Jan 03, 2014 12:51 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

City College of San Francisco (CCSF) won an important, even if temporary, in court Thursday when a judge sent the school's accreditation revocation to trial.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow granted city attorney Dennis Herrera with a preliminary injunction Thursday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Now, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) must win at trial to uphold its decision to revoke CCSF's accreditation, a decision it made in July.

"We're incredibly pleased with the outcome," Herrera said. "We're hopeful the (commission) will take heed in the future and evaluate colleges in a fair manner with no conflicts of interest."

Karnow's ruling is an indication he thinks Herrera can win at trial, or else he would not have granted the injunction. He ruling also gives CCSF more time to mend the various issues that led to its accreditation being threatened.

The ACCJC made their decision to strip CCSF's accreditation in July after determining the school failed to make several recommended changes. In August, the city filed a lawsuit countering the move, which threatened to take affect next summer. The city said the ACCJC had political bias against the school and conflicts of interest in the commission team responsible for the decision.

For example, the ACCJC's president Barbara Beno's husband, Peter Crabtree, was part of the team that reviewed CCSF's accreditation. Beno also supported the Student Success Task Force, an initiative CCSF community members disagreed with since most of its students were not active degree seekers.

Still, according to the Los Angeles Times, more than 80,000 students would be left with useless credits should CCSF close down. Without its accreditation, it would most certainly lose its state funding and be forced to close its doors.

"Without accreditation, the college would almost certainly close and about 80,000 students would either lose their educational opportunities or hope to transfer elsewhere; and for many of them the transfer option is not realistic," Karnow said of his ruling, according to the LAT. "The impact on teachers, faculty and the city would be incalculable, in both senses of the term."

Federal officials cited the ACCJC in August for violations stemming from their review of CCSF, but the Education Department decided to give the agency a year to fix its issues.

Kranow's ruling is a sure sign he thinks Herrera can win in trial, but the initial motion filed by the city was to reverse the ACCJC's decision entirely. While the motion was not granted, the injunction is a victory the city needed in order to have a chance at ultimate victory in court.

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