Julio Ramirez, Jr., Pacific Oaks Chair, pleads guilty to criminal securities fraud. 5/13/09 www.pasadenastarnews.com/rds_search/ci_12363542
www.nytimes.com/pages/business/index.html
www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-pension-probe,0,1589141.story
www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pension13-2009may13,0,2781198.story
From TPMMuckraker: "If Anyone Can Tell Us How This Massive Pension Conspiracy Worked, It's Probably Julio Ramirez" tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/05/if_anyone_can_tell_us_how_this_massive_pension_con.php#more
Ramirez resigns from Pacific Oaks Board of Trustees. Vice Chairs Robert Brown and Michael Buchanan will assume his post until new appointment is made by Board. 5/13/09
The "Official" Version :
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PACIFIC OAKS BOARD CHAIRMAN STEPS DOWN
May 13, 2009—Pasadena,CA—PacificOaksCollegeand Children’s School announces that Julio Ramirez Jr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees, has submitted his resignation effective May 13, 2009.
Mr. Ramirez joined the Pacific Oaks Board of Trustees in 2002 and was elected Chairman in 2005. His leadership and financial commitment helped raise funds for Pacific Oaks’ information technology initiative to upgrade the institution’s computer hardware and network system. Most recently, during his tenure, Pacific Oaks signed a letter of intent to enter into negotiations for a permanent affiliation with The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
“On behalf of the Pacific Oaks community, I would like to thank Mr. Ramirez for his many years of exemplary service to our institution,” saidDavid Marker, Pacific Oaks Interim President. “Mr. Ramirez’s leadership, counsel, and philanthropy have helped advance and support the mission of Pacific Oaks and the quality of its educational programs during times of change and challenge.”
###
Sandra Chen Lau
Vice President for Advancement
PacificOaksCollege & Children's School
5 Westmoreland Place
Pasadena,CA 91103
Tel: 626-397-1313
Fax: 626-397-1316
www.pacificoaks.edu
PO to merge with Chicago School of Professional Psychology. See link and memo below.
thechicagoschool.edu/
Sandra Chen Lau
Vice President for Advancement
626-397-1313
schenlau@pacificoaks.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE AND CHILDREN’S SCHOOL AND THE CHICAGO SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY ENTER INTO LETTER OF INTENT FOR PERMANENT AFFILIATION
April 21, 2009—Pasadena, CA and Chicago, IL— The Board of Trustees of Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School announces that it has signed a letter of intent to enter into negotiations for a permanent affiliation with The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
The goal of the dialogue is to ensure the continuation of Pacific Oaks College’s undergraduate and graduate programs in human development, marriage and family therapy, and education and to provide a permanent home for Pacific Oaks Children’s School.
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is the nation’s largest independent graduate school focused on psychology and behavioral health sciences.
Under the proposed structure for affiliation—if successfully achieved—Pacific Oaks would be able to regain its financial stability, retain its individual identity as an educational institution, and preserve its established legacy. In turn, the administrative and managerial responsibilities would transfer to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, which has capacity to supplement and broaden Pacific Oaks’ educational mission.
“The affiliation of two highly regarded institutions who share a common purpose and philosophy makes financial sense and more importantly, helps each school advance its educational mission,” said David Marker, Pacific Oaks Interim President. “Both Pacific Oaks and The Chicago School are committed to working through the due diligence and negotiation processes quickly and efficiently in order to finalize a permanent affiliation.”
ABOUT THE CHICAGO SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Founded in 1979, The Chicago School (TCS) is the nation’s leading nonprofit graduate school dedicated to the applications of psychology and related behavioral sciences. TCS is an active member of the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology, which has recognized TCS for its distinguished service and outstanding contributions to cultural diversity and advocacy. The Chicago School offers a wide selection of master’s and doctoral degrees across five locations in the United States, including three in Southern California: downtown Los Angeles, Westwood, and Irvine. For more information about TCS visit www.thechicagoschool.edu.
ABOUT PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE AND CHILDREN’S SCHOOL
Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School, located in Pasadena, California, is a unique educational institution offering upper-division undergraduate and graduate level college programs in human development, marriage and family therapy, and education. The College is recognized as the leading West Coast institution specializing in graduate education for professionals working with young children and families. The Children’s School founded in 1945, is widely recognized today as one the finest pre-schools in the Los Angeles region. For more information, visit www.pacificoaks.edu.
Carolyn Denham resigns!
The following memo was emailed to Pacific Oaks students:
"To: Students, Faculty and Staff
From: Pacific Oaks Board of Trustees
Date: February 21, 2009
It is with regret that the Board of Trustees of Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School has accepted President Carolyn Denham’s decision to resign after more than 10 years of dedicated service. Known for her high standards, she increased charitable donations and the visibility of the College and Children’s School. President Denham led the revival of the Children’s School to a world-class status. The Board of Trustees deeply appreciates President Denham’s distinguished service to Pacific Oaks and to the greater Pasadena Community.
The Board has appointed Dr. David G. Marker, the College’s Chief Academic Officer as Interim President of Pacific Oaks. David will immediately transition into the role of Interim President. His long and distinguished record in academic leadership, which includes serving as college president at three institutions, makes him ably qualified to provide leadership and stability during this transitional phase for Pacific Oaks."
We are still analyzing what this means for the future of Pacific Oaks and will post our observations as we get more information. David Marker was hired as temporary interim Provost approximately a year ago. We do not know his qualifications or the terms of his current appointment.
Mari Ruti, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Toronto and author of Reinventing the Soul, will speak at Pacific Oaks College on February 24, 5:00 PM, Room 39, 55 Eureka Street. Dr. Ruti earned her Ph.D. at Harvard. Her topic for this lecture is "The Rewriting of Destiny". There will be a book signing following the talk.
GOOD NEWS!
PO board votes not to close enrollment. See Abby's post on Pacific Oaks College Network.
See Pasadena Star News
story with photos. We will report more as details come in.
: find meetings, plans and discussions
covers PO situation. 1/22/09
PO GETS A REPRIEVE - UNTIL FEBRUARY 2nd. See the Pasadena Star News article. We'll post more as we hear more, but wanted to get this up as soon as we could.
More Links:
Pacific Oaks College Network - find meetings, plans and discussions. Student rally on 1/31. Time and location to be annnounced. Check in with the POC Network for more.
January 8 -
.
Change.gov
Letter from Betty Jones: Help Grow PO
RESULTS OF PLEDGE DRIVE TO DATE . . . Friends of PO launched a pledge drive to raise money for scholarships (conditional upon PO's continuation) and your response was immediate and generous. You have pledged approximately $143,810 for scholarships over the next 10 years. We are grateful for your response; it shows the depth and breadth of support for Pacific Oaks College. Many of you also joined the Alumni Association, which we hope will become a large and active network for recuritment and fund-raising. Alumni elected Bill Sparks as President of the PO Alumni Association and Bill will represent us at meetings, including tomorrow's meeting with WASC if that is appropriate. Bill also has a report to provide the Board of Trustees and the President but has not had an opporunity to do so as of this date.
HIGHLIGHTS OF OBAMA'S EARLY EDUCATION PLAN - Would you choose this time to close a college that specialzes in educating teachers of young children? Does this seem self-destructive?
Visit Change.gov at http://change.gov/agenda/education_agenda/
Early Childhood Education
Zero to Five Plan: The Obama-Biden comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan will provide critical support to young children and their parents. Unlike other early childhood education plans, the Obama-Biden plan places key emphasis at early care and education for infants, which is essential for children to be ready to enter kindergarten.
Recruit Teachers: Obama and Biden will create new Teacher Service Scholarships that will cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education, including high-quality alternative programs for mid-career recruits in exchange for teaching for at least four years in a high-need field or location.
Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit: Obama and Biden will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service
January 11 - The Board of Trustees met on Friday. Although invited to the meeting, Tim Sundeen, Faculty President, and Bill Sparks, Alumni Association President, were not allowed to address the Board. The Board delayed a vote and recessed the meeting until Thursday, January 15th. WASC will be on the campus tomorrow, January 12, to meet with the Board, faculty, and community. At the community meeting Andy Wilson, Board Treasurer, will present a financial statement, and Ralph Wolff, President and Executive Director of WASC, will speak.
Teri Ismail, a Pacific Oaks student, wrote the poem posted below. She is conducting a candlelight vigil each evening this coming week from 6:00 - 7:00 at the Westmoreland campus.
I had a vigil of one last night.
One lone figure in the dark marching,
marching for our children's rights.
marching for respect for children
marching for an outstanding education for those who work with children,
marching for Pacific Oaks
marching for empowerment of women in this field.
I had one little candle shining my light, a light of commitment!
