Double Whammy: First TAMIU, now LCC faces accreditation problems

I was watching ol' coverage you can count on and I happen to catch a story with more bad news for Laredo's institutions of higher learning. Last weekend, The Laredo Morning Times reported that TAMIU's college of education is in trouble because many of its graduates are having trouble passing the state teaching test(s).

Now, Laredo Community College seems to have jumped on the dubious bandwagon. VIDA's Dr. Hector Farias was on the news tonight explaining how LCC appears to be in trouble and how college president Juan Maldonado failed to alert the public of this new development. As Dr. Farias said, this information was apparently being kept from those who finance LCC, aka the "chickens" or , as they're also known- our loyal taxpayers.

From the Southern Association of Schools, Commission on Colleges:

Laredo Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges; however, the institution has been  placed on Probation for 12 months after review of the institution’s Second Monitoring Report following action on reaffirmation of accreditation in 2010. The Commission’s accreditation includes all components of the institution—all programs, branch campuses, off-campus sites, and distance learning programs as reported to the Commission; thus, the Probation status applies to the entire institution.

Prior to the institution’s next review by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees in June 2013, a Special Committee will conduct an on-site evaluation of its compliance with the Principles of Accreditation—the accreditation standards of the Commission.

What will happen in June, 2013?

SACSCOC Board of Trustees will consider the accreditation status of Laredo Community College following review of a Third Monitoring Report submitted by the institution addressing the standards cited above for non-compliance and the report of a Special Committee that will visit the institution in spring 2013. The Board will have the following options: (1) remove the institution from Probation without a report or with a Fifth-Year Follow Up Report, (2) continue accreditation for good cause and continue Probation, request an additional report, and authorize a special committee visit, or (3) remove the institution from membership with the Commission on Colleges for failure to comply with the standards or failure to meet the provisions of good cause. Commission staff will not speculate on what decision might be made by the Commission’s Board in June 2013.