ACCREDITATION
Accreditation Overview
Accreditation is a process by which institutions of higher education are evaluated to ensure they meet or exceed national standards of quality. Los Angeles Harbor College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), 331 J Street, Suite 200, Sacramento, CA 95814, P: (415) 506-0234 | E: @email. The ACCJC is an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education.
The Harbor College Nursing program holds an optional, external accreditation with the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and the California Board of Registered Nursing (CABRN).
ACCJC Approved Substantive Changes
The ACCJC has approved that Los Angeles Harbor College will offer the following list of programs via distance education modality: ACCJC Substantive Change Approval Letter 11-16-20.
Why Accreditation is Important
Los Angeles Harbor College is a fully accredited institution that complies with the standards set by the ACCJC. This approval provides students, faculty, staff, and the public with assurances of the College’s integrity, quality, and effectiveness. In addition, being accredited allows the College to receive federal funding for students, such at Pell grants, and enables credit for courses to be used for transfer to other institutions.
Accreditation: A Campus Effort
Faculty, classified staff, administrators, and students participate in the process of evaluating Harbor College’s performance per the Commission’s Eligibility Requirements, Policies, and Standards. The review process includes four steps: internal self-evaluation, external evaluation by a team of peer reviewers, Commission review and accreditation action, and institutional response to recommendations for improvement. The College’s internal review, the Institutional Self Evaluation Report, summarizes the College’s performance based on a campus wide review of data, policies, and practices.
Complaints Against the College with the ACCJC
Students and members of the public who desire to file a complaint regarding Los Angeles Harbor College with the accrediting body of the college, the ACCJC, may do so via the ACCJC website. Prior to submitting a complaint, please review ACCJC’s Policy on Student and Public Complaints Against Institutions. The ACCJC receives complaints about substantive matters that are related to the quality of the institution or its academic programs. The Commission will address concerns that are clearly related to an accreditation action taken by the Commission. However, the Commission does not act as a court of appeal, and therefore cannot settle disputes between individuals and institutions. Areas that would not fall under the purview of ACCJC include: matters of admission, granting or transfer of academic credit, grades, fees, student financial aid, student discipline, collective bargaining, faculty appointments, promotion, tenure and dismissals or similar matters.
Third Party Comments
A third-party comment assists the Commission as it considers applications for candidacy, accreditation, or reaffirmation of accreditation. Any member of the college community or public may submit a third-party comment by completing the Commission’s online third-party comment form, available via the institution’s website or ACCJC’s website (see link below). To ensure evaluation of applicable third-party comments by the peer review team, third-party comments should be received by the Commission staff no later than five weeks before the peer review team visit. Institutions will be provided an opportunity to review applicable third-party comments. (ACCJC | Third Party Comments)