I am marching for you
I am marching for the future of our world
I am marching because I have seen the positive affects of this institution
on this noble field of education.
Why do I do it.....? because I must!
I will shine my light Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 6 to 7pm
on the westmoreland campus.
This may not be the way you want to march for this school,
but I implore you to find your own way to march,
and do something anything to save Pacific Oaks!
Submitted By: teri Ismail
We have added a new blog feature. To read and participate click on Alumni Assoc. & Blog in the sidebar.
URGENT
Please read carefully. The survival of our college depends on you! The Pledge below is more important than the petition right now. Please read on . . .
The Friends of Pacific Oaks are gravely concerned about the future of our college. In June 2007 President Denham assured us the college would not close, that she and the Board were determined to make it stronger. We now fear that the recent declaration of financial exigency and the 12/1/08 WASC Order to Show Cause gravely imperil Pacific Oaks. It is up to all of us, friends, students, alumni, faculty and adjunct faculty, staff and administration, to insist that the President and the Board join us to pull together, pooling our ideas and resources to preserve and bring new life to the college that we love. We each have a role to play.
Just as our country’s new President ran on a platform of change, we too can bring change to Pacific Oaks. President-elect Obama’s wisdom and skill in bringing people together to work for the common good can be a mirror for us as we work to save Pacific Oaks.
But our time is running very short. The Board will meet on January 9th and we must give them our best effort. Friends of Pacific Oaks is asking you to once again send letters to the Board and President. We believe that this is the most critical juncture the college has faced in the last two years. Unless we are able to provide concrete proof that a large body of supporters is ready to donate to scholarships for college students, and to volunteer our knowledge and expertise, the college will close. We must demonstrate that PO can generate enough income this coming year to survive.
Please pledge your support. Send an email to friendsofpo@pacificoakssos.com
. Write PLEDGE in the Subject bar, and state your support and your contribution amount if you are able. Please also sign your name.
OR mark your pledge amount if you can, and copy and print the Pledge Letter below, and send in care of:
Bill Sparks, Acting President,
Pacific Oaks Alumni Association
1108 Palm Terrace
Pasadena, CA 91104
It must arrive in Bill’s hands on or before January 8th so he can deliver our letters to Board meeting on the 9th.
HERE IS THE PLEDGE OF SUPPORT:
December 29, 2008
Dear President Denham and Board of Trustees,
I have learned from WASC that the leadership of Pacific Oaks has failed to address significant issues of leadership, accountability, and income generation such that it has issued an Order to Show Cause why PO should continue.
I have felt frustrated, disappointed, and deeply troubled by these failures and I very much want to work with the Board to help return Pacific Oaks to the vital and viable institution it has been until recent years. We know what positive and transformative changes a Pacific Oaks education brings about in its graduates as individuals and as early childhood professionals in our communities of families and children across the nation and in many parts of the world.
I recognize that any change must be collaborative and I encourage you and other members of our community to explore the avenues at our disposal in order to find a path we can all embrace. Unity will move us forward to mend this college that remains one of the few institutions of higher learning that practices a progressive, transformative pedagogy and is dedicated to principles of social justice, respect for diversity, and the valuing of the uniqueness of each person. Our President-elect, Barak Obama, said in his holiday speech, “Now we must all do our part to serve one another, to seek new ideas and new innovation, and to start a new chapter for our great country.” I want to bring that message home here at Pacific Oaks.
I need your support and encouragement and heart so we can together grow the Pacific Oaks we love and respect in this time of hope and change.
I THEREFORE PLEDGE . . .
As an alumnus to recruit students to Pacific Oaks and to contribute $___________ to the college scholarship fund for the next 10 years.
As a student to recruit my friends and colleagues to Pacific Oaks and to make the very most of my educational experience here so I can make a difference in my family, my community, and my country.
As an Adjunct Faculty member to recruit students to Pacific Oaks, to continue to teach to the very best of my ability because I believe in the educational transformation a PO education makes possible, and to contribute $__________ to the college scholarship fund for the next 10 years.
As a faculty member to conduct research to make myself a better teacher, to promote PO in professional meetings and conferences, to exemplify PO’s core values in my work with students, to recruit new students, and to contribute $_________ to the college scholarship fund for the next 10 years.
As a member of the early childhood community to recruit students to Pacific Oaks and to support PO’s continuation as a nationally respected college for early childhood and human services professionals, and to contribute $_________ to the college scholarship fund for the next 10 years.
I ask you to pledge your support also so we can all move forward together toward change and transformation. I authorize Bill Sparks, Acting President of the Alumni Association, to deliver this pledge to you.
Yours truly,
"A Voice And Wings"
A voice and wings
A voice and wings
What a price one pays
To own these things.
For with these things
A charge they bring
But oh, to own
A voice and wings.
~Marcia Thompson~
Copyright @ 2007 Submitted By: Marcia Thompson
PO Student and Poet Laureate, Altadena, CA
An Invitation from Betty Jones
Help Grow PO
Pacific Oaks needs students. Students need Pacific Oaks.
In the last two years, College enrollment has gone down, even though:
This is an era in which there is a great increase of demand for degrees for ECE professionals.
As a teaching/learning environment, PO is as fine as ever. Students keep telling us so.
The decline in enrollment is a direct outcome of the President’s arbitrary cancellation of Pacific Oaks recruiting plans, both for off-campus cohorts and for Pacific Oaks on campus and online. The most effective recruiting for this College is by word of mouth, with students, alumni and faculty praising their own experience in conversation with their friends and colleagues. All these groups have been excluded for two years from recruitment planning. Enrollment problems can be turned around once the courage to change is demonstrated.
As a place to work, to get admitted to, to negotiate financial aid, to respond to students’ individual needs, Pacific Oaks has gone downhill under this administration. Many staff members have affirmed this – they’ve quit. Many students have affirmed this – they’ve stopped recruiting their colleagues. President and Board have remained in denial until WASC's recent Order to Show Cause why Pacific Oaks should continue to be accredited.
How Can You Help?
RECRUIT STUDENTS. Pacific Oaks is a tuition-driven college. Low enrollment puts it at financial risk. Pacific Oaks is a fine place to learn. Its graduates are leaders throughout the country, and the world, in early childhood education. Its graduates are caring, courageous counselors, teachers, administrators, and agents of social change. The world needs many more of them.
Pacific Oaks alumnae and students have always been our most powerful recruiters. Who do you know who should become a Pacific Oaks student, joining us in our work on behalf of children and families and, in WASC’s words, “regular and transparent communication and effective decision-making” in groups everywhere, including here?
CONTRIBUTE TO SCHOLARSHIPS. Pacific Oaks mission is service to non-traditional students, few of whom can afford the tuition necessary to sustain the college. Nearly all of them take out loans. A larger proportion of direct scholarships, awarded on the basis of need, will help both in recruiting and in the quality of their lives and work.
Yes, we can! Si, se puede!
Betty
These Updates Just In:
12/15/08 Community Meeting
The meeting was called by the Board of Trustees to request comments prior to the special board meeting scheduled for the following morning, in response to the Order to Show Cause sent from WASC to Pacific Oaks College on December 3, 2008. Faculty and staff received invitations the Saturday before Monday's meeting. Here is the memo:
From: Carolyn Denham
Sent: Sat 12/13/2008 7:25 PM
To: All_Staff_Group
Subject: Community Meeting on Monday
Dear Pacific Oaks Community:
On behalf of Julio Ramirez, Board Chair, I invite you to a special community meeting with members of the Board of Trustees. The meeting will be held on Monday, December 15 from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. in the Community Room at 5 Westmoreland.
Regards,
Carolyn
Friends of PO sent out a notice to other stakeholders (alumni, students, adjunct faculty) about the meeting and many were able to attend, despite the very late notice. Thanks to all of you who were there.
Chair of the Board, Julio Ramirez addressed the meeting saying, in essence: The Trustees have not decided on our response. We will make our decision tomorrow. This meeting is our opportunity to hear from the community. We face a dire challenge, with the possibility of inadequate resources. Faculty members, students and alumni addressed the President and the Board as follows:
Faculty Member: I am grateful for the recent WASC action, which affirms the quality of Pacific Oaks College while raising urgent questions about its governance. Ralph Wolff, WASC President, has written directly to Pacific Oaks President: “The team and Commission have found that you have fallen short in the responsibility to lead all College constituencies through the critical challenges of the past few years, as evidenced most clearly in a series of sudden decisions and poor communications from the Office of the President.” “The Commission is not confident that the current leadership will be able to make the extensive and immediate changes needed. If the current leadership is unable to do so, a new leadership team should be constituted.”
