Ocean County College Warned Accreditation At Risk Over Leadership, Governance

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Ocean County College has received a warning letter from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that it could lose its accreditation status, after the commission found deficiencies in the college's leadership structure.

The letter, dated June 29, says OCC gave "insufficient evidence that the institution is currently in compliance with Standard VII (Governance, Leadership, and Administration)." The warning letter, signed by Heather F. Perfetti, president of the Middle States Commission, says Ocean County College will remain accredited under the warning and has until Jan. 16, 2024, to submit an updated report to show it is in compliance.

A loss of accreditation would mean students would be unable to receive federal student aid and credits earned may not be accepted by other colleges and universities, even though Ocean County College met all of the other Middle States standards, including academic standards.

"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," said Jan Kirsten, executive director of college relations for Ocean County College.

"Dr. Pamela Monaco began her tenure as College President on July, 1, 2023, and will continue the college's commitment to demonstrating compliance," Kirsten said.

Jon H. Larson, who had been president of Ocean County College since August 2000, announced in April 2022 that he would be stepping down, and in December Monaco was announced as his successor.

The Middle States letter says Ocean County College must address its governance in the following ways:

1. "A governance structure that allows it to realize its stated mission and goals in a way that benefits the institution, its students, and the constituencies it serves;
2. "A governing body that provides oversight at the policy level and is informed in all its operations by principles of good practice in board governance (Standard VII);
3. "A governing board that appoints and regularly evaluates the Chief Executive Officer (Standard VII);
4. "An administration with regular engagement with faculty and students to advance the institution's goals and objectives (Standard VII);
5. "Periodic assessment of the effectiveness of governance, leadership and administration (Standard VII). "

It does not provide details on the specific issues that prompted the finding of non-compliance, and emails requesting additional information were not answered as of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

In addition to the report Ocean County College must submit by Jan. 16, 2024, the college also will have to undergo a follow-up visit from Middle States officials, the letter said.

A loss of accreditation would have a significant ripple effect, as nearly every high school in Ocean County has a dual enrollment agreement with Ocean County College, allowing high school students to complete college courses without leaving their high schools.

A growing number of students have been completing their associates degrees at Ocean County College even before graduating high school, and those credits have been transferrable to many schools in New Jersey — saving a significant amount of money on tuition.

Ocean County College also has an affiliation with Kean University, Kean at Ocean, that allows students to continue their studies through Kean University while attending classes in Toms River. It has affiliations with William Paterson University and Rutgers University-Camden as well.