While the school’s class rooms undergoes its accreditation, the fields, courts and pools get a different test. “A different type of accreditation,” Athletics dean Daniel Smith said.

Cerritos’ conference participates in a program called the athletic programs review and it happens every six years, according to Smith.

“We do an extensive review process.” Smith said, “we bring in a conference team to do program review.”

The team that reviews the sports is composed of other athletic administrators that are part of Cerritos’ conference.

The accreditation team that will be arriving does not have much to do with the intercollegiate athletics, according to Smith.

However, the review that will check the school does have to also review the instructional aspect of the sports.

“For example,” Smith said, “every one of our intercollegiate athletics classes, is a class, and students get credit for it.”

The fact that the credit given to students from the athletic class is a portion of what the state gives that automatically puts that under the academic accreditation review.

Smith said the last time Cerritos’ was overseen by the conference athletic programs review was three years ago.

According to Smith Cerritos got a very good program review.

Smith was also part of groups that went to do athletic programs review to different schools.

“I know the process very well.” Smith said, “they meet with the athletic administration, athletic councilors and some coaches.

“They meet with individual athletes and try to meet with the College president. There are certain questions that they ask that will give answers to see if you are in compliant or not in compliant with.”

The group that comes in to review athletic programs look for a variety of things.

According to Smith some groups may ask “do you have a good way to do eligibility, to make sure that you’re not a ineligible athlete.”

Groups look to see if there is enough athletic trainers to train the number of students that are taking the sport class.

“We have 19 athletic teams,” Smith said, “so we better have a councilor who is assigned athletics or we get dinged.”

Budgetary issues are also seen by the conference group, if money is taken from the games from tickets sold, they check to see what the athletic department does to handle that money.

“In fact it was probably patterned after that,” Smith said, who believes the athletic review process was mirrored after the academic review.

Athletic director Dan Clause was the one who set up the review program for athletics in his first year as athletic director.

“The athletic directors evaluate us to see if we are following the rules.” Clause said.

According to Smith, while the school will under go academic accreditation soon, athletics will not be reviewed four years from now.