FCMAT has developed the Operational Standards Self-Assessment for California Community College Districts as a tool to help districts best serve their respective communities within the conventional funding provided by state law and other traditional ongoing resources. FCMAT has ensured that the 107 questions in the operational standards are generally aligned with the four overarching Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) standards for two reasons:

1. Districts are familiar with the structure, verbiage and criteria.
2. Districts have identified leadership responsible for each standard.

Although this tool follows the ACCJC format, and many of the questions are related to a specific ACCJC standard, it is not intended to address every standard or modify the intent of the accreditation process.

The operational standards help districts identify areas of the institution that make them unique but that may not be affordable and could therefore contribute to their fiscal distress. Districts should further investigate the findings that result from the questions so that they can more closely align with the operational intent of statewide funding for California community colleges.

The standards are broken into the following sections:

Section		Questions
1	Mission, Academic Quality and Institutional Effectiveness, and Institutional Integrity	12
2	Student Learning Programs and Support Services	27
3	Resources	41
4	Leadership and Governance	27
Total		107

Operational Standards Self-Assessment for California Community College Districts