Bates Technical College Is Taken Off Probation After Working On Problems

TACOMA - Bates Technical College has been taken off its two-year accreditation probation 12 months early.

A panel of the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges voted unanimously to lift the probation, deciding Bates had made enough progress in nine of 11 problem areas, said Joe Malik, executive director of the panel.

An accrediting team will review the college's progress again next fall.

Bates president Bill Mohler said the state-funded college is a better school because of changes required by the accrediting group.

"In the ultimate outcome, the student is going to benefit by having greater services and improved services," Mohler said. "I am very pleased and certainly proud for all of the staff work that has gone into this."

Known as "The Job School," Bates has about 12,000 students enrolled in 70 vocational and technical programs, including firefighting, nursing, construction and machinery.

Most students attend part-time at campuses in downtown Tacoma, South Tacoma and Ruston.

Mohler said the improvements include:

-- Adding three college-level instructors to teach math, communications, and human relations.

-- Creating a centralized library at the downtown Tacoma campus.

-- Developing and carrying out a plan to make sure a sufficient number of people of color are hired at the college.

-- Creating a plan to assess how good a job the school does at teaching and retaining students.