Honolulu Community College has taken action to address concerns raised by an accrediting committee that put the campus on a "warning" status earlier this year, its chancellor says.

"I feel good that we’ve done what the accrediting team had asked us to do," said HCC Chancellor Erika Lacro. "We’ve taken to heart what they want to see, and we’ve put actions in place to do so."

The college must submit a report by Oct. 15 describing what it has done to systematically evaluate its programs and ensure that students are learning, as recommended by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. After that an accreditation team will visit again to assess the situation.

In February the commission issued an official warning to the school, questioning the effectiveness of its online courses as well as the rigor of some general education classes. The sanction followed a visit by an accrediting team in October.

"Warning" is the first of four stages of possible sanctions in the accreditation process. The campus remains accredited but must address deficiencies. If the situation is not rectified, the next step would be to put the school on probation.

"Even while we are on warning, we stay accredited," Lacro said. "It doesn’t affect students or financial aid or anything like that. I think the accrediting team will see how we’ve addressed their concerns."

The college, part of the University of Hawaii system, has been fully accredited since 1970 by the commission, which is an arm of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Roughly 4,500 students are enrolled at the campus on Dillingham Boulevard in Kalihi-Palama.

The accrediting commission’s February report commended the school for its support of Native Hawaiian students and spirit of "ohana," and helping its students make the transition to four-year institutions.

But it made six recommendations for action regarding evaluation of programs, student outcomes and staff. One chief issue was the college’s distance education program, a concern raised more often by accrediting groups across the country these days as online courses proliferate.

"The college should compare the instructional quality of face-to-face and distance education courses and develop a strategic plan for distance education," the report said.

That strategic plan has now been completed, Lacro said. It includes mandatory faculty training, evaluation of student performance and better online tools, such as online tutoring, which is now available at all hours.

"They want to make sure the students in the distance education courses are achieving the same student learning that they are achieving in the face-to-face courses," Lacro said.

The commission also asked the school to assess the rigor of its general education courses. Traditionally, career and technical education programs had different standards for those courses. A carpentry student, for example, would take math that was relevant to the job, but not the broader, university-level math. New standards call for such general education courses to qualify as transfer credits to four-year institutions.

"The accrediting committee wanted to see that at a higher level," Lacro said. "We’ve met that recommendation. We’ve already upgraded the level of courses for all those programs."

The accreditation process starts with a intensive self-evaluation by the school, followed by an outside critique.

"I think the real positive thing is that it makes us refocus on our student success and our student learning," Lacro said. "You’re constantly looking at, How do we make this better for the students?"

Honolulu Community College Accreditation Letter by craiggima