06/09/2025
Columbia College will receive a site visit by a peer review team from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), Western Association of Schools and Colleges on September 18 and 19, as part of the process to reaffirm Columbia’s accreditation.
As part of the visit, Columbia invites community members to meet the team and share feedback at a public forum on Wednesday, September 18 from 4:30 to 5:30 in Dogwood building on campus at 11600 Columbia College Drive, Sonora.
Modesto Junior College, Columbia’s sister college in the Yosemite Community College District, also will undergo accreditation review at that time.
Open forums at both colleges have been scheduled to provide an opportunity for the public, all employees, students, and members of the college community to meet and communicate with the ACCJC evaluation team.As a member of the California Community College system, Columbia must complete an accreditation review at least every seven years to ensure that its mission, academic and student services, administration, and overall performance meet ACCJC standards. The college started the process more than 18 months ago and completed a one-year comprehensive self-evaluation, producing a required Institutional Self-Evaluation Report (ISER) that is posted on the college website.
More than 70 staff, faculty, and students participated in the self-review process, working in teams that held many college-wide conversations, interpreted policies, and gathered evidence on the standards. The effort was led by a college accreditation team chaired by Vice President of Student Services Dr. Melissa Raby, Chemistry Professor Dr. Colin Thomas, and Curriculum Specialist Elissa Creighton. Columbia and MJC were the first colleges the Western region to apply a new set of ACCJC standards aimed at identifying strengths and weaknesses of the institution, streamlining the self-assessment process, and producing helpful recommendations.
“Accreditation is an important process for the college, and it was a good challenge to use the new ACCJC standards,” said Raby. “We always benefit from undergoing such a thorough self-assessment and identifying the areas where we are doing well and where we want to focus on improvement.” Columbia’s new Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Donna Cooper, said that earning ACCJC accreditation is essential. “This review is rigorous, and it will assure the public and our community that Columbia continues to maintain high standards and provide top-quality instruction and services.”
Columbia College President Dr. Lena Tran hopes that community members will join in the public forum on Sept. 18. “We appreciate the extraordinary effort that has gone into our self-assessment process so far, and we look forward to this final stage in our cycle,” Tran said. “We hope the community will join us in providing feedback to the visiting team.”
For further details about the forums, please call 209-588-5115. Information about the accreditation process can be found online at www.gocolumbia.edu/accreditation