Chancellor Jack Scott. Photo by Mark Billingsley

The California Community College Board of Governors appointed Executive Vice Chancellor Erik Skinner as acting chancellor while the search continues for a successor to Jack Scott, who is retiring at the end of this calendar week.

The Lath has scheduled a special meeting on Sept. twenty to interview finalists for the post and hopes to announce the new chancellor by the end of September or sooner.

Paul Feist, the vice chancellor of communications, said information technology'southward his understanding that the Board considered dozens of people from within California and from other states. However, in that location has been some concern that qualified candidates were discouraged from applying because of the salary. Chancellor Scott earned nearly $200,000, just some community college presidents and district chancellors earn shut to that corporeality or more and might see this equally a lateral or downward move in terms of compensation. The new superintendent of the College of the Sequoias, for example, earns $225,000.

City College of San Francisco even so in jeopardy

Chancellor Scott told the Board of Governors that City College of San Francisco is far from being out of the woods regarding its potential loss of accreditation.

The Chancellor'southward office hired the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Squad (FCMAT) to examine the college'due south finances and, though the report won't be fabricated public until next week, Scott told the Board: "I will have to be honest and say it is fairly negative."

The 90,000-educatee college has until Oct. 15 to submit a plan to the Accrediting Committee for Community and Junior Colleges. A loss of accreditation would mean students would no longer be eligible for financial aid.

Higher of the Redwoods and Cuesta Higher also received the most severe finding of "show cause" by the accrediting agency. Scott said that they are both making progress toward getting that sanction removed.

Enrollment rationing approved

The Board also unanimously approved new enrollment priorities recommended by the Student Success Task Force and aimed at boosting the number of students who earn degrees and certificates or transfer to a iv-yr college.

The policy allows students to go to the front of the line if they meet sure qualifications, including:

  • New students who have completed college orientation, taken assessment exams, and developed education plans;
  • Continuing students in good bookish continuing who take not exceeded 100 units (not including remedial math and English courses or English language equally a Second Language).

Within those groups, active-duty military and veterans, and current and sometime foster youth volition receive beginning place in course registration, followed by students in Extended Opportunity Programs and Services and Disabled Students Programs and Services.

Scott said prioritizing enrollment will ensure that students who are committed to completing community college programs will go into the classes they demand at a time when budget cuts have reduced the number of course offerings past nearly 24 percent.

"In the past, customs colleges have been able to serve everyone and students could accrue a large number of units or exercise poorly in all of their courses and all the same receive priority registration," said the chancellor in a written statement. "Now that colleges take had to cut back on the courses they tin can offer, those students were taking up seats in classrooms and crowding out newer students focused on job training, degree attainment or transfer. Our Student Success Chore Forcefulness identified this as a major barrier and recommended these changes."

The new regulations take effect in the fall of 2014.

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