Faculty Member: Pacific Oaks faculty and alumni are committed to the integrity and future of Pacific Oaks College and are ready to take initiative in re-creating effective recruiting. The decline in enrollment is a direct outcome of the President’s arbitrary cancellation of Pacific Oaks recruiting plans, which have not been reinstated or replaced. Enrollment problems can be turned around once the courage to change is demonstrated.
Faculty Member: Board members, faculty officers and administrators will be meeting with WASC officers on January12 in Pasadena. WASC has stipulated 1 ½ years to effect a turnaround in student enrollment and in governance in order to reconfirm accreditation. Collaboratively, we can accomplish that. We urge the Board to request President Denham’s immediate resignation as its first response to this challenge. Will all those in agreement please stand? Faculty members and many others in the audience stood.
Alumnus: This is the first time the Board has invited response. When I began donating to PO I got a wonderful response from a Development staff member and I doubled my gift. Then, however, she was told to be careful in what she said. She left. A blockage in communication has existed for several years. A decision cannot be made tomorrow. Give us 6 months.
Faculty: Pacific Oaks is the most honored college in early childhood education. It currently produces 80% of the ECE master’s degrees in California. UCLAExtension wants a partnership to bring us hundreds of students. We cannot let it go because of destructive leadership.
Alumna: I’m an ECE survivor; we don’t get paid much. At Mt. SAC College an instructor said to me, “You belong at Pacific Oaks.” The admissions person here said, “Come! Try a student loan; you’re worth every penny.” When I interned at Mt. SAC students said, “You go there?” And they’ll be coming. If it weren’t for PO, we would have no idea where to go in ECE. I’m newly admitted to a doctoral program. Si, se puede!
Faculty: I’ve been at Pacific Oaks for 26 years. This is my third president. I can work with the fourth one.
Alumnus/Adjunct Faculty: Pacific Oaks needs new leadership that knows how to run a college like this – both as program and as business. This leadership has failed.
Faculty: If a car has been driven into the ditch, it might be the car. Or it might be who’s driving. I recruit people to PO who have been told they’re not college material. There is no such thing. They are not stupid; they’re ignorant because they did not receive the education they deserve. This is a vital institution.
Faculty: We have just been asked to contribute to recruiting for spring. It’s too little too late.
Faculty: The WASC document is the basis for a major lawsuit. There is a conflict of interest between the Children’s School and the College. The Board comes from the Children’s School, not the College. The Board has not recruited from higher education. They are emotionally detached from the College. The fiscal issue: If the College closes, its assets revert to the Children’s School.
Staff: It’s frustrating to work here. The primary importance of this school is the students. Neglecting them is wrong. Institutional policies do not support what students need. Our proposal has been ignored. Students are irate. Our office is dying for help. Why can’t we get help? The President won’t allow it, I’m told.
Faculty: Over two years, student services offices have been starved. It’s like watching a plant not get watered and die. Our potent recruiters are our students. When their needs aren’t met, they don’t recruit. In the last two years there have been only more consultants, more task forces.
Staff: The library is tremendously understaffed. Interlibrary loan and research resources are about to be lost because the bill was not paid. “It’s in the president’s office,” we were told. “Will she pay it?” we asked. “She has other things on her mind.”
Student: When I came two years ago there were disgruntled students, frustrated teachers and staff. It’s gotten worse. I’ve been taught by my teachers: Stand up to the face of oppression. The ideal of social justice is being undermined. Student services are going down, and it’s not the offices’ fault. When a sports team is losing they don’t get rid of the team, they get rid of the coach.
Faculty: The recent Enrollment Management meeting was all about strategizing to recruit students. It emphasized collaboration, professionalism, enthusiasm. We continue to attract new students. These are exceptional students. WASC isn’t proposing closure, it’s demanding change. We need to work our hardest.
Staff: Pacific Oaks theses are all about helping others, about service and professional competence. These are why I took this job. Students affect changes; they become confident. It’s our duty to remain; society needs us.
Alumna: This is the time. To change the world, Pacific Oaks is greatly needed. I value Pacific Oaks’ president as a human being. But she’s not my boss.
Alumnus: Why decide now? Everyone agreed when WASC came. The Board should wait 6 weeks to decide, not tomorrow.
Faculty: What’s the structure for tomorrow’s Board meeting?
Board Chair: Any vote has to be taken in open session. There has been no recommendation from the Executive Committee to the Board.
Faculty to the President: Will you respond to any of this?
President: I’ll think about it.
Faculty: There is no dialogue with Board members, now or otherwise. There is no equality. That’s oppression.
Faculty: It’s imperative that the Board act on the need for leadership.
Faculty: It’s imperative not to talk about closure now – but about changes that WASC has said need to be made.
Faculty: It’s like a run on the bank. We are our own best recruiting base. When Carolyn said closure, students went away.
Faculty: Board members are welcome to talk to us.
Summary of 12/16/08 Board of Trustees Meeting:
A Board member proposed:
- Declare financial exigency, with a directive to explore a merger/partnership with other schools.
- Freeze recruiting for Pacific Oaks College.
The President was asked if there is an advantage in declaring exigency. She said yes. The President said, in her explanation of the situation at the college, Pacific Oaks will have a $5 million deficit next year unless the number of students registered for summer and fall is tripled. Board members who believed her agreed to a declaration of exigency.
The Board voted in favor of a declaration of financial exigency. The Board rejected a freeze on recruiting and to explore a merger/partnership with other schools.
- Declaration of financial exigency- was supported by a majority vote. Members not supporting it said there are too many unanswered questions; we need more information. Why has there been the drop in revenue?
- A member moved to schedule at least two faculty/board meetings before the January 12 WASC visit. This motion was passed.
The report to the Board by the Faculty representative made these points:
- Recruiting is crucial. Since the president appointed herself acting provost, there has been inaction on recruiting; offices are understaffed, students are frustrated. The usual large number of BA graduates of PO continuing for their MA at PO has gone way down. There has been a large drop in enrollment.
- Faculty has established a formal governance structure, as requested by WASC.
- It’s important to convene a budget review committee – an inclusive group representative of the Pacific Oaks community. WASC has emphasized communication and transparency as big concerns at Pacific Oaks.
- All of WASC’s concerns need to be addressed systematically in a report to its officers on January 12.
Julio Ramirez, Board chair, invited faculty to communicate directly with him.
12/17/08 - New York Times front page, above the fold, article about Barak Obama's commitment to early childhood education.
www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/us/politics/17early.html Why would the Board of Trustees elect to close Pacific Oaks in this climate when PO is one of three or four institutions across the country that specializes in educating early childhood professionals? NOTE: The Board did not elect to close the college, but to declare Financial Exigency. See above.
In response to the letter from WASC (below) a community meeting took place on December 15th in the Community Room at Westmoreland with Board members, faculty, students and alumni/ae. As has been typical of the current administration notifications of important meetings are last minute, which makes it difficult for people to attend. The Board met on December 16th at 8:00 AM. It was widely believed that the Board intended to vote to teach out Pacific Oaks. We are waiting for information about both meetings and we will post it as soon as we receive it. We hope this is very, very soon. If you haven't registered on this site you can do so by going to Contact Us. If you are registered we can send you email updates.
December 15, 2008. Letter to Carolyn Denham from Ralph Wolff, President and Executive Director, WASC
WASC
Western Association for Schools and Colleges
Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities
Ralph A. Wolff'
December 1, 2008
Carolyn Denham President
Pacific Oaks College
5 Westmoreland Place Pasadena, CA 91103
Dear President Denham:
At its meeting on November 5-7,2008, the Commission considered the report of the Special Visit team that conducted an on-site review of Pacific Oaks College (POC) on June 3-4, 2008. The Commission had access to the visiting team's report, Pacific Oaks' response of September 9,2008, and the update sent by Pacific Oaks on October 20, 2008. The Commission also had access to a set of materials that contextualized the visit: a letter from WASC (September 12,2007), the institution's Interim Report (March 8, 2008), the Interim Report Committee's (IRe) response (April 15, 2008), POC's response to the IRC letter (May 21,2008), a formal complaint against POC (March 18,2008), and WASC's response to the formal complaint (April 3, 2008).
In order to fully understand the issues involved in this review, the Commission's designated readers held a pre-meeting conference call on November 4,2008, with you, Chief Academic Officer David Marker, Vice President for Administration Jan Brown and the visiting team chair, David Rosen. The full Commission panel appreciated the opportunity to discuss the review in person with you, David Marker, Jan Brown and Board Chair Julio Ramirez on November 5, 2008. While Pacific Oaks has initiated some responses to the concerns raised in the team report, the Commission found that progress reported in these conversations confirmed, even magnified, the concerns that were raised by the Special Visit team.
