Higher Learning Commission Places College of DuPage on Probation

GLEN ELLYN, IL - Citing concerns over the College of DuPage operating with integrity and governance, the Higher Learning Commission has ordered the state’s largest community college be placed on probation for two years.

The college has until February 2017 to correct the commission’s findings of non-compliance, which focused on integrity, governance, the role of the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy in the college and its intersection with the criminal justice program, and effectiveness of governance and administration, according to a Dec. 16 letter from Barbara Gellman-Danley, president of the Higher Learning Commission.

The state’s largest community college is also out of compliance with the criteria for accreditation and core components, Gellman-Danley wrote.

• The full letter from the Higher Learning Commission can be viewed here.

Acting Interim President Joseph Collins said the college is focused on resolving all concerns.

“We do not believe this decision by the Higher Learning Commission is reflective of the academic excellence we provide at College of DuPage,” said Acting Interim President Joseph Collins. “However, we will move swiftly to address all of the Higher Learning Commission’s concerns. In the meantime, students should be assured that we remain accredited during the probationary period, and the status of their credits is unchanged and will transfer just as before.”

COD Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Deanne Mazzochi said she believes the board will work together and compromise “for the good of the institution.”

“My belief is that each of us, individually and collectively, will take this very seriously,” said COD Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Deanne Mazzochi. “The HLC’s concerns involving the Board are readily fixable. I pledge my best efforts to search for ways to effectively compromise so we can overcome differences respectfully, for the good of the institution, while improving the overall temperament of the Board.”

It’s been a chaotic week for the College of DuPage.

On Sunday, former Board of Trustees chairwoman Katherine Hamilton abruptly quit. Then, on Tuesday, trustees Dianne McGuire and Erin Birt said Mazzochi, their rival on the board, requested that the college president have campus police arrest them for taking copies of legal bills without permission, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Mazzochi denies those claims but did say the trustees failed to follow protocol when they went to review the college’s legal bills for August, September, October and November and ended up leaving the Glen Ellyn campus with roughly 500 pages of material, according to the Daily Herald.

• COD Board Members Claim Rival Member Tried to Have Them Arrested