Accreditation - Hartnell College!!

Institutional Self Evaluation – 12-05-12
D. Eligibility Requirements
Information demonstrating compliance is included in various sections of this Self Evaluation
Report and summarized in this section. Each eligibility requirement will continue to be met by
the college.
1. Authority
Hartnell College‘s authority to operate as a degree-granting institution is its continuous
accreditation by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges, an institutional accreditation body recognized by the
Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation and the United States Department
of Education. It is a public community college that operates under the authority of the state of
California and the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. This authority is noted
on the title page of the college Catalog and on the college website.
2. Mission
According to its Mission Statement, "Hartnell College provides the leadership and resources to
ensure that all students shall have equal access to a quality education and the opportunity to
pursue and achieve their goals. We are responsive to the learning needs of our community and
dedicated to a diverse educational and cultural campus environment that prepares our students
for productive participation in a changing world.”
Hartnell College is committed to its mission, as published in its Catalog, Schedule of Classes, on
its website, and in each monthly meeting agenda for the Board of Trustees, as well as numerous
other documents and reports. Hartnell College periodically assesses its performance with regard
to the promises contained in its mission by identifying the education and training needs of the
District and analyzing access and student success data with particular attention to closing any
gaps or disparities. Data comparing demographic characteristics of the District, enrollments,
course completers and graduates are examined periodically. After reviewing these data in 2011,
the Board set goals regarding community involvement and student success.
3. Governing Board
Hartnell College is a single college district with seven trustees, each elected for four-year terms
from one of the seven sub-districts in Monterey County (and a small piece of San Benito
County), and one student trustee elected by the students to a one-year term. Trustee elections are
held in odd numbered years, and the terms are staggered to provide continuity of service; four
were elected in 2011 and three seats will be up for election again in 2013. The Board is an
independent policymaking body that holds monthly meetings open to the public, with widelypublished
notices and agendas posted in advance. All senates and employee groups are invited to
provide monthly reports to the Board. The Board is subject to the Brown Act.
The Board carries out its fiduciary and quality assurance responsibilities through its policies, and
delegates to the college president the operation of the college and the implementation of these
policies in a manner that ensures academic and financial integrity and transparency. Each Board
member must be free of conflicts of interest and completes the conflict of interest disclosure
Page 42