§ 260C.47 — Accreditation of community college programs

Iowa § 260C.47

• Jurisdiction: Iowa
• Title VII: EDUCATION, HISTORY, AND CULTURE
• Ch. 260C: COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Text

1. The state board of education shall establish an accreditation process for community
college programs. 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 a federally recognized accreditor of postsecondary
educational institutions selected by the board, 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 accreditor’s accreditation process. The
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department of education shall use a two-component process for the continued accreditation
of community college programs.
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 occurring once every ten years,
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
fromcommunitycollegesotherthanthecommunitycollegethatconductstheprogramsbeing
evaluated for accreditation. 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 agencies, 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. Thestateboardshalldeterminewhetheraprogramofacommunitycollegeshallremain
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
includecomponentswhichaddressmeetingprogramdeficiencies, sharingormergeroptions,
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
shalldeterminewhetherthedeficienciesinthestandardsfortheprogramhavebeencorrected
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
programwhichfailstomeetaccreditationstandardsatleastoneyear’snoticepriortoremoval
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
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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
accreditationoftheprogramandsatisfiesthedirectorthatthecommunitycollegewillcomply
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.