CHANCELLOR DRUMMOND FORMS ASSISTANCE TEAM FOR COMPTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
SACRAMENTO AND COMPTON � Fulfilling his promise to use the full resources of the California Community Colleges System Office to keep education available at Compton Community College, Chancellor Marshall (Mark) Drummond announced at the Board of Governors meeting earlier this week that he has formed a Compton Community College District (CCCD) strategic assistance team.
The strategic assistance team will be guided Dr. Charles Ratliff, who will serve as Special Trustee. Dr. Jamillah Moore, Senior Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations and External Affairs, is on loan from the System Office and will serve as CCCD�s Interim Superintendent-President.
The two higher education policy experts will provide the college with support and guidance as it prepares for the review and appeals process before the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). In June, the Accrediting Commission took action to terminate the college�s accreditation.
�Compton Community College will continue to be an accredited institution and available to offer college classes for the students until all available options through the Accrediting Commission�s formal appeals process have been exercised,� said Chancellor Drummond, encouraging the more than 6,000 students � most of whom are underrepresented students of color from low-income families � to prepare for fall enrollment. �At this time, the college�s number one priority will be to ensure productive and smooth-running summer and fall sessions for the students.�
Compton will begin registering students for fall term on Monday, July 18, with the first fall classes commencing August 31. The college�s summer session classes began June 20, shortly after the Commission informed the college administration about their decision. College officials noted that this summer�s enrollment numbers are the highest they have ever experienced, nearly comparable to some past fall terms. Compton�s second summer session will start on August 1.
A veteran higher education policy expert, Ratliff will assume primary responsibility for preparing the appeals before the Accrediting Commission. As Special Trustee, Ratliff said that he �will continue the efforts of his immediate predecessor Arthur Tyler to guide Compton CCD toward fiscal recovery and stability.� Tyler recently accepted the presidency at Sacramento City College.
Moore succeeds Dr. Rita Cepeda, who is the new President of San Diego Mesa College. As a former community college instructor, Moore said she �gladly accepted the assignment to assist the college, because my primary goal is to ensure that the students of this community will maintain access to quality education.�
Chancellor Drummond expressed his thanks to Tyler and Cepeda: �I want to personally express my deep appreciation to Art Tyler and Rita Cepeda for the outstanding work that they did despite the challenges they faced every day. With their leadership, expertise and devotion to Compton, they were able to unify diverse constituencies to accomplish significant improvements at the college in a very short period of time.�
Also named to the Compton strategic assistance team are educational administrators who have decades of experience working in California�s community colleges and K through 12 schools: Dr. Hal Bateman from Santa Ana College; Dr. Sally Chou, Compton Unified School District; Cheryl Fong, California Community Colleges System Office; and Dr. Mickey Mathews, Contra Costa College. The team is expected to serve for at least three months.
Chancellor Drummond declared: �I am confident that the strategic assistance team will do everything possible to preserve Compton Community College�s accreditation, continue to remedy its fiscal and operational concerns, and maintain the vitality and importance of this valuable educational and community resource.�
Since 1927, Compton Community College has proudly served the communities of Compton, Lynwood, Carson, Paramount, Willowbrook and North Long Beach. Over 6,600 students (unduplicated headcount) enrolled during Fall 2004. Compared to the previous year, the Fall 2004 numbers for Compton (2,450 FTES) were higher than reported for Fall 2003 (2,300 FTES). Overall, in academic year 2003-2004, Compton enrolled 12,700 students and generated 5,300 FTES combined for summer, fall and spring terms.
The California Community Colleges Chancellor�s Office provides guidance for the 72 districts and 109 colleges that constitute the state community colleges system. The largest system of higher education in the nation, the California Community Colleges provided educational, vocational and transfer programs to more than 2.5 million students during academic year 2003-2004. More information about the System Office can be found at its website at www.cccco.edu.
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