Positive outlook for Porterville College

After four days of interviews, sitting in on meetings and reviewing “tons of data,” a 12-member accreditation team visiting Porterville College was ready to present initial feedback during its Exit Interview Thursday afternoon — information to determine if PC met the standardizations of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

The accreditation team was on campus to validate information obtained from a self evaluation.

“This is what it is all about — having colleagues look at what we are doing and how we are doing it,” said PC President Rosa Carlson after thanking the team on behalf of the staff and board. “We’re looking forward to moving on to the next step.”

Chair of the team Michael Claire praised the brevity of the self evaluation, calling it concise, easy to read and what he felt was “An honest assessment of where you are at” but found there were certain areas where PC could benefit.

“There was additional information we had to draw out of you,” he said. “Not that you were hiding anything. In fact, what you’re doing is more than what you give yourself credit for.”

He praised the family atmosphere of the campus, the ‘Students First’ philosophy, equipment that is in great shape, the teaching of students to help themselves, and the school’s Culture and Historical Awareness Program. He also congratulated the maintenance team for making the campus shine, and the transparency of staff for providing information requested.

He recommended taking advantage of available data and, with respect to the planning system, to work on integrating plans together.

In approximate two weeks, a rough draft will be provided to the ACCJC staff, with a copy to the PC administration to review for errors of fact. The Commission will take action on the report in January, and present the final copy to PC in mid February.

By policy, the chair and his team did not take any questions from the audience. They were also required to leave immediately following the presentation.

As they left, Carlson thanked her staff for their hospitality when asked for reports.

“I’ve served on these teams and this is one of the best teams I have ever seen,” Carlson said.

Vice President Steve Schultz said he felt good about the recommendations.

“They’re ones very easy to fix and we’re already working on some of them,” he said.

Kern Community College District Board member John Corkins agreed, saying everything sounded very positive, but he was still awaiting the results from the accreditation teams for Bakersfield College and Cerro Coso College.

Contact Esther Avila at 784-5000, Ext. 1045. Follow her on Twitter @Avila_recorder.