Caption: Jack Pond of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, seen here with Mrs. Tialuga Seloti of ASCC, conducted a Self-Study Workshop earlier this week for the College's administration and staff. (Photo: J. Kneubuhl)

“A college begins its Self-Study two years before a site visit by the ACCJC,” explained the College’s Accreditation Liaison Offer Dr. Kathleen Kolhoff-Belle. “In the Self-Study, the institution takes an honest look at its own strengths as well as the challenges it faces.  This is a process of candid self-assessment and planning for improvement.  The ACCJC team who will make the site visit review this document carefully several months before they arrive. The members of the ACCJC team take into consideration the information in the Self-Study, along with their own observations during their visit, and then make a recommendation to the Commission on whether or not the school should have its accreditation continued. The ACCJC offers assistance to help schools work through this process, such as the Self-Study Workshop Mr. Pond came all the way to American Samoa to share with ASCC.”

Garman “Jack” Pond currently serves with the ACCJC as Vice President in charge of Team Operations and Communication. Pond holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Hawaii in Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and French from the University of Redlands in California.  Prior to joining the ACCJC staff, he taught English, Spanish, and ESL at Leeward Community College on Oahu for 32 years, where he also served as a member of the college's Faculty Senate for 25 years and as Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences for one year.  In 1984, Pond received the University of Hawaii Board of Regents' Excellence in Teaching award.  His involvement to date with the ACCJC includes service as a member from 1998 to 2004, during which time he participated in more than more than a dozen comprehensive and special visit teams.  Pond joined the Commission staff full time in July, 2004. (Commission “members” work with the ACCJC on an occasional basis, such as the occasion of a site visit, while concurrently maintaining regular employment elsewhere; “staff”, such as Mr. Pond, work for the ACCJC full time.) 

Pond provided four workshops at ASCC.  First, he gave a general introduction to the accreditation process for all interested College faculty and staff.  The second, a Self Study Training Workshop, provided information specifically for the members of the College’s Self Study Steering Committee, and Standards Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs.  On the third day of his visit, Pond gave a Workshop on Program Review for the faculty, and a Leadership Workshop for the College’s Deans and Directors. 

Pond has previously visited American Samoa as a member of the 1996 WASC Accreditation Team who evaluated ASCC. This time, on his second visit, he noted a number of positive improvements the College has made over the last ten years.  Among the changes, he singled out the new ASCC Library and the advances in computer technology on campus as particularly noteworthy.

When asked why parents and students should pay close attention to a school’s accreditation status, Pond explained, “Accreditation serves four main purposes. First, it assures the public that a particular academic institution meets commonly held standards of quality. Second, by meeting these standards, this allows for the transferability of student credits from one institution to the next. Third, the federal government only provides financial assistance to students who attend institutions that have gained accreditation from one of the agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (such as the ACCJC).  Fourth, through a periodic cycle of accreditation review, an institution evaluates its own strengths and challenges as part of the process, and this in turn leads to their continual growth.”

The ACCJC accredits associate degree granting institutions in California, Hawaii, the Territories of Guam and American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. ACCJC is one of three commissions under the corporate entity known as the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). For more information, visit their web site at: www.accjc.org.

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