College offered commendations
The last time Gavilan College went through the accreditation
process, the results they received were lukewarm at best, according
to trustees.
College offered commendations
The last time Gavilan College went through the accreditation process, the results they received were lukewarm at best, according to trustees.
But seven years later, the school has taken such steps to improve academic programs, enhance the college’s presence in the surrounding communities and improve the campus that last week’s accreditation process ended with six commendations and only three recommendations.
“In 2000, the last time we went through the process I was still very new, but the exit report we received at that time was very embarrassing,” said Tom Breen, Gavilan College trustee and member of the accreditation steering committee. “The report we received [last week] was positive in virtually every regard.”
Kent Child, another trustee, agreed. Child has been associated with the campus for the better part of sixty years in one way or another and said that this was the most complimentary accreditation he’d ever known Gavilan to receive.
“It is unusual to have more commendations than suggestions,” Child said. “But it stands as proof that the review was overly positive.”
In the seven years since their last accreditation, Gavilan has done much to improve the scope of its school, according to Gavilan President Steve Kinsella.
“Two of our departments were singled out for recognition – the HR [Human Resources] department and the Disabled Student Resource Center – that’s really something,” Kinsell a said.
Another area where Gavilan really shined was in their student retention, Kinsella said. The administration realized two and a half years ago the school was losing one-third of its students to other nearby community colleges.
The school adapted an approach that included changing the academic schedule from a 17.5-week semester to a 16-week semester. The process took 18 months to implement and it started last fall. A shorter semester means that students can get in and complete courses faster so they can get back into the working world, Kinsella said.
As another part of the plan, they hired more full-time faculty, giving students greater access to advisors.
Finally, they increased marketing recruitment and advertising.
“The results were astonishing,” Kinsella said. “During the fall semester, there was a 12 percent increase in enrollment and again, a 12 percent increase in the spring.”
The accreditation crew was also impressed with the financial condition of the school. Gavilan is debt free and nearly fully funded, according to Kinsella.
There were still areas where the school needed improvement, but this didn’t surprise Kinsella. Learning outcomes is one area where Gavilan needs improvement, but it is an area most other schools also need to work on. Learning outcomes are determined through keeping account of what students are learning beyond just demonstrating test results.
Another area where the evaluators suggested improvement was placing more emphasis on the evaluation of part-time teachers. Kinsella explained that the teachers are evaluated when they initially arrive and then often it is several years before they are evaluated again. The administration is aware that this practice needs more consistency, Kinsella said.
“[The evaluators] really didn’t discover anything that we hadn’t already identified ourselves,” Kinsella said.
The trustees were pleased with the results of the accreditation and the job that Kinsella has done during his time at Gavilan to get the college to the level that it needs to be at, according to Child.
“[The accreditation team] really commended the president on bringing people together,” Breen said. “Everyone involved has devoted a lot of time getting things ready. This was a well-done report.”
Patrick O’Donnell can be reached at [email protected].
