THE EVOLUTION OF CRISIS AT CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO A dissertation submitted to the faculty of San Francisco State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education In Educational Leadership by Megan Diane Corry San Francisco, California August 2016 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read The Evolution of Crisis at City College of San Francisco by Megan Diane Corry, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree: Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership at San Francisco State University. ____________________________________ Robert Gabriner, Ed. Professor of Education ____________________________________ Daniel Meier, Ph. Professor of Elementary Education ____________________________________ Frances White, Ph.
Professor of Education THE EVOLUTION OF CRISIS AT CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO Megan Corry San Francisco, California 2016 In July of 2013, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) determined that the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) did not meet the eligibility criteria and standards for accreditation and announced that they would terminate accreditation within one year. Following this decision, it was revealed that there were early warning signs of impending financial insolvency and a history of noncompliance with regulatory standards. In the 1980’s, the college experienced a similar crisis, after which it embarked on a major reorganization designed to integrate operations, improve communications, and ensure fiscal solvency. But decades later the college found itself in the same condition.
Studies of community colleges in fiscal or accreditation crisis focus on leadership responses and recovery; however, few have closely examined the evolution of the crisis through a historical perspective. This qualitative study examined the factors that may have contributed to the development of an institutional blindspot that prevented CCSF leaders at all levels from recognizing and responding to the impending crisis. Through interviews and archival document review, this study found that college leaders consistently normalized deviations in financial operations and in decision-making processes on student learning outcomes. Three factors that contributed to normalization of deviance included an environment of competition for scarce resources stemming from shifts in state community college finance laws and increasing accountability standards, a culture of expectation to be “all things to all people”, and a self-affirming ideology fed by a culture of “uniqueness”, which isolated the institution and insulated its leaders from acting on the warning signs of impending crisis.
Recommendations outline strategies for leaders to better recognize problems before they become major crises. I certify that the Abstract is a correct representation of the content of this dissertation. _____________________________________________ ___________________ Chair, Dissertation Committee Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research would not have been possible without the cooperation and candid communication of the interview participants, and the many faculty, administrators and support personnel who ushered me through the history of San Francisco’s community college district. A special thanks to Christopher Kox and Julia Bergman for guiding me through the archives collection and for their dedication to maintaining this valuable treasure.
I thank my dissertation committee for their patience with me through this process. Gabriner, thank you for your persistence and for having faith in my abilities. Finally, I extend a special note of gratitude to my family for their support and enthusiasm throughout this project. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES.
vii LIST OF FIGURES .viii LIST OF APPENDICES. ix Chapter One: Purpose of the Study. 1 Introduction and Problem Statement. 1 Background of the crisis.
1 The importance of CCSF to the community. 5 A history of problems. 7 Purpose of the study and research questions. 14 Chapter Two: Literature Review.
18 Crisis in higher education: the influence of culture. 19 The cultural implications of multiple missions. 24 The role of leadership in the development of crisis. 26 Organizational mistake and normalization of deviance.
28 Summary and Implications. 32 Chapter Three: Methodology. 37 Researcher conducted interviews. 40 Archival document review.
42 Validity and reliability. 46 Role of the Researcher. 49 Ethics and Protection of Human Subjects. 50 Limitations of the research.
51 Chapter Four: Report of Findings. 52 Competition and Scarcity. 54 State reductions in funding for California community colleges. 57 Collective bargaining and Proposition 13 at the SFCCD.
60 An era of accountability and unpredictable funding. 67 Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s). 76 Structural design of the SFCCD promotes internal competition. 78 A Culture of Expectation.
88 Labor group expectations. 105 Self-affirming Ideology. 114 Acceptance of operational dysfunction. 118 Summary of Findings.
120 Chapter Five: Conclusions and Implications. 123 Normalization of deviance. 123 Why problems persisted at CCSF. 124 Implications and Recommendations.
127 Recommendations for Institutional Leaders. Recognize the causes and historical roots of the crisis. Promote and practice evidence-based decision-making. Develop best practices.
130 Challenges Facing the San Francisco Community College District (SFCCD). 132 Recommendations for Further Study. 143 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. History of funding at California Community Colleges 1970-2012.
Total number of employees at the SFCCD. History of student learning outcomes (SLO’s) at the SFCCD. 110 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Relationship between accreditation and funding.
Coding and analysis. Unduplicated headcount at the SFCCD 1992-2012. Credit and noncredit FTES at the SFCCD 1992-2012. Credit sections (minus summer) at the SFCCD 1992-2012.
Summer sections at the SFCCD 1992-2012. Influences on the culture of expectation over time. 88 viii LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page 1. 146 ix 1 Chapter One: Purpose of the Study Introduction and Problem Statement This research is the story of a community college in crisis.
