Cuesta president upbeat as accrediting group calls

Similar stories:

• Cuesta College could be closed if accreditation requirements aren't met by November

  Cuesta College could be closed if accreditation requirements aren't met by November

  Cuesta College has until November to fix problems noted by the agency responsible for accrediting community colleges or it will lose its accreditation and possibly face closure, school officials announced Monday.

  The college must improve in three key areas — planning and assessment, technology resources, and financial planning and stability — or its accreditation will be revoked.

  It must also make preparations for closure, as required by the commission, should the college fail to meet the requirements. In that process, the dissolution of the college and its resources will be explored, Cuesta President Gil Stork said.

• Special report: Cuesta College’s accreditation crisis

  Special report: Cuesta College’s accreditation crisis

  Cuesta College finds itself fighting to keep its accreditation because of years of volatile leadership, which resulted in a lack of high-level attention just as the standards got tougher. That’s the conclusion drawn from interviews with more than a dozen past and present college administrators, faculty and staff.

• Consultant is next step in Cuesta College accreditation crisis

  Consultant is next step in Cuesta College accreditation crisis

  Cuesta College administrators have hired a consultant to pinpoint exactly where they are falling short in meeting the necessary requirements for accreditation.

  The college was notified last week that it needs to fix insufficiencies in three key areas: planning and assessment, technology resources, and financial planning and stability. Otherwise, its accreditation will be revoked, and Cuesta will face possible closure.

  Following the news, college officials spent the week at a dizzying pace assuring employees and students that resolving the problems was their sole priority and that the school remains accredited despite the recent sanction.

• At Cuesta College, the time is past for promises and platitudes

  At Cuesta College, the time is past for promises and platitudes

  One year ago, Cuesta officials assured us they were doing everything possible to meet accreditation requirements.

  “Since taking over as superintendent/president, accreditation has been my top issue,” Cuesta College President Gil Stork wrote in a Tribune Viewpoint published Feb. 18, 2011. “We have lived it, breathed it and worked hard to remove the sanctions over administrative procedures that cloud our much-deserved reputation for excellence. I’m confident that we’ll succeed.”

  Yet Cuesta College did not succeed, and now it’s down to its last chance to meet accreditation requirements.

• Teachers union criticizes Cuesta’s trustees

  Teachers union criticizes Cuesta’s trustees

  Cuesta College Federation of Teachers is unhappy with how board is handling accreditation