The New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC) has made a crucial ruling in the plans to consolidate leadership of Connecticut’s twelve community colleges.
On Tuesday, President of Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) Mark Ojakian announced that the NEASC had determined that plans for one governing body for a ‘Community College of Connecticut’ would be considered the creation of a new university; and not a ‘substantive change’ for the current twelve separately accredited community colleges.
With this distinction, the NEASC said the Community College of Connecticut would need to go through the already-established accreditation process.
The NEASC also stated that the “potential for a disorderly environment for students is too high for it to approve the proposed Community College of Connecticut as a candidate for accreditation based on this proposal.”
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In response to this, Ojakian said, in part, “…This decision by NEASC is devastating to our ability to hold the line on tuition and keep all campuses open…In the coming days we will review all of our options including legislative and accrediting options, a review of tuition rates, and the closing of one or more of our campuses.”
The entire letter from the NEASC can be viewed below.
