An accredited status enables an institution to qualify for federal grants and contracts, to distribute federal financial aid to its students, and for students’ credits to be more easily transferred to other accredited institutions.
In the case of the American Samoa Community College (ASCC), the institution falls under the purview of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), which has set Accreditation Standards that focus on an institution’s continuous quality improvement efforts around the critical elements of student learning, student achievement, and the closure of institutional equity gaps.
The American Samoa Community College gained a substantial wealth of knowledge about standards and policies of the ACCJC during a visit by Ms. Melynie Schiel, the Commission’s liaison to ASCC. Ms. Schiel, an ACCJC Vice President, accepted the assignment of staff liaison to ASCC and in early November conducted a site visit to the college.
Ms. Schiel met with ASCC Executive Leadership and took a comprehensive tour of the campus facilities. During her visit, Ms. Schiel also met with the ASCC Accreditation Steering Committee, the Board of Higher Education, and the personnel at the Pacific Center in Human Security.
Ms. Schiel’s three-day visit culminated with an extended workshop-style presentation on Accreditation Standards for the ASCC faculty and staff. She gave a detailed explanation of several new standards adopted by the ACCJC, and then led the ASCC personnel through interactive examples of how these Standards can be applied. The presentation provided the College’s staff with a better understanding of ACCJC policies, as well as familiarity with Ms. Schiel herself in her role as the ACCJC liaison with ASCC.
Following Ms. Schiel’s visit, ASCC President Dr. Rosevonne Pato thanked the College staff for their cooperation and hospitality. “I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for a very successful week with ACCJC Vice President/Liaison Melynie Schiel,” wrote the President in an email to her faculty staff. “The time with her in meetings, discussions, tours, and ‘Talk Story’ time demonstrated the Core Values that we hold so clearly in all that we do here at the college.”
