San Fernando Valley : Pierce College Gets Warning

In a rare move, a community college licensing commission has privately warned Pierce College in a scathing report that continuing financial, enrollment and leadership problems threaten the accreditation of the Woodland Hills school.

The study by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges berated Pierce for its failure to hire and retain administrators in key positions and expressed alarm at the school’s paralysis in the face of an enrollment decline from 24,000 students in 1982 to fewer than 14,000 today.

“It is frightening to learn that the college . . . [has] made very little effort to market the college and recruit students,” said the report, which was prepared after discussions last spring with 578 Pierce students, faculty, staff and administrators. “There appears to be a serious mismatch between what the college offers and what students need.”

In addition, the commission found the school’s “financial future is uncertain [and] reserves almost nonexistent.”

The report said the accreditation commission had made recommendations that Pierce set goals and timelines to meet deficiencies but that those warnings have gone unheeded, and “the college cannot continue to defer action.”

Colleges face reaffirmation of their accreditation every six years. If it is revoked, a school’s students lose eligibility for federal financial aid and four-year institutions may deny them admittance.

The commission’s actions fall far short of that. Rather, the commission declined to reaffirm Pierce’s accreditation until the school adequately addresses its problems.

Pierce’s acting president, Mary Lee, could not be reached for comment on Thursday. But Carmelita Thomas, vice president of academic affairs, said schools “rarely pass evaluations with flying colors,” and added that the school has already made progress in addressing many of the committee’s concerns.