Accredited - On Notice

[colonelcamp]

I got an email from Pierpont about their accreditation status being changed to Accredited - On Notice. If this was already posted, apologies. Below is the body body of the email I received:

Dear Pierpont Student:
 
Thank you for choosing Pierpont Community and Technical College as your partner for achieving your academic and career goals. Our mission is “to provide accessible, responsive, and comprehensive education that works.” We are glad you are part of the Pierpont Pride.
 
Pierpont has reached an important milestone in its transition from a university college to West Virginia’s newest stand-alone community and technical college. In early July, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) reaffirmed Pierpont’s accreditation and notified us where the College can improve and not risk being out of compliance. In Pierpont’s first full evaluation as a stand-alone community college, HLC affirmed our new status as Accredited—On Notice.
 
Accredited—On Notice means Pierpont students can graduate from an accredited college. We want you to graduate! Most colleges and universities will continue to accept college credit earned at Pierpont in transfer or for later admission to a higher degree program. However, colleges and universities define their own transfer and admission policies. It is good practice to contact any institution in question to ensure alignment between your studies and future academic plans. 
 
We appreciate HLC guidance and note several recommendations stem from the need for a new strategic plan. A draft strategic plan has been developed and will be unveiled in August. Students and student success are at the top of our key institutional performance measures. As a result of evaluation and planning efforts, Pierpont recently reorganized Student Services staff positions and added a new position to further support student enrollment, onboarding, and advising.
 
For more information, please see the attached disclosure describing HLC’s action. HLC can be contacted at info@hlcommission.org or at 312.263.0456. If any questions remain, please visit Pierpont’s new accreditation webpage at http://www.pierpont.edu/about/accreditation.

[ss20ts]

Pierpont went from a university to a community college? That seems odd.

[colonelcamp]

I’m going to be doing the BAS at UMPI with this AAS. Hope it doesn’t affect that. We’ll see I guess.

[CenterSquarEd]

Pierpont went from a university to a community college? That seems odd.

They were spun out of Fairmont State University.

This is the report: https://www.hlcommission.org/download/_B...7.2.24.pdf

Luckily it doesn’t seem to be singling out the BOG program. The problems are all with board governance, hiring, budgeting, etc.

[jg_nuy]

Timeline to rectify:

The institution is required to provide evidence that it has addressed the issues that led to the sanction no later than eight weeks prior to HLC’s on-site evaluation, which will take place no later than December 2025. In June 2026, the HLC Board of Trustees will determine whether the institution has demonstrated that it is in compliance with HLC requirements and whether Notice can be removed.

https://www.pierpont.edu/wp-content/uplo...lege-1.pdf

[Old Guy]

Timeline to rectify:

The institution is required to provide evidence that it has addressed the issues that led to the sanction no later than eight weeks prior to HLC’s on-site evaluation, which will take place no later than December 2025. In June 2026, the HLC Board of Trustees will determine whether the institution has demonstrated that it is in compliance with HLC requirements and whether Notice can be removed.

https://www.pierpont.edu/wp-content/uplo...lege-1.pdf

I assume it is as easy as hiring a consultant to make sure procedures are set up so all the boxes can be checked.  Once you figure out what they are looking for, accreditation should be easy.

From the letter - "The Institution’s goals for retention are imprecise and actions to affect a more positive retention rate are not yet fully developed."  - The BOG program likely has close to 100% graduation rate.

[OtterDen]

What does this mean?

1. Pierpont remains accredited, but the HLC has identified some areas of concern.
2. The college has up to two years to address these issues.
3. Students can still attend and receive federal financial aid.

What are the concerns?

The HLC noted several areas where Pierpont is at risk of non-compliance, including:

- Board autonomy
- Faculty and staff sufficiency
- Assessment of student learning
- Student persistence, retention, and completion
- Governance and administrative structures
- Resource base
- Planning and improvement processes

What's next?

- Pierpont needs to provide evidence they've addressed these issues by late 2025.
- The HLC will conduct an on-site evaluation by December 2025.
- In June 2026, the HLC will decide whether to remove the "On Notice" status.

What does this mean for students?

- Current and prospective students can still attend Pierpont.
- Credits should still transfer to other institutions in most cases.

Sources: HLC Public Disclosure Notice, July 3, 2024 . Link of the notice: Public-Disclosure-Notice-Pierpont-Community-and-Technical-College-1.pdf

[slaterjack]

Should the topic title be changed to Pierpont (Accreditation - On Notice) and other Associates Degrees?

[allvia]

Should the topic title be changed to  Pierpont (Accreditation - On Notice) and other Associates Degrees?

I'd say No.  At this point there is no change or impacting result. The Pierpont BOG AAS degree is still available, it is still RA, and process is still the same. However, what I would say to those who have not started thinking this will always be available - you need to set that fire under your (you know) and get started now if this is a degree you were planning to get, do not delay. For those of us who have been here a long time, things change - options you once had go away; providers go out of business, schools changes their rules, Alt credits that were once UL get reevaluated to LL, tuition increases, etc.