Scope of Review: In 2005, the Special Visit team and the Commission believed that Pacific Oaks was making important progress in identified areas of concern. Although challenges remained for the College, the action letter noted that, "faculty and staff are reenergized, financial health has been restored, and planning processes have been improved to ensure instructional vitality." Since that time, a series of events occurred that have exacerbated many of Pacific Oaks' longstanding challenges and brought them again to the forefront. Among the most serious of these issues, as identified in POC's 2008 Interim Report to WASC, was the institution's discovery that its "fundamental assumptions about enrollment, projected enrollment, costs and expenses, and the processes of governing its rapid expansion of off-campus programs were wrong. In the aftermath of that discovery, POC was forced to examine the bases on which it had drafted the 2004 report to WASC."
Although the Interim Report Committee appreciated POC's candor, it found that the College's interim report was not only critically insufficient in addressing the issues cited in the previous Commission action letter, but that it did not include an appropriately urgent course of action to address the institution's dysfunctional data systems. During the subsequent IRC conference call, the College failed to answer serious questions about the report topics. Of additional concern, several answers that were given during the call were in direct conflict with the interim report, and, at times, contradicted earlier statements in the discussion.
A Special Visit was scheduled to further investigate the areas of concern, which included financial stability and enrollment growth, leadership and strategic planning, assessment
Commission Action Letter - page 2 Pacific Oaks College
December 1, 2008
of student learning, faculty development and support, and improving communication among college constituents - an issue added in September 2007, following a meeting attended by you, Board Chair Ramirez, and me. Concomitantly, WASC received a formal complaint signed by the full POC faculty, concerning the core faculty's exclusion from decision-making structures and processes related to academic operations and planning. WASC staff added the issues raised by this complaint to the June 2008 Special Visit. It should be noted that these topics parallel many of the concerns that POC should have addressed in the Interim Report. .
The June 2008 Special Visit team found an institution embattled and in turmoil; a condition that extended from the Board of Trustees and administrative leadership to the faculty and staff. The team confirmed a "general disarray of systems, data, planning, and communications," and found that one of the fundamental bases for WASC accreditation - fulfillment of the Core Commitment to Institutional Capacity - was absent at POC.
In reviewing the entire record of this case, the Commission finds that POC is significantly out of compliance with WASC Standards, as documented below.
Leadership, Governance, and Decision-Making Processes. POC leadership, at all levels, has failed to operate with the transparency, clear communication, and decision-making policies and practices that are required for functional shared governance under the Standards. The Commission does not have confidence in the will or commitment of POC leadership (board, president, and faculty) to address this deficiency or the other issues facing the College.
The Board of Trustees: The Pacific Oaks College Board of Trustees has failed in its primary responsibility to ensure the institution's well-being and sustainability. Alerted to the depth of the financial crisis at POC as early as fall 2006, the Board has not undertaken adequate fiduciary oversight. While POC created a surplus in the 2007-08 fiscal year, the Commission notes that it did so by mandating excessive faculty loads and insufficient staff and administration. POC administration and Board admit that this is an unsustainable means of improving POC's net worth and that the current situation requires improvement. Likewise, the Board acknowledges that the long-term viability of POC remains in question. The current enrollment shortfall, which has led to a projected $2.5 million operating deficit in 2008-09, requires immediate action. However, POC has not yet developed an operating model that demonstrates financial sustainability, and by failing to insist on plans and deadlines for the establishment of such a model, the Board has neglected to exercise necessary oversight.
In addition to its role in financial oversight, the Board has an obligation to ensure that POC's senior leadership operates effectively_ The team found that "the president and Board have taken an adversarial position in relationship to the faculty," which has polarized the College, impaired communications, and resulted in a vacuum of leadership at the top. In addition, the Board has not effectively fulfilled its regular obligation to review the performance of POC President, including evaluation of the President's role in the ongoing crisis. All of this has raised concerns about the Board's and the administration's transparency and accountability.
The Commission finds that the Board's conduct fails to meet the expectations of Commission Standards, reflected in Criteria for Review (CFRs) 1.3, 3.8, and 3.9.
Presidential Leadership: In your role as President of Pacific Oaks College, the team and Commission have found that you have fallen short in the responsibility to lead all College constituencies through the critical challenges of the past few years, as evidenced most clearly in a series of sudden decisions and poor communications from the Office of the President. In response to revelations that the off-campus centers were not functioning as expected, the campus community was alarmed by actions taken to immediately cease enrollment at the centers, dismissing staff central to oversight of those operations, assuming other administrative roles yourself, and neglecting to fill faculty positions and sabbatical leaves - while failing to explain clearly to the community the reasons for any of these actions. The confusion on
Commission Action Letter - page 3 Pacific Oaks College
December 1,2008
campus was further exacerbated by a memo from you to the POC community that warned of the potential closure of the entire College as a result of POC's financial and enrollment shortfalls.
Further, the WASC mandate to address the extensive communications problems on campus was disregarded. The Interim Report filed with the Commission failed to address this issue in a meaningful and substantive way and the Communications Committee that was convened did "not address the central issues that the Commission had asked about nor did it know of the Commission request." (Special Visit Team Report, page 30)
At the Commission's meeting with POC representatives on November 5, with the highly critical team report already issued to the College, and following the previous day's call with Commission readers that also identified key issues that needed to be addressed, your responses reflected continued "talking about improvements," without providing necessary details on specific actions, timelines or parties responsible. The responses provided were generalized and did not offer data or other concrete information to demonstrate and document actual change since the team visit or after receiving the team report. Without clear and effective communication and a concrete and carefully thought out plan of action to address POC's Challenges, the Commission has no confidence that the urgent progress needed to address the serious conditions at the College can or will be redressed sufficiently.
The Commission finds that there has been a significant failure of leadership and lack of integrity with regard to WASC, demonstrating a failure to meet the expectations of Commission Standards 1 and 3, reflected in CFRs 1.3, 1.9, 3.8 and 3.10.
Faculty Governance: The Pacific Oaks College faculty, as a body, has long operated by an informal process that is ineffective in working with the other constituencies of POC. The team found "the lack of a traditional faculty organizational structure to be problematic from both the perspective of the President and the Board of Trustees, since virtually each individual faculty member feels empowered to represent the collective group." It also fails to serve the faculty, because without a formal process for faculty representation, there has been a lack of understanding about key decisions or actions made at meetings. Without a clear system for self-governance that operates in a more structured and codified fashion, particularly with regard to the need to develop a faculty organization with a constitution, the faculty has unintentionally assisted in disenfranchising itself from leadership roles. The team found that "the lack of clearly defined purposes, membership, leadership, roles, functions, and operating procedures for the faculty organization is a problem because it impedes decision-making and erodes the community in ways that will frustrate solutions to some of the long-term problems of sustainability that the institution faces." The recent Trustee approval of a new faculty constitution and bylaws and your own confirmation of faculty endorsement of the new statement, while steps in the right direction, do not yet manifest a system of faculty engagement with either the administration or Trustees, despite the urgent need for open and direct communication.
As a whole, Pacific Oaks College lacks an adequate governance organization, as well as structures and processes for decision making. The Board, administration, faculty, and staff suffer from the absence of a strong, participatory governance infrastructure. The use of external consultants to fill some positions on an interim basis only complicates the issue of weak internal leadership and governance. The lack of continuous, sustained faculty participation in planning exacerbates the lack of trust and good will on the campus. The very recent reports of a new civility on campus and a greater degree of faculty involvement do not mitigate this finding at this time.
The Commission finds that there is not an operational and effective system of shared governance and faculty engagement, and that the College fails to meet expectations under Commission Standard 3, reflected in CFRs 3.8 and 3.11.
In sum, given the failure of the leadership at all levels to work directly with ohe another to resolve these serious governance-related issues, the Commission cannot place confidence in either the will or the commitment of POC's leadership to address and resolve all of the other serious issues cited in the team
Commission Action Letter - page 4 Pacific Oaks College
December 1,2008
report and this letter. The absence of adequate leadership to address POC's ongoing failure of communication demonstrates, as the team found, a failure to "embrace the overarching concerns about transparency, clarity, and stakeholder involvement." Representations to the contrary at the meeting of November 5 did not convince the Commission that there has been a permanent, sustainable change. Pacific Oaks College does not meet the core commitments reflected in Standards 1 and 3. (CFRs 1.3, 1.9, 3.8-3.11)
Operational and Institutional Integrity: POC admittedly does not have accurate and reliable data for planning, and does not have the basic infrastructure and necessary personnel to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of its data entry, data reporting, data management, and data-based decision-making. This failure severely impairs POC's ability to prepare accurate reports and oversee its internal operations. Moreover, it undermines the College's ability to develop accurate or effective plans that would ensure financial viability and sustainability. In this, the College has failed in its obligation to monitor its operations and to provide accurate information to external constituencies, including WASC.
