San Fernando Valley : College Leader Sees Silver Lining in Troubles
Putting a good spin on bad news, the acting president of Pierce College said Monday that the campus’s accreditation problems will help spur solutions to longstanding money and management woes that have dogged the Woodland Hills community college.
After an hourlong town hall meeting on campus, college President Mary Lee said she couldn’t disagree with a recent decision by the agency that oversees community colleges in the Western United States, postponing a decision on whether to continue Pierce’s accreditation.
The stress will be good for the school in the end, she said.
“The college needed to have a fire lit under it,” Lee said of the recent warning by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.
Pierce College remains accredited, meaning that its students are still eligible for government financial aid and that the credits they earn will be accepted by other colleges if they transfer or go on with their studies.
Lee said the college already has begun addressing the commission’s 24 recommendations for improvement.
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