TUCSON, Ariz. — A community college that has long served the metro Tucson area is facing a critical point in an effort to hold onto its accreditation.
Pima Community College’s accreditor is scheduled to visit next month and decide whether to give the institution another chance, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
Accreditation sanctions have loomed over the school since 2013.
The accreditor could give the institution a year to prove it deserves accreditation or possibly lift the sanction to implement a few years of intense monitoring.
“This semester is the most critical semester in Pima’s history,” Bruce Moses, the college administrator in charge of accreditation issues, told the college’s governing board at a recent study session.
Moses said the fall semester that starts later this month could help prove to accreditors that the institution is headed in the right direction.
Almost a dozen concerns discussed during the most recent visit in 2014 included inattention to program quality and high turnover of key workers.
Many fixes are already in place, but improved student advising and other plans have been delayed.
“We understand that we’re not there yet,” Moses said. “We have a lot of areas we still need to improve in.”
The Chicago-based Higher Learning Commission is sending reviewers to visit the school Sept. 26-27. They typically speak with groups of students, employees, taxpayers and members of the governing board.
A final decision is expected in February.