Senate Resolution No. 47

Introduced by Senator Leno

May 19, 2014

Senate Resolution No. 47—Relative to the City College of San Francisco.

WHEREAS, The City College of San Francisco, founded in
1935, is a long-running and established entity in the San Francisco
Bay area; and

WHEREAS, The City College of San Francisco is the largest
community college district with a student enrollment of
approximately 80,000 students in 2012; and

WHEREAS, The City College of San Francisco gives individuals
who lack English language skills the ability to learn English to
gain employment and participate and contribute to the economy;
and

WHEREAS, The City College of San Francisco is the first stop
for many recent immigrants to take naturalization courses to
integrate into the broader society; and

WHEREAS, The City College of San Francisco provides a
pathway to career and participation in the California dream for
thousands of people each year; and

WHEREAS, The City College of San Francisco is a valuable
tool in maintaining the middle class in the City and County of San
Francisco by being one of the few resources low-income students
can utilize to climb the economic ladder; and

WHEREAS, The City College of San Francisco is an important
resource that provides opportunities for low-income students to
gain job skills and adults to obtain their graduate equivalency
diplomas; and

WHEREAS, The City College of San Francisco offers over 50
educational programs and more than 100 work training courses
and specializes in training the future workforce of the City and
County of San Francisco in the hospitality, culinary, automotive,
and construction industries; and

WHEREAS, California’s Student Success Score Card, a
performance measurement system created by the Board of
Governors of the California Community Colleges to track student
success at all community colleges in California, shows that the
City College of San Francisco has a higher percentage of students
who transfer to a four-year university or earn a vocational
certificate than the statewide average; and

WHEREAS, The City College of San Francisco is a major job
creator in the City and County of San Francisco, employing about
1,500 faculty members; and

WHEREAS, The San Francisco Budget and Legislative Analyst
has found that the City College of San Francisco generates well
over $300 million in economic activity every year; and

WHEREAS, In July, 2012, the Accrediting Commission for
Community and Junior Colleges sanctioned the City College of
San Francisco with a ‘show cause’ order, which required the
college to remedy issues identified by the commission; and

WHEREAS, On July 31, 2014, the Accrediting Commission
for Community and Junior Colleges will determine the
accreditation status of the City College of San Francisco; and

WHEREAS, Since the ‘show cause’ order issue in 2012, the
City College of San Francisco has made substantial progress in
remedying the issues identified by the commission; and

WHEREAS, The City College of San Francisco has hired a
permanent chancellor, chief financial officer, chief counsel, and
chief instructional officer, and filled other leadership positions;
and

WHEREAS, The City College of San Francisco has met nearly
85 percent of the 350 objectives laid out by the Accrediting
Commission for Community and Junior Colleges to maintain its
accreditation but is not likely to meet them all by July 31, 2014,
when the fate of its accreditation will be determined; and

WHEREAS, The City College of San Francisco has asked for
an extension of time to allow them to fully address the issues
identified by the Accrediting Commission for Community and
Junior Colleges but the commissioners have declined the request
stating that federal law prevented them from granting an extension;
and

WHEREAS, The United States Department of Education
recently stated that the Accrediting Commission for Community
and Junior Colleges has the flexibility to give the City College of
San Francisco additional time to remedy all outstanding issues
without jeopardizing the commission’s standing with the
department; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate
urges the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior
Colleges to consider the progress the City College of San Francisco
has made and, as necessary, provide the college with additional
time to continue solving problems and keep its accreditation intact;
and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.