New PCC Superintendent-President Holds Open Town Hall Meeting, Confronts College’s Probation

 

Pasadena City College’s new Superintendent-President Dr. Rajen Vurdien held an open town hall meeting Monday afternoon and declared that “working together” the College should be able to satisfy the accreditation body which has placed the college on probation.

In a June decision letter, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission demoted PCC’s accreditation to probationary after a comprehensive review of the College’s practices. The Commission listed deficiencies and gave the college until October 16, 2016 to resolve them and submit proof.

“We have nine recommendations that we are addressing. And working together with Stephanie Fleming from the Senate, Dr. Scott representing the administration, with representatives from the classified Senate and students, we are putting teams together to address those recommendations,” Dr. Vurdien told about 130 faculty and students gathered in a campus meeting room on Monday. “I can assure you that with this college, with everybody working together, we should be able to address all those recommendations.”

Vurdien started his twenty minute talk by describing his assessment of the college’s overall status.

“The courses that we offer here at the Pasadena City College are second to none,” Vurdien said. “We are the best in the nation, the quality of our instruction, the dedication of our faculty and staff, is– I can’t even think of words to use to describe the type of education. The quality of the program is first class.”

He stressed that the college remains fully accredited and that although the Accrediting Commission’s requirements are “difficult to address” a plan is taking shape which can lead to restoration of full accreditation.

Vurdien pointed to timing as a central issue.

“We have to show that we have gone through one complete cycle of implementing” the new satisfactory process, Vurdien said, in order to meet the Committee’s October, 2016 deadline.

One process in particular is problemmatic, Vurdien said.

“The most difficult one to address is the one that has to do with integrating the planning process with the budget process. That is something that is very difficult,” he said.

Vurdien said he has been working with key campus leaders to be certain “that we have that planning process in place by the end of September” so that it can be implemented in early October.

The tone of the town hall meeting was in striking contrast to the atmosphere of the previous administration. One observer commented upon Vurdien’s apparently affable nature.

“We’re going to have a process — a system that is going to be transparent. Nothing you will see happening is going to be hidden, I want that to be very clear,” Vurdien said Monday. “We’re not going to agree all the time, but we’re going to be very civil in our disagreement.”