While POC has presented a long-term strategy for addressing this concern, it is a matter of grave concern that there has been no sense of urgency in addressing these issues since their discovery two years ago. The College currently lacks key infrastructure components for Institutional Capacity, which represent core requirements for accreditation. There is no certainty that the basic infrastructure and necessary capable personnel are in place to ensure operational integrity now, or on a sustained basis in the future. In meeting its responsibilities to students, the public, the higher education community, the federal and state government as a recipient of financial aid funds, and the Commission, Pacific Oaks College bears the burden of demonstrating that each of these systems is accurate, functioning, secure, and sustainable. Pacific Oaks must assure that personnel are fully trained and empowered to protect the integrity of records and to administer established policies fairly, consistently, and without interference. Further, it must assure that records are accurate. Without accurate records of enrollment and finances, POC cannot operate with integrity in its responsibilities to external constituencies, including WASC and the U.S. Department of Education. POC's "broken institutional systems"--concerning POC's organizational structures and decision-making processes--demonstrate a lack of capacity to fulfill its educational responsibilities.
WASC can neither validate Pacific Oaks College's reported data nor can it verify to the public the institution's operational integrity. Pacific Oaks College does not meet the expectations set forth in Standards 1,3 and 4, reflected in CFRs 1.8,3.1,3.5,3.7,4.3-4.5.
Integrity in Communicating With the Commission. In addition, the Commission found that in its responses to the Interim Report Committee and the formal complaint, and in its preparation for the Special Visit, Pacific Oaks College demonstrated a lack of understanding, responsiveness, and transparency with regard to its most grave challenges. POC's responses have attempted to minimize the seriousness of these challenges or to deflect attention from them to lesser issues. The Special Visit team found that POC's inability to be fully candid was troubling and systemic, noting "information offered in the [IRC conference call] was in direct conflict with the written [interim] report," and that in response to a subsequent request for information by the team, the documents that were offered were less than forthcoming or explanatory.
The Commission finds that, in relation to WASC, the College has failed to meet the expectations of Standard 1, reflected in CFRs 1.3 and 1 .9.
Financial Control, Stability, and Planning. Since it suspended enrollments at its off-campus sites, POC admittedly does not have a sustainable financial model and is in a grave financial crisis. In 2005, the Commission noted that enrollment projections designed to bring POC into financial sustainability were aggressive and based on building enrollments at off-campus sites. Suspension of activity there means that POC has had to curtail what the team noted as "the one avenue to sustainability POC had devised." Further, the team found that "while the institution has improved its financial situation, it has done so at the cost of cutting key operations and personnel that affect the quality of College preparations. As a result,
Commission Action Letter - page 5 Pacific Oaks College
December 1,2008
POC now also has significant human resource needs, particularly in the areas of administration, faculty, information technology, admissions, and the registrar's office."
Pacific Oaks College also has demonstrated a complete failure to maintain accurate financial records and thus lacks the requisites of long-term financial viability and stability. Budget freezes have kept pac from serious deficits, but pac is admittedly understaffed and experiencing the deleterious effects of extreme financial conservation. The administration and Board have affirmed that POC does not currently operate sustainably with regard to its finances, nor does it have the data required to generate reliable financial projections and support planning. Further, data used to demonstrate increased revenue in the last three years is faulty, and bUdgeting is based on excessive faculty loads and insufficient staff and administration.
Reserves built by severe understaffing and other budget cuts will be utilized to offset the 2008-09 projected budget deficit, which was caused by a 25% shortfall in expected enrollment. The Commission is gravely concerned about the short-term viability of POC given its continued enrollment shortfall and heavy reliance (90%) on tuition. Further, POC lacks a realistic financial and enrollment plan to address these circumstances.
Pacific Oaks College is significantly out of compliance with Standards 1, 3, and 4, reflected in CFRs 1.3, 1.8,3.1,3.5,3.7, 4.1-4.3.
Communication among College Constituencies: Pacific Oaks College lacks a reliable, transparent communication network that appropriately engages all constituencies. Leadership of all constituent groups has failed to promote communication and accountability, which has intensified misunderstandings and severely curtailed POC's ability to make progress in any of the areas of concern that POC faces.
The campus is characterized by distrust and confusion as a result of poor or missing information, a lack of clarity about decision making, and ineffective systems for communication. The Special Visit team found that "[r]esponsibility and accountability for the current state of communication exists in all areas .... current systems and behaviors are unable to sustain good communication for creating community, identifying goals and measuring progress, understanding the environmental contexts inside and outside the university, and moving decisions forward appropriately and effectively." Structures are not demonstrably in place to facilitate reliable communication about the work of POC. These conflicts have had a noted effect on the quality of students' experience and education at POC. The College is failing to address this critical issue in any substantive way; a failure that affects all institutional operations.
POC's senior leadership bears a strong responsibility for the lack of progress on this issue. As noted above, the senior leadership responded to a WASC mandate to address troubled campus communications by convening a Communications Committee that did not have a charge to address that very issue. Despite an invitation from WASC to involve a faculty representative in POC's presentation to the Commission on November 5, and thereby demonstrate that a fundamental change in communication had occurred, POC leadership neither availed itself of this opportunity, nor offered a convincing explanation for why no faculty members were a part of the team brought to the Commission meeting. Improvements may have been made in relation to faculty, out of necessity and acting in the face of a crisis, but actual, sustainable Change is not convincingly evident.
The Commission found that the College does not meet the expectations of Standards 1 and 3, reflected by CFRs 1.3, 1.4, 1.8, 1.9,3.8,3.10,3.11.
Other Issues. While the primary basis for the Commission's action are the issues cited above, the Commission noted that there are additional trailing concerns to be addressed under Standards 2 and 4.
Assessment and Program Review. Prior to 2007, Pacific Oaks College had done very little work on assessment of student learning. The team found that "the Assessment Committee has spent most of 2007 in developing a functional program review policy and procedures," and that overall the "imbedding of assessment processes into the academic culture of POC is progressing but is limited by the support
Commission Action Letter - page 6 Pacific Oaks COllege
December 1, 2008
available.· Despite some progress, pac has yet to implement and evaluate program review, as it only expects to begin review of its first program this academic year (spring 2009). The team noted that "the absence of administrative academic leadership over the Past two years and current faculty overloads limit time available for faculty to meet and make expected progress." Inadequate human resources and technological capacity further impede progress in meeting the most basic expectations of evaluation of student learning and program review; expectations that are central to the WASC Standards. The
Commission accepted POC's contention that established past practice of narrative evaluation of student learning creates a favorable climate for faculty to embrace direct assessment of student learning and program evaluation, but necessary assessment systems and practices are not yet in place. The severity of POC's financial crisis calls into question the likelihood of further progress to bring PaCific Oaks College into conformity with basic expectations about assessment of stUdent learning, as set forth in the Standards. (CFRs 2.3-2.7, 4.4-4.7)
Faculty Development. POC has failed to develop and maintain a program for faculty development, and the faculty development that does exist continues to be underfunded. Because of the ongoing budget freeze, faculty sabbaticals were on hold for several years. While the current approval of three sabbatical leave requests reverses this pattern, the finanCial crisis and projected operating deficit make further improvements to faculty development doubtful. Further, WIThout a transparent process for the application for funding, release time, and project support, POC cannot meet the expectations of support for faculty development. (CFRs 2.8, 2.9, 3.4, 3.11, 4.7)
Recent Actions at Pacific Oaks College. The Commission paid careful attention to the responses of POC to address the issues raised by this Special Visit - those actions undertaken on its own and those made in response to a very candid and direct team report.
POC's responses to the team report described several necessary steps, including the development of key policies and procedures that will provide the necessary academic and operations infrastructure at POC. A faculty constitution was developed by consultants and reviewed by faculty and administration, although there are continuing disagreements about some of the by-laws. A set of key policy manuals is being developed. Database Clean-up is underway, although POC does not have a timeline for this critical project. A strategic planning committee has received its charge from the President, with a year-long timeline. Some faculty development funds have been reinstated. Assessment efforts continue as scheduled. A communications audit is underway, albeit without a clear charge or deadline. Finally, POC has responded to a significant shortfall in summer and fall enrollment revenue by working with a consultant to develop a recruitment plan for the spring and fall of 2009. These are important first steps. However, the Commission also notes that most of these steps have only recently been undertaken and that POC lacks a required sense of urgency and has failed to set priorities, timelines, and concrete expected outcomes for these initiatives. The fact that most steps taken have required the use of an external consultant is also of major concern for the Commission, which finds POC to be working insufficiently, internally. to address its own organizational challenges.
Given Pacific Oaks' recent Opportunities to demonstrate progress on the issues cited in the team's report, many of which have been long-standing issues for POC that predate even the 2005 Special Visit, the Commission lacks confidence that the institution is committed not just to resolving the immediate crsis to the satisfaction of external bodies, but to redressing serious deficiencies in POC's infrastructure and internal systems and to improving its capacity for educational effectiveness on a Sustainable basis. The changes needed to address the critical concerns raised in this letter require a level of institution-wide commitment and focus that is lacking in POC's responses to the team report and the Commission.
Summary. The Commission reviewed the evidence before it to assess the status of POC under the Standards of Accreditation. The Commission also considered whether POC has demonstrated an understanding of the gravity of its challenges and whether it has developed a coherent, comprehensive plan to address these critical issues. Distressingly, it found that POC has shown a lack of attention to pressing ongoing challenges and has consistently failed to address the concerns of the Commission effectively. What might appear to be the rapid deterioration of POC has actually resulted from a pattern of
Commission Action Letter - page 7 Pacific Oaks College
December 1,2008
inaction and failure to implement effective measures to address concerns, including those that POC itself discovered in the fall of 2006, which called in question the continued viability of POC.
Further, POC's actions are not aligned with its own mission and values, which include a dedication "to principles of social justice, respect for diversity," and the promotion of "educational practices within the institution, profession, and public schools that encourage learners to find their own voices, to take stands in the face of opposition, and to exercise competence in collaboration with others." The failure of College leadership at all levels to embody Pacific Oaks' core values by acting decisively to address serious communications issues has had a severe impact on POC's ability to function. (CFRs 1.1, 1.3)
In weighing the report findings and additional evidence before it, the Commission has found that Pacific Oaks College is operating significantly out of compliance with Commission Standards. Given the very serious challenges to Pacific Oaks College's viability, decisive, effective, and immediate steps must be taken, through a process that involves campus-wide engagement of the board, administration and faculty, if POC is to demonstrate why its accreditation should not be withdrawn.
The institution must demonstrate, with sufficient evidence and documented results, that it has taken the following steps:
A. As set forth in this letter above, the Commission is not confident that the current leadership will be able to make the extensive and immediate changes needed. If the current leadership is unable to do so, a new leadership team should be constituted.
POC leadership at all levels (board. president. and faculty) must demonstrate that it grasps the magnitude and the severity of Pacific Oak's problems and has fully developed and implemented a plan to address them. The Commission requires demonstrable evidence of the outcomes in the areas noted here, below.
B. Given the substantial budget deficit projected for FY 2008-09, POC must produce and implement a financial action plan that ensures the College's continued viability. This plan must be provided to the WASC Interim Report Committee by February 1,2009.
c. POC must retain sufficient faculty and staff to deliver its academic programs and support services and to oversee its operations.
D. POC must have sufficient enrollment to ensure its short-term viability and have a well developed plan for building enrollment for long-term sustainability.
E. POC must implement effective data systems and data management that enable the institution to produce accurate and reliable data and to monitor finances, enrollment, and other key operational indicators on a sustainable basis.
F. POC must adopt and implement a full complement of the basic academic policies and
procedures that are required to operate an academic institution with fairness and consistency.
G. POC must create a working system of shared governance that encompasses regular and transparent communication and effective decision-making structures and processes among all of its constituent groups.
H. In this time of exigency, POC must articulate a clear set of institutional priorities that provide direction and guide the board, senior leadership, and faculty; priorities that could lay the foundation for a future strategic plan.
Commission Action Letter - page 8 Pacific Oaks College
December 1,2008
I. POC must re-establish a relationship of candor and honesty with WASC and demonstrate the accuracy and integrity of its communications internally and externally.
In light of the foregoing, the Commission acted to:
1. Issue an Order to Show Cause why the accreditation of Pacific Oaks College shall not be terminated, effective April 15, 2010.
The Handbook states that the Order to Show Cause sanction has a maximum time period of one year (Handbook, Part IV, 9). Recognizing that Pacific Oaks College may not be able to demonstrate compliance with the Show Cause burden within the next 12 months, the Commission acted to waive the one year deadline and extend the date for the Commission's decision from November 2009 until April 15, 2010. However, in order to permit the extension of this deadline, the institution must also agree to waive the one year requirement. The Commission will assume that you have waived the one year deadline unless I receive a written communication from you to the contrary (by email or other means) within 24 hours of your receipt of this letter. If you prefer to have WASC act within the one year deadline at its November 2009 meeting, and you provide WASC timely notice to this effect, I will provide you within a revised time frame for meeting the various deadlines set forth below that will correspond with a Commission decision in November of 2009.
2. Schedule a Show Cause visit in fall 2009. POC is reminded that it bears the burden of proof to demonstrate that it has fully and satisfactorily addressed the violations of the Standards 1, 3, and 4 described in this letter and that it meets all the Commission Standards and the Core Commitments to Capacity and Educational Effectiveness. As part of the Special Visit, POC is required to participate in a compliance audit, per WASC policy. The Commission will review the report of the Show Cause visiting team at its meeting in February 2010.
3. Request a progress report focusing on enrollment and finances by February 1, 2009 to include a financial plan to address its shortfall in enrollment, POC's operating budget (with reserves and all other funds noted), the financial audit for 2007-2008, and fall 2008 enrollment figures.
4. Request meetings with Pacific Oaks College's full Board, President, faculty, and WASC representatives within 60 days of receipt of this letter. The purposes of these meetings are to further communicate the reasons for the Commission action, to learn of the institution's plan to achieve wider notice within the institution of the action taken by the Commission and the reasons for it, and to discuss the institution's plan for responding to the action.
5. Suspend the submission of the Institutional Proposal, which is due November 2009, until after the Commission action to be taken in February 2010.
As a result of this decision, Pacific Oaks College must show why its accreditation should not be terminated as of April 15, 2010 and, as stated in the Handbook of Accreditation, the burden of proof now rests on Pacific Oaks College. Show Cause is a public sanction. While the WASC Handbook limits Show Cause to one year, the Commission chose to extend the time frame to allow Pacific Oaks College more time to make required progress on the issues outlined in this letter.
The accredited status of Pacific Oaks College continues during the Show Cause period, but during this period, any new site or degree program initiated by the institution will be regarded as a substantive change requiring prior approval.
This decision is subject to the right of Commission Review. Information concerning Commission Review procedures, which have been recently revised, may be found in the 2008 Handbook of Accreditation,
Commission Action Letter - page 9 Pacific Oaks College
December 1,2008
available on the WASC website. Please note that a request for review of this decision must be received in the WASC office by signature-verified mail, within 28 business days of the date of this letter.
Commission policy provides that in the case of a public negative action, a public statement will be prepared in consultation with the institution, for response to inquiries. The Commission reserves the right to make the final determination of the nature and content of the public statement. Enclosed is a draft public statement. Any comments you wish to make regarding the public statement should be received in this office by Wednesday, December 3, 2008.
Please contact Ray Lui in the WASC office to schedule the meetings, as requested above. Please also note that Ingrid Walker and I are prepared to travel to the College for these meetings and there will be no need for you to travel to our office.
Finally, in accordance with Commission policy, a copy of this letter will be sent to the Chair of the institution's governing board in one week. The Commission further expects that the team report and this action letter will be widely disseminated throughout the institution to promote further engagement and improvement and to support the institution's response to the specific issues identified in them.
Please contact me if you have any questions about this letter or the action of the Commission.
Ralph A. Wolff
President and Executive Director
RW/aa
cc: Sherwood Lingenfelter
Julio Ramirez
David Marker
Members of the visiting team
Ingrid Walker
WASC update, May 31
Information to the Community about the WASC visit has been slow to come and has most likely not reached many students since there seems to be no system for direct email contact with all students in place. Notification to faculty and the broader community has also been very late and it is unclear how effective it has been in reaching all who are concerned.
We are hoping that those of you who visit this site and get this information will pass the word along to others so that WASC can have broad community participation despite the failure of the administration to notify the community until so late.
We have just learned that a meeting with students has been scheduled on June 3rd from 3 to 4 p.m. at 45 Eureka, Classroom 3. (See Student Memo
below.) Student Representative Karin Davalos did attempt to inform those scheduling the meeting that because most PO students work during the day an evening meeting would allow for greater participation. However the meeting remains set at 3 p.m. We will update this site immediately if we learn of any changes.
And please see below for a way of participating by email directly to WASC's confidential email address - pocwasc@yahoo.com - if you are unable to make any meetings.
MAY 24, 2008 . . . WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges
www.wascweb.org
) will be making a special visit to Pacific Oaks June 3rd and 4th. This visit was prompted by WASC concerns about a prior meeting with the Board Chair and the President, and will also respond to a formal complaint filed with WASC by Pacific Oaks faculty on March 13th.
