Coastline Wins Praise From Accrediting Unit

Coastline Community College, Orange County’s most unusual and sometimes most controversial two-year institution, has won unrestricted accreditation renewal and high praise from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

The commission lauded Coastline for being different and urged the college “to resist any impulse to become a more traditional college.” The praise rebutted critics from Coastline’s sister community colleges, some of whom have called for closing the unusual “college without a campus.”

Unlike the other seven community colleges in the county, Coastline has no central campus. The college operates out of rented buildings in Costa Mesa, Westminster, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Newport Beach, Fountain Valley and Garden Grove.

‘Unique Character’ Praised

In addition to having no campus, Coastline has a preponderance of part-time instructors and proudly advertises its televised courses. All these thing have brought criticism to the college over the years, and critics from the more traditional two-year institutions at Golden West College in Huntington Beach and Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa have for several years called for abolishing Coastline.

But a 12-member accrediting-evaluation team, headed by Byron Skinner, president of San Jose City College, issued a report last month that said Coastline’s unusual structure and “unique character” fill community needs.

“Coastline College is an institution that is characterized by dedicated, high-energy and enthusiasatic staff and students,” said the accreditation report. “There appears to be a good relationship between the administration and the entire college staff.”

Nonetheless, the report noted Coastline’s roller-coaster history of enrollment. The college was founded in 1976 as the third arm of Coast Community College District, which also governs Golden West and Orange Coast colleges. Enrollment rapidly rose at Coastline and peaked in 1981-82 at about 30,000 students. But the bottom fell out after that year. The state Legislature stopped funding a wide array of so-called “hobby courses” in 1983, saying it was a waste of tax dollars to fund such subjects as macrame and belly dancing.

Focus of State Criticism

Coastline had an unusually large number of the eliminated courses. Its enrollment dropped to 15,000 and has stayed at or around that total in recent years.

Coastline became a focus of state criticism of televised college courses in 1983. A subsequent academic report, however, vindicated most of the criticized courses. Coastline still widely advertises its TV offerings, but they constitute only 28 of the 1,302 classes being offered this fall.

In its report, the accreditation team praised Coastline’s televised courses and urged the college “to continue to pursue innovation in telecourse instruction and remain on the cutting edge of a college ‘without walls.’ ”

William M. Vega, president of Coastline, said the report “has validated the unique mission of Coastline Community College and has recognized the quality of instruction and services our college provides the residents of this community.”

Vega added, “It is particularly gratifying to receive what is essentially an unconditional stamp of approval.”