A group of City College SF students, faculty, and supporters are gathering today to rally outside the Department of Education's offices at 50 Beale Street in protest of the school's loss of accreditation, announced last week.

The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) decided to revoke CCSF's accreditation, effective next July, due to a series of problems they had identified in an earlier report that the school had not yet addressed. Among the issues the ACCJC seems most concerned with are the school's multiple campuses, which drive up costs, as well as "high non-instructional faculty costs." Under the terms of the decision, the school has a year to correct its problems, and control over the school will be taken away from its board and put in the hands of a trustee.

CCSF currently serves about 85,000 students, including over 37,000 students studying English as a second language, and the school likes to tout the fact that approximately one in seven S.F. residents has taken a class there. The school has tried to remain affordable over the years as the cost of both public and private higher education has soared, and currently each unit costs just $46. A special foundation helps to offset the school's operating costs, as well as providing financial support to students.

The fight appears to be about the broad range of course offerings the school offers, as well as its large facilities costs, which the ACCJC argues are not in line with its revenue stream. According to the commission's press release last week, they don't feel the school has kept up with expected standards for things like student support services, library services, and its instructional programs. At the hands of the trustee, it seems likely some things may be cut, and one or more of the school's campuses could be closed.

The protest today will start at 88 4th Street at CCSF's downtown campus, at 4 p.m., and will then march to 50 Beale Street where there will be a rally at 4:30 p.m.

[BCN/Appeal]
[CBS]

Previously: City College's Accreditation Has Been Revoked