A special board meeting was held on Tuesday, May 20th, to notify the board of the WASC visit, the faculty complaint and President’s response to the complaint.
WASC asked the President and Board to respond to the faculty complaint within 30 days and on May 5th a response was mailed to WASC. On May 23rd a memo was sent by Pacific Oaks administration to some of the Pacific Oaks Community alerting them to the June 3rd and 4th WASC visit. The memo also included WASC's invitation to the Pacific Oaks community to send any comments to its confidential email address, pocwasc@yahoo.com, in advance of or during the visit. However this memo was sent just 5 working days prior to the visit, making time of the essence! The memo also fails to state that one reason for the visit is the faculty's formal complaint. (See memos below.)
If you would like to write to WASC about your concerns about Pacific Oaks you are invited by WASC to do so at pocwasc@yahoo.com. We encourage you to write. If your memory needs refreshing you can visit the
What You Can Do
page for a history of events.
We will continue to post updates as soon as we get them.
April 19 - Student Rep. Karin Davalos report to Pacific Oaks Board of Trustees. Click
here .
MEMO TO STUDENTS:
Dear Staff,
We’d appreciate your help in getting the word out about the WASC/student meeting. Please see the email below for further information.
All best,
EddieJoe
From:EddieJoe Cherbony
Sent:Friday, May 30, 2008 11:21 AM
To:EddieJoe Cherbony
Cc: Monica Rascoe
Subject:WASC Meeting with Students, Jun 3, 3pm - 4pm
Dear Students,
Last week we sent out an email notification that the Western Association of Colleges and Schools (WASC) would be conducting a special visit toPacificOaksCollege on June 3 and 4. We have set up a specific day, time, and place for students to meet with a member of the WASC team.
The WASC/student meeting has been scheduled as follows:
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
3:00pm – 4:00pm
45 Eureka, Classroom 3
Students who are interested in sharing thoughts and opinions concerning their experience at PacificOaksCollegeshould reply to this email to reserve a place in the meeting. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Best regards,
EddieJoeI.Cherbony
Assistant to the Chief Student Services and Enrollment Officer
Direct: 626-397-1393
Fax: 626-583-6032
5 Westmoreland Place
Pasadena,CA 91103
From: EddieJoe Cherbony [mailto:echerbony@pacificoaks.edu]
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 1:13 PM
To: EddieJoe Cherbony
Cc: Monica Rascoe
Subject: FW: WASC Visit
Dear Students,
Please see the important email below concerning a special visitor to Pacific Oaks College on June 3 and 4.
All best,
EddieJoe
From: La Wanda Walters
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 9:55 AM
To: All_Staff_Group
Subject: WASC Visit
To Members of the Pacific Oaks Community:
The Western Association of Colleges and Schools (WASC) will be conducting a special visit to Pacific Oaks College on June 3 and 4. This visit is a follow-up to the College’s Progress Report submitted to WASC on March 5. President Denham and the senior administrative team will meet with the visiting team. The visit will also include conversations with trustees, faculty, students, and staff.
A confidential email account has been set up for persons to use to send comments to the team either in advance or during the visit. The email address is pocwasc@yahoo.com.
Please feel free to contact my office with any questions.
David Marker, Ph.D.
Chief Academic Officer
Accreditation Liaison Officer
April 19 . . .Student Rep. Report to Board of Trustees
April 19, 2008
“Pacific Oaks College” Board of Directors Meeting
April 19, 2008
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Pacific Oaks Orange Groove Campus
Report from: Karin Davalos, Student Ex Officio Rep
First of all would like to start by commending the Administration for the Focus on Academic Conversations: this is something we the students have been wanting for a long time. Thank you!
I would also like to commend the professors that have themselves initiated symposiums – Martha Clark for her masters’ students symposium on aging, Larry Garf for the 30 minute museum in which his art class students displayed their wonderful works of art – add music, food, and great conversation to the mix – and a good time was had by all at this wonderful event.
I would like to address the issues from the students’ perspective that need to be addressed at Pacific Oaks:
· There is severe dysfunction in the student services across the college, we think this is due to the understaffing imposed and maintained by Administration’s hiring and firing policy.
· Information Technology had, in the past, two positions that supported student and faculty work with student’s records. Kimberly Pollard and Espie Ruchenbroch have not been replaced and this leaves students (and faculty supporting students) without adequate support to use our web. The promised web switch allowing the students to register on their own remains as elusive as ever. The other web-based application, WebAdvisor, in which students would be able to go in and review and print their narratives has many glitches. Previously we would report them to Kimberly Pollard and she would give us a solution. Now, we don’t know who to get any help from.
· Teacher Education Department lost its Director Cyndi Grutzik almost year ago and no replacement has been made to fill this opening. The Chair of the Special Education Department is leaving and no replacement has been made. There are a few more changes in that department being made that will leave one core faculty professor in the whole Teacher Education Department. Students are getting worried that this program will close and are trying to sign up for as many classes in the summer.
· The Registrar’s office has been understaffed for years and with the Registrar out on medical leave, staff have to prioritize work around the upcoming graduation. There are 2 graduation committees; one of the committees is run by staff. Ramona Young, Assistant Registrar is pretty much running a one-woman show. Their heroic efforts in the face of the graduation crunch and understaffing has resulted in the graduation committee being behind their time line and not being able to provide faculty accurate information that faculty will use to organize departmental graduation activities (e.g. hooding ceremonies and distance learning breakfast). The student committee (which had problems recruiting students because there is no effective way to communicate with students at P.O.) although small is working really hard and will announce the name of the student speaker, key note speaker and music to the registrars office on 4/22/08. They are also arranging for student portraits.
· We have not seen signs of the Communication Committee’s promised improvement in the website to better serve students with information and student institutional e-mails have not materialized.
· The Thesis binding issue was very upsetting to many, many students as it took at least six months to resolve because Pacific Oaks had not paid the vendor in a timely manner.
· Admissions is so understaffed that it can take months to correct errors in that recording of students transfer in units. The effects of this includes:
• students being in danger of losing their jobs and not getting earned salary points.
• student and faculty uncertainty about how many Pacific Oaks units they need.
Admissions was notified of the urgency of correcting these student’s records by the students and by their on-campus co-advisor five weeks ago.
· Many students are not receiving call-backs or e-mail responses to their requests for information about their accounts in the business office.
· During registration, students have consistently had difficulties because faculty are unable to register them due to “incorrect” “business holds.” Often the business hold is no longer valid, however, the business office staff is not able to handle the volume of work and therefore have not had “time” to remove the holds. This creates a great deal of “double work” for students and faculty who have to contact the business office and get the “bogus” hold removed and then student and faculty needing to keep track of what a student wants to register for while waiting for the removal of the hold. Many of these “holds” represent $30 (student service fees) and we (students) do not understand how these were not simply taken care of during the typical application of funds from financial aid.
· Getting a financial aid check in a timely manner is also a very big issue and sore point with many, many students. There seems to be a large lag time between approval of financial aid and P.O. receiving the funds to P.O. actually disbursing the funds to cash needy students in a timely manner.
· I hear many students stories. One student in particular really stands out – this student had been allegedly sent a check 10 months ago (but to the wrong address). Finally after being frustrated and making many attempts to contact the business office via phone the student went into the business office and requested that they check with the bank to see if it had been cashed. Then the business office realized it had not been cashed and put a stop payment and re-issued the check in about two weeks. The student had already been charged for this money on their loan but P.O. had the money in their account for 10 months. The dollar amount of this check was $4,500. This could have been resolved if P.O. had taken a pro-active approach – the business office must have the capability to run a report of checks issued but still outstanding and then reconcile that.
· We need more core faculty – this is something that we have been expressing to Pacific Oaks many, many times.
· It seems as our tuition fees keep increasing the tables and chairs in the classrooms keep disappearing. We pay a lot of money to have what we need in the classrooms. Also, there are about 12 computers in the Eureka computer lab and only 5 chairs –computer chairs (which are ergonomically correct).
· Last, students feel disconnected – this is something that we have been expressing to Pacific Oaks also many, many times before. There is no student directory, no way for students to really get to know each other and network, no alumnae association. We have been asking for the policies and procedures to set up a student organization at Pacific Oaks – for a year now- and still we get nothing.
Respectfully submitted,
Karin Davalos, Student Ex Office Representative
Pacific Oaks College Board of Directors
310-210-2681
masters4karin@yahoo.com
MARCH 2, 2008 . . .Friends of Pacific Oaks remains deeply concerned about the leadership provided by President Carolyn Denham and the Board. On October 29, faculty were refused entrance to the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees. (See
"What’s Going on at PO" page.) Continue reading here for more information and more questions.
