AUDASE

City College of San Francisco on brink of Closure
Accreditation panel's verdict gives the state's largest school 8 months to make its case to avoid shutdown
Nanette Asimov Chronicle Staff
Updated 11:57 p.m., Tuesday, July 3, 2012

City College could be the state's largest to ever be forced to close after losing accreditation.

The poorly run City College of San Francisco has eight months to prove it should stay in business, yet must "make preparations for closure," evaluators ordered Tuesday.

The stunning verdict by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges could result in the closure of California's largest college and a fixture of higher education in one of the nation's wealthiest cities. It has 90,000 students.

Only accredited colleges can receive public funding under state law. But City College's failure to fix serious, long-standing problems of leadership and fiscal planning means that the accrediting commission could vote as early as next June to yank the school's all-important certification, said Barbara Beno, commission president.

That perilous judgment was conveyed Tuesday in a letter to Pamila Fisher, interim chancellor of City College, as the commission released its comprehensive review of the school. The college now has the burden of proof to "show cause" for why it should retain accreditation.

"Since the loss of accreditation would likely cause City College of San Francisco to close, during the 'show cause' period the College must make preparations for closure according to the Commission's Policy on Closing an Institution," Beno wrote Fisher.

In addition to proving why it should stay in business, City College must submit a "Closure Report" by March 15.

Only one California college has shut down in recent years because it lost accreditation, Beno said. Compton College, near Los Angeles, closed in 2005. But City College was warned in 2006 that it had eight major problems that could place its status in jeopardy. Now there are 14, all of which must be addressed by March 15 for the college to remain accredited.

Summary of findings

In her letter, Beno summarized the findings of the 66-page report, citing "leadership weaknesses at all levels," "failure to react to ongoing reduced funding," and spending all but 8 percent of its budget on salaries and benefits. The Chronicle, which had obtained a copy of the report, wrote about the findings on Saturday.

Beno said Tuesday that the reduced funding at City College isn't the reason for its precarious position. Other colleges have also lost millions of dollars in state funding, she said. Yet only two of California's 112 community colleges - College of the Redwoods in Eureka and Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo - are, like City College, on the brink. "It's choices," Beno said. "Regardless of how much money they have, safeguards apparently weren't put in place. The situation is very grave."

Leadership lacking

It is unclear how small the vast City College would have to become to live within its reduced means. It has nine campuses and from 100 to 200 "instructional sites." More than 90,000 students are enrolled, intending to transfer to a four-year university, learn a vocation or just take an interesting course. Nearly 2,700 people work at City College, including just 39 administrators - a level considered far too low by the accrediting commission.

In her two-page response to the commission, Interim Chancellor Fisher did not promise to keep City College's doors open. Nor did she make such a promise in response to questions from The Chronicle, saying only: "City College is fully aware of the seriousness of the situation."

But Fisher acknowledged in her letter that "clear, difficult choices must be made, immediately, and at a number of levels."

"The ultimate responsibility rests with the trustees, administration, faculty and staff to reinvent City College so that it can continue to achieve its important mission, but in a more cost-effective and efficient way."

Fisher became chancellor May 1 when Chancellor Don Griffin resigned to undergo surgery for a brain tumor.

Since then, she said, the college has approved a $187 million budget for 2012-13 that is $8 million less than the previous budget. It includes savings from union givebacks, furloughs, a freeze on purchasing and the elimination of 700 classes for fall and spring.

$79 parcel tax

The trustees also voted to place a $79 per parcel tax on the November ballot to benefit the college, and will bring in the state's Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team to help create a multiyear financial plan.

Next week, Fisher said, she will appoint an accreditation response team to develop "an immediate plan of action" to address the 14 major problems the college must solve to stay in business.

Action plan deadline

The first deadline, Oct. 15, is when City College must submit its action plan to the accrediting commission. Commission representatives will then visit the school to monitor progress.

City College Trustee Steve Ngo said he was taken aback by the severity of the commission's action.

"City College must survive," he said. "We will work our way out of this."

At the same time, he urged everyone who loves City College to recognize the value of the institution that churns out thousands of educated students and licensed professionals each year.

"I think they're in danger of losing a treasured institution," he said. "The work we do has to do with the strength of the city."

English instructor Alisa Messer, president of the American Federation of Teachers local that represents the college's faculty, agreed.

"The last thing anyone wants is for the college to close," she said. "We'll all work very hard to make sure it doesn't. Closure would be unthinkable."

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Read the report

To see the accreditation report, go to: sfg.ly/O2FVAa

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco staff writer. E-mail: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov.