GCCC Receives Draft Report After HLC Site Team Visit

(special to westernkansasnews.com)

GARDEN CITY, Kan. — After a successful Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Site Team Visit in November of 2018, Garden City Community College received the first draft of the Site Team’s Peer Review Report. The draft report was provided to the GCCC Interim President, Dr. Ryan Ruda, and the HLC Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO), solely for the purpose of reviewing it for any errors of fact. If any errors of fact are present—including typos, incorrect enrollment numbers, incorrect job titles, etc., the institution has the opportunity to notify the site team of those errors. The site team makes any necessary adjustments and drafts the final report, which then goes to the Institutional Actions Council (IAC). The IAC is a group of HLC representatives appointed by the HLC Board of Trustees to review cases and make recommendations to the Board for final accreditation action. Until all processes, including the Peer Review Report and the IAC Hearing are complete, the draft report is subject to change. Therefore, the HLC advises institutions that the draft not be distributed. GCCC’s Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability, Dr. Jacque Messinger, who also serves as the ALO, said, “The draft report we received is just that—a draft. It can change at any time, until it is final. We will not have any specific information about the content of the final report until that time. That is a routine practice and recommended by the HLC. We will not know anything definitively until summer 2019. For now, I am reviewing the draft report for errors of fact only, and will notify the team if I find any in the draft. November’s visit had a positive tone; however, we will not know the final outcome until June or July.”

At this time, Garden City Community College remains accredited by the HLC in probationary status. A final report from the site team will not be made available to GCCC until the final determination is made by the IAC and the college is notified through a final Action Letter. This is anticipated in June or July of 2019.

Garden City Community College exists to produce positive contributors to the economic and social well-being of society.