and student learning and achievement.  The mission is now also grounded by a set of Core Values: Integrity. Quality Assurance. Institutional Improvement. Peer Review.   Student Learning and Achievement. Collegiality. We know you share these values, and we are eager to work with the librarians of the California Community College System to facilitate student success.

ACCJC thanks you for your commitment to higher education and looks forward to your participation and engagement!