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AN EXPLORATORY, QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF ACCREDITATION ACTIONS
TAKEN BY THE WESTERN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES’
ACCREDITING COMMISSION FOR COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES
(WASC-ACCJC) SINCE 2002
by
Ryan William Theule
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
May 2012
Copyright 2012 Ryan William Theule
Object Description
| Title | An exploratory, quantitative study of accreditation actions taken by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges' Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges Since 2002 |
| Author | Theule, Ryan William |
| Author email | theule@usc.edu;rtheule@gmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education (Leadership) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2012-03-15 |
| Date submitted | 2012-04-09 |
| Date approved | 2012-04-09 |
| Restricted until | 2012-04-09 |
| Date published | 2012-04-09 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Keim, Robert G. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Hocevar, Dennis Vazquez, Marcelo F. |
| Abstract | The purpose of this study was to conduct a quantitative exploration of accreditation actions issued by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges’ Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (WASC-ACCJC) since 2002, in order to examine their relationship to a dataset of common student and institutional variables. This exploration was based on the observation that WASC- ACCJC sanctions have greatly increased since 2002 within a rising culture of accountability, prompting speculation about the association between outcomes variables and institutional resources and ongoing accreditation status. Initial data collection found that fifty-five percent of all California community colleges have been sanctioned at least once since 2002. In exploring the variables and accreditation statuses of these colleges, this study sought to provide more information concerning the presence or absence of significant patterns of association between public institutional data and accreditation status, providing additional insight to this underexplored period of community college accreditation and suggesting avenues for future study. ❧ The research questions that guided this study are as follows: In California community colleges reviewed by WASC-ACCJC since 2002, what is the relationship between the specific accreditation action taken by the commission and the most common student outcomes variables cited by the literature—namely, graduation rate, transfer, and retention? In California community colleges reviewed by WASC-ACCJC since 2002, what is the relationship between accreditation status and several common institutional variables—namely, full-time equivalent students (FTES), budget, staffing, and size? Finally, in those California community colleges that were sanctioned by WASC-ACCJC since 2002, what patterns emerge that may inform institutional knowledge about the relationship between accreditation action and institutional measures? ❧ This study examined institutional accreditation status, according to categories of “clear” and “sanctioned” accreditation and compared these statuses to common student and institutional variables for the years matching the accreditation status. Using chi-square tests of association and a subsequent set of logistic regression analyses, this study noted several statistically significant associations between college data and accreditation status, including student graduation rates, full- and part-time retention rates, and transfer rates which were found significant in multiple instances of the post-2002 data. Student outcomes variables with significant associations were found in greater number than institutional variables. These findings offer some initial insights into recent WASCACCJC accreditation actions, suggesting that some quantitative measures of student outcomes such as graduation rate are associated with accreditation status. However, this study noted that year-to-year comparisons did not demonstrate an ongoing pattern of significant associations. These findings suggests that accreditation status has not become coopted by outcomes measures alone, while likewise suggesting the need for further exploration of the rising rate of sanctions by WASC-ACCJC in order to understand this new trend in community college accreditation. |
| Keyword | accreditation; community colleges |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Theule, Ryan William |
| Physical access | The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given. |
| Repository name | University of Southern California Digital Library |
| Repository address | USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 7002, 106 University Village, Los Angeles, California 90089-7002, USA |
| Repository email | cisadmin@dots.usc.edu |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume3/etd-TheuleRyan-586.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@dots.usc.edu |
| Full text | AN EXPLORATORY, QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF ACCREDITATION ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE WESTERN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES’ ACCREDITING COMMISSION FOR COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES (WASC-ACCJC) SINCE 2002 by Ryan William Theule A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION May 2012 Copyright 2012 Ryan William Theule |
