Wrapping up a week-long examination of the nine colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District, Trade-Tech College was called “challenging but inspiring” by the outside team of evaluators who were assigned to the downtown college.

 “The campus is doing many things at once,” said Dr. Erika Lacro, Chancellor of Honolulu Community College, who chaired the Trade Tech visiting team.

Dr. Lacro said the accreditation team singled out the following items for special praise:

• The PACTS model, in which Trade-Tech’s programs are assigned to pathways leading to career or transfer goals. General education classes, along with student services such as academic counseling, are located within the pathways to ensure their relevance and specificity.
• Community integration, linking Trade-Tech services, programs, and resources to community needs. Of particular note is the strong and growing relationship with local high schools, allowing high school students to take trade and technical classes at Trade-Tech when their schools have eliminated shop and career-oriented curricula.
• Programs for special populations, including former foster youth, military veterans, and students who have other major challenges to success. Programs like Umoja, Puente, and EOPS provide additional support to help students overcome barriers and reach their educational and vocational goals.
• Trade-Tech facilities and grounds, which provide a welcoming, accessible, and inspiring learning environment for Trade-Tech students.
• A strong group of full-time faculty members, who provide excellent education along with guidance and role modeling for Trade-Tech students.

 The committee also made a number of recommendations that will be formally communicated to Trade-Tech through the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), which will hear their report and adopt an accreditation recommendation in June, 2016.