WASC told CCI (and the prospective purchasers found out) that the WASC accreditation won't simply transfer over to a new purchaser. A significant commitment in both time and monies are going to be required to keep WASC happy. The purchasers balked along with the BIGGER problem of the CA AG lawsuit along with the BIGGEST problem of ever declining student enrollment.
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Former WASC ALO is 100% accurate in his/her posts. The other posts are misinformed, malicious, or simply speculative. WASC is recognized as one of the most innovative and transparent regionals in the country. They are not hung up on the bogus for profit vs. nonprofit narrative in the press. They care about organizations meeting the standards.
Dear 595: the only individuals that WASC speaks to are Heald's president/CEO, Chief Academic Officer, Board Chair, and a CCi VP. I find it highly unlikely that one of these four individuals would make posts about what WASC has said. Previous poster is correct that a review will occur. This review is a substantive change proposal, which, if approved, will be followed by a site visit. Usually the process would take several months, but WASC agreed to expedite the process given the urgency of the sale. And again, for at least the third time, there is no such thing as transfer of accreditation . Heald College is, and will remain, the accredited entity through the sale process.
495, thanks for sharing your opinion.
- Right and you can also read the WASC site review reports for Heald. WASC has told CCI multiple times that the accreditation simply won't transfer over to a new purchaser. WASC has been CHEWED OUT (most notably by UC Berkeley having a WASC accreditation now for a new MS EECS program) for lax standards. (Heald should have never been accredited in the first place). Potential purchasers were told by WASC that a FULL BLOWN FORMAL REVIEW taking MONTHS would be needed for ANY accreditation.
460, nicely said.
Augh, I can't take it anymore! I am a former WASC Accreditation Liaison Officer and am fatigued with the speculative comments represented as facts on this board. There are a lot of posters making claims about what WASC believes, yet you don't need to read this board to find that out. WASC is one of the most transparent of the regional accrediting bodies, and what they have officially communicated to their accredited colleges regarding accreditation status has been made public on their website since June 2012. Poster 360 is incorrect. This discussion can devolve to he said/she said, or you can go to the WASC website and read the statement of accredited status, action letter, and visiting team report.
I think the issue is that some of us have more experience actually watching WASC in action than others (serving on visiting committees and defending self-studies for example). There is no doubt that they have leeway in everything that they do, and it's always a question of who is chosen to evaluate you from your "peers" and what their opinion of you (or your "type of school") is. there's been a lot of bad publicity over for-profits in general, and especially CCi. Whoever is overseeing a change in ownership will be under pressure to put the screws on us. WASC is NOT an impartial bureaucratic group that follows protocol to a T. There is always a LOT of politics and subjectivity involved in what they do.
360: thank you for sharing your opinion, but I'd like to know where you are getting your information from. A previously noted, if a school with WASC accreditation is put on probation for any reason it would notatate that on their site, and nowhere does it state that Heald is on probation or has any accreditation warnings whatsoever that I have been able to find. Providing accurate information in your posts would be good!
347, Basically NO. WASC made it quite clear that Heald wasn't up to snuff in the criteria for accreditation a couple of months ago. WASC found out (and REALLY is finding out a lot now) that it was "flat out" lied to during the site visits and IS NOT HAPPY. WASC has another site visit coming and gave Heald a big warning that problems were coming even BEFORE the recent CCI problems.
WASC has a duty to ensure that every institution that receives Title IV funding is financially responsible. WASC put Heald on probation several years ago (pre-CCI) because of financial instability.
322: only partly correct. This is a not a contest in which WASC chooses a winner. When a sale offer is accepted, Heald's accreditation liaison officer will prepare a substantive change proposal for change of ownership. And if the new owner meets these modest criteria, then it is likely the proposal will be accepted.
301: Actually, what you just said was the same as the OP. WASC needs assurances that the new owner has "funds and experience" commensurate with the size and scope of the college. That means a commitment of money and time to satisfy and questions or concerns. Within that general guideline, WASC can choose to be as easy or picky as it wants. Their largest constituents and loudest voices come from non-profits who tend to be wary of and overtly discriminate against for-profits. Most potential purchasers are career chains, so this would be a big problem for them.
As previously noted on this board, WASC accreditation for Heald College remains in good standing, as evidenced by the directory of institutions published on the wascsenior.org web site. Additionally, members of the public can read the substantive change manual WASC publishes to learn the criteria for change of ownership, which does not include any of the factors mentioned by the original poster. Instead, WASC is looking for assurances that independent governance will remain in place and that new ownership has the funds and experience to acquire a regionally accredited college. But don't take my word for it- go to wascsenior.org to verify the information. The simple fact the the poster refers to a transfer of accreditation rather than substantive change approval for change of ownership reveals the OP to be uninformed.
Is it correct that only Heald has WASC accreditation?
We will soon find out if OP is right or not. I suspect that he is. We will know in about a month to two months.
OP, thank you so much for sharing this sensitive, highly confidential information with us. I know you are taking great risk breaking the non-disclosure agreement you have signed in order to get this information out to us. I mean, how else would you know this unless you are in the circle of trust? You certainly would not come on here and post fake, inaccurate information just to see how people react. No, that would be silly, so that means you really have accurate information! Gee, I wish I knew the things you do!
By the way, you might want to actually know what you are talking about before you embarrass yourself posting again. Anyone who is familiar with WASC regulations knows what you are saying is not true, but hey, it sure sounds good, right!
And your source for this information is?