More importantly, it is a study that reveals the significance of history and the effects of political decision- making and organizational culture on the evolution of crisis at one of the largest community college districts in the country. Retracing time, history, and the trajectory of actions, the results show how leaders at this community college, despite repeated signs of impending crisis, were unable to turn things around in time and avoid catastrophe. Leaders at all levels: program coordinators, department chairs, labor leaders, faculty governance leaders, administrators and, most critically, chancellors and governing board members, collectively over decades normalized persistent problems and warning signs and this led to and resulted in a threat to institutional viability. Ultimately, this research underscores the critical importance of leadership responsibility to uphold the mission of this public institution, and promote equity and social empowerment for its diverse communities through high quality education.
Background of the crisis City College of San Francisco (CCSF) has been a beacon in the community for over 75 years, providing entry-level college courses, degree and certificate programs, transfer opportunities to 4-year institutions, award winning career preparation programs, transitional studies, and adult education. In 2004, CCSF was recipient of the prestigious MetLife award and identified as among the top community colleges in the nation based 2 on its broad spectrum of course offerings, cultural representation of the community, and 75% retention to second year (Kazis & Newton, 2004). And despite fiscal and operational issues over many decades, CCSF has benefitted from the continuous support of the San Francisco residents (Bergman, Mathis & White, 2010). Today, that same institution is at the most serious crisis point in their history: the fight for survival.
In July of 2012, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) determined that City College of San Francisco (CCSF) was significantly out of compliance with eligibility criteria and standards for accreditation and issued the most serious sanction possible, “show cause”, challenging the college to prove worthiness or lose accreditation. Among the fourteen major citations, eleven were issues that CCSF had failed to resolve from the 2006 accreditation visit; three of the recommendations went completely unaddressed despite recommendations made by the ACCJC in letters to CCSF in 2007, 2009 and 2010. Two overarching issues were a lack of integrated budgeting and planning to prioritize scarce resources and ensure financial stability, and the failure to institute the student learning outcomes (SLO) process to evaluate program and institutional effectiveness (ACCJC, 2012). Accreditation standards evaluate fiscal decision-making practices of a college to ensure financial stability of the institution.
Standards also examine outcomes and how an institution uses outcome data to ensure accountability to primary stakeholders: the students. These two elements (financial stability and SLO processes) are distinct but 3 interrelated. An accredited college measures outcomes at all levels (course, program, administration, and institution) and then uses outcomes evidence to drive planning and budgeting in alignment with the institutional mission. In the years leading up to the 2012 sanction, CCSF did not use student outcomes to drive planning and budgeting, nor did it ensure that financial decisions were consistent with the institutional mission.
Risky financial decisions were made without regard to the warnings from outside agencies, and without regard for evidence as to whether programs and services benefitted students. City College of San Francisco promotes an expansive mission of access, equity, and outreach to the local community, and a promise of higher education for all, but without the outcomes evidence, this message falls short. But the message from the state chancellor’s office was clear: “take focused and rapid action to address the challenges that are facing your district” (October 2012, Governing Board meeting). One year later, despite a flurry of activity by CCSF aimed at corrective action, the accrediting commission determined that the college had not corrected the problems sufficiently enough to change the course of the sanction and terminated accreditation effective July 31, 2014.
Overall, the ACCJC determined that CCSF “does not adhere to each of the Eligibility Requirements and Accreditation Standards and has failed to follow Commission directives to address the deficiencies noted by the 2006 evaluation team” (ACCJC, 2012). Adding to the commission’s decision, new concerns outlined in a comprehensive report by the state’s Fiscal Crisis 4 and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) indicated severe problems with fiscal administration, accountability, and viability that had persisted for decades at the district. As of this writing, many actions are underway to keep the college open. The college made changes to leadership positions, overall administrative structure, participatory governance decision-making processes and financial planning and reporting.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) filed lawsuits against the ACCJC to overturn the initial termination decision, stating that the ACCJC violated their own rules during the initial and subsequent site visit. In August of 2013, the San Francisco City Attorney filed legal challenges to keep the ACCJC from revoking accreditation. This action triggered a preliminary injunction in early 2014 to delay the revocation so that these complaints could be reviewed in a court of law. City College of San Francisco has not filed a lawsuit but rather focuses sustained efforts to address the issues outlined by the ACCJC in the hopes of another chance to meet the standards of accreditation.
Most recently, the accrediting commission established a new “restoration status” so that a college under threat of losing accreditation might extend the timeline by an additional two years to allow time to meet the standards. The commission then granted this “restoration” status to CCSF. The next review of the college will take place in October 2016 with a final determination of accreditation status in January 2017. 5 The importance of CCSF to the community City College of San Francisco (CCSF) is an urban, public, community college that serves a population of approximately 85,000 students each year.
CCSF offers more than 50 academic programs and over 100 occupational programs with a range of courses that lead to Associates degrees, certificates, or transfer to four-year universities. Over 75% of students are first generation college students. Representative of the city of San Francisco, the college serves an ethnically diverse student population.
