Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) is part of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), one of six regional accrediting organizations in the United States. The ACCJC accredits private and public colleges that provide students two-year education programs and confer the associate degree. The Commission's scope includes colleges in California, Hawaii, and American territories and protectorates in the Pacific Ocean.

The ACCJC was formed in 1962 when several accrediting agencies joined to create WASC. The ACCJC is not a governmental entity but an independent organization of educators and others representing the public interest. In concept, colleges apply to become members of the ACCJC and volunteer to participate in the accreditation process. A college must be accredited in order to participate in federal student financial aid programs. Moreover, accreditation is crucial to a college's reputation. Accreditation provides students, the public, and the educational community with assurances of the college's effectiveness. It also affirms the professionalism and integrity of the faculty, staff, administration, and trustees of the college.

The ACCJC has sanctioned colleges at a rate vastly higher than the other accrediting bodies in the United States. At a forum on the CCSF campus California State Senator James Beall and Assemblyman Tom Ammiano described legislation which would undo the monopoly the ACCJC holds on accreditation of California Community Colleges.

The accreditation process is premised on the idea that the ACCJC and the colleges together shape the values and best practices of the educational community into the policies, requirements, and standards by which colleges are evaluated. It is the Commission's policy that the ACCJC and its member institutions share this right and responsibility.

Accreditation processes vary among regional commissions. The ACCJC requires member colleges to carry out a self-study, compose a report, and undergo peer review every six years. In short, the ACCJC process consists of two elements: the college's evaluation of itself and the ACCJC's evaluation of the college. These evaluations determine the extent to which the college is meeting the ACCJC's policies, requirements, and standards, and their purpose is to help the school improve itself. However, while the ACCJC and its representatives are considered peers of the college they are evaluating, ultimately it is the ACCJC, not the college, that will decide the college’s accreditation status and any subsequent steps the college must take to better this status.

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