2/21/08 - PASADENA WEEKLY publishes article entitled
Crisis Control
(click link) about ongoing problems at Pacific Oaks.
CAEYC CONFERENCE
• April 3-5, 2008 • Long Beach, California
For a complete list of PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE Alumnae/i Presenters scroll down to the bottom of this page or click this link: PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE
Since the October 07 Board meeting there has been no response from the Board to our hundreds of petitions and letters. The President has commented about the situation at PO on the Pacific Oaks website. We at the SOS website continue to have serious concerns about the welfare of the college.
When major income-generating programs are abruptly terminated, there will be financial consequences. These financial consequences must be accounted for in the budget and the losses balanced against heightened fund-raising, recruitment and the development of new programs. We have seen no evidence of any of these actions by President or Board. We therefore would at this time like to raise some important questions. We invite you all to consider them and to write again to Trustees and to the President if you share our concerns.
In September of 2007 the President assured us that the college was not closing, stating:
“As you may know, last spring the College discovered that, in the academic centers, projections for growth in enrollment and net revenue were unreliable. When we learned that the centers would produce significant financial risk, the Board and I put those centers on hold to preserve the integrity of the College. The revised projections based on new data indicated a threat to the College's finances, but our current financial status is sound [emphasis added]. This means that we must change our operating policies now because, with off-campus centers on hold, we cannot rely on them to produce the revenue stream for which we had planned.”
Almost 6 months later, we are still awaiting information. Here are some specific questions:
- What specifically is being done to “change operating policies now” in order to make up for the loss of income which has resulted from the precipitate closing of the centers? Why are these changes not reflected in a sound budget available to the community?
- When will the Academic Centers be re-opened? What has been done to correct any of the problems which the President alleged existed? What, indeed, were these problems? On this website we have provided detailed information from other sources about the healthy profit margin of the Academic Centers. So we continue to ask: What problems? What has the President done to correct them? When will the centers re-open?
The President also informed us in September:
“All this work will be done through a regular governance process, mostly by committees, involving multiple constituencies including the Board of Trustees, faculty (through its representatives and as a whole), administration, other staff and students. In order to assure that we have the best thinking available, some of our work will be informed by expert advisors. We have already had a consultant review our financial aid procedures and have made changes. We have just hired a consultant to work with a faculty committee on academic program reviews and student learning.”
The President’s words raise these questions:
- What committees have been doing “all this work”? What are the results of their work? What advisors have been employed and what have they recommended?
- A report to WASC is due in March. What is the nature of this report? Who is preparing it? Through what process has faculty had input into the report?
- What plans are being made for new program development and outreach? So far during President Denham’s tenure, vital, exciting mission-enhancing programs have been abruptly terminated by her without faculty participation in these decisions and faculty have not been supported by President or Board in the development of new programs.
Other Important Questions:
- Why are all positions now being hired for labeled temporary to end “June, 2009”?
- The Director of Financial Aid has recently left. Will this position be filled on a temporary or permanent basis?
- Why have the two Academic Administrators (Student Affairs and Academic Affairs) been hired on a temporary basis? What steps are being taken to begin a search process in order to permanently fill these key positions?
- What is the fund-raising record of this President? What fund-raising activities does she engage in?
- The Office of Advancement now has a staff of 5 people. Is this cost effective? How much over their costs have they raised? What fraction of their time and of the funds they have raised have been for the College and what for the Children’s School?
- What is the long-range plan for fund-raising? What is the projected income from fund-raising for this fiscal year? For the following fiscal year? What is the distribution of this projected income between College and Children’s School?
- The faculty sabbatical policy has recently been changed by the President so that the institution no longer requires that faculty members returning from sabbaticals remain at Pacific Oaks for at least two years. Why? This policy was designed to provide the benefits of faculty learning while on sabbatical to Pacific Oaks’ students. Why change it?
- Are faculty vacancies being filled? On a permanent or temporary basis?
- Who is in charge of the overall recruitment effort and what is the recruiting long-range plan? We have just learned that the recruitment schedule published on the PO website is for 2007 and has not been updated in at least 1 year. Is PO no longer recuriting?
- What is the current governance model at Pacific Oaks? How are faculty and student voices heard by the Board and President? How are decisions about starting or terminating academic programs made? Who is in charge of hiring and firing faculty? Who is charged with recruitment and retention of faculty, the heart of Pacific Oaks?
- Since the President declared the faculty handbook null and void there has been no grievance procedure available. How can the voice and concerns of faculty be heard now by the President and the Board?
- What are the plans for a community-wide evaluation of the President? This is common practice after a presidential tenure of 5 to 7 years. Denham was hired in 1998 and has never had a community-wide evaluation. Pacific Oaks faculty requested such an evaluation in January 2007, and were informed that the board had already completed its evaluation and that her contract had been renewed in February 2007 for 5 more years. Continuing faculty requests for an evaluation have been ignored.
CAEYC PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE Alumnae/i Presenters
NOTE: If you’re a Pacific Oaks alumna/us, presenting at the conference, and we left you out, please let us know and we’ll add you to the list. If you’re not an alum and we listed you in error, our apologies (and we wish you were!).
Thursday, April 3
10:30-12
Eric Nelson, Building a Network of Outdoor Classroom Demonstration Centers
3-4:30
Marianne Jones, Transforming Preparation of California’s ECE Professionals
Friday, April 4
8:30-9:45
Eric Nelson, The Great Outdoors: Creating Inexpensive Environments for Healthy Happy Learners
Janet Gonzales-Mena, Personal Professional Development: Labyrinth Walking
Judy Bordin, Teacher Portfolios: Reflections on Learning
10:30-11:45
Fiona Stewart, Build It Together: How Collaborations Can Increase Childcare Quality
12:45-2:00
Laurie Prusso, Positive Discipline: The Way to a Caring Community
Cathy Bell, You’re Not in Kansas Anymore: Moving from Teaching to Directing
Penny Davis, Abuse and Neglect: Impact on Children’s Learning and Behavior
Marilyn Shelton, Caught between a Rock and a Hard Place Ethical Dilemmas
Enid Elliott, Personal Professional Development: Thinking and Feeling with Clay
2:45-4:00
Robin Suitt, Back to Basics: How to Tell a Felt Story
Stacey Smith, You Don't Understand, You Don't Have Children!
4:45-6:00
Su Livingston, Revolution! Moving Hearts of Parents & Policy makers toward Valuing Play
Fran Chasen, Meet Your CAEYC State Public Policy Committee
Susan Bernheimer (Faculty), Practitioner to Researcher
Lisa Lee, Personal Professional Development: Explorations of Everyday Mindfulness
Saturday, April 5
8:30-9:45
Judith Brunk, Protecting and Facilitating Play in Early Learning Environments
Lisa Cain-Chang, Wild? Wacky? Inspirational Ideas for Enhancing the Outdoor Classroom
Elizabeth Memel, Whole Baby Care: The Respectful Touch that Imparts Awareness
10:30-11:45
Ellie Kaucher, NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct: Supplement for Administrators
Don Norton, Using the Environment to Guide Behavior
Sharon Davisson, Competent and Peaceable Children: How Peace Education Enhances Social and Emotional Development
Taylor Barrington, Small Group Care for Infants and Toddlers
2:45-4:00
Pam Deyell-Gingold, From Chaos to Comfort: Creating a Safe Haven for Stressed-Out Children
Janis Keyser, Strengthening Family/Teacher Partnerships: Effective Communication for Challenging Conversations
4:30-5:45
Ed Lewis, The Best of Books, Flannel Stories, Music and Storytelling
Barbara Best, Understanding Temperament in Infant/Toddler Development
Betty Rose Allen, Technology in Pre-K: Using Computers to Enhance Creativity
And in the Center for Social Change:
Cindy Santa Cruz-Reed, How to Create a Diverse Board
Friday 8:30-9:45
Cindy Santa Cruz-Reed, Non-Violence Work: Following in Our Leaders’ Footsteps
Friday 12:45-2:00
Chris Lamm, Lesson Learned: The Journey to Become an Anti-Bias Educator
Friday 2:45-4:00
Elizabeth (Betty) Jones with Pacific Oaks College alumnae, Teaching Adults for
Social Change Friday 4:45-6:00
Janet Gonzales-Mena, How Diversity and Equity Are Related to Best Practices
Saturday 8:30-9:45
Other places to find Pacific Oaks folks at the conference:
At the Center for Social Change, volunteering and leading round table discussions.
Round tables will include “Watering Seeds of Change,” video/discussion with
Gretchen Brooke; and Conversations with Louise Derman-Sparks (Faculty
Emeritus)
At our booth in the exhibit area, where there’s information for interested people
At our reception on Friday, April 4, 6:00-7:30 pm (check program for location)