Ocean County College’s accreditation ‘may be in jeopardy’
TOMS RIVER - Ocean County College has been warned that its accreditation may be in jeopardy because of insufficient evidence the institution has met certain standards in how the school is governed and administered.
The community college received the notice of non-compliance from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education last Thursday.
The warning came on the penultimate day of President Jon H. Larson’s 23-year-long tenure as chief executive of OCC before he retired Friday. No specific issue with the administration was identified in the documents available to the public. The college has until Jan. 16, 2024, to remedy the matter, during which time OCC remains accredited.
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The new president, Pamela Monaco, took office on Saturday. Previously, Monaco was vice president of academic and student affairs at Wilbur Wright College in Chicago.
In a statement, the college acknowledged that it was notified on Thursday that it had not provided sufficient evidence that the institution is currently in compliance with standards pertaining to “governance, leadership and administration.” Nevertheless, OCC noted that it was in compliance with all other standards.
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“The college will address the finding immediately and we are confident that we will satisfy the commission’s concerns when the monitoring report is submitted in January,” the statement said.
Ocean County Commissioner Virginia E. Haines, who is the county government’s liaison to the college, said she had not been informed of the issue but had the utmost confidence in Monaco to address whatever the problem may be.
Haines said she was aware that representatives from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education had recently visited the campus for a site visit.
Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Ocean County College’s accreditation ‘may be in jeopardy’
