No images? Click here President’s Update | February 2024 Colleagues, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges continues to work with faculty, stakeholders and stakeholder groups, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, legislators, and legislative staff to influence and implement policy and provide professional learning opportunities. While work slowed a little over the holidays, the ASCCC Executive Committee, office team, and volunteer committees hit the ground running soon after the ball dropped on a new year. I hope everyone took time to rest and do something enjoyable with the people and pets they love during the holiday break. Below are updates on some of the work the ASCCC is engaged in and is often asked about. Much of the work is done in collaboration with faculty and system stakeholders, without whom the resources, events, and information developed would not be possible. The ASCCC gives its thanks to all who contribute. Spring Plenary Session on April 18-20 at the San Jose Marriott is approaching fast. While the target attendees for plenary sessions are faculty leaders first and foremost, the ASCCC welcomes partners and colleagues from across the system. The theme for the 2024 Spring Plenary Session is Radicalizing Spaces of Possibility: Faculty Leadership in Vision 2030. The future of teaching, learning, and leading must be focused in practices that challenge Eurocentric structures and elevate liberation. In her work Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, feminist teacher, scholar, and activist bell hooks urges teachers to see the classroom as “radical space of possibility” where student and faculty partnerships can disrupt systemic barriers through collaboration, disruption of power structures, and the centering of compassion and social justice. Sessions will highlight opportunities to create radical change through efforts included in Vision 2030. Please share this information with colleagues. ASCCC work is interconnected with local college and district work and the work of system stakeholder groups. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact info@asccc.org. With gratitude, Cheryl Aschenbach General InformationExecutive Committee
Exemplary Program Award Winners Honored at Board of Governors Meeting At its January board meeting, the California Community Colleges Board of Governors honored Chabot College, Glendale College, MiraCosta College, and San Diego Mesa College with 2023-2024 Exemplary Program Awards for outstanding efforts in promoting and advancing ethnic studies, the theme for the 2023-2024 awards. As part of the presentation, the efforts of faculty at each college to advance ethnic studies were highlighted. Fullerton College and Sierra College were recognized as honorable mentions. One can read more about the winning efforts in the Chancellor’s Office press release. Congratulations to the colleges and faculty recognized. In addition to the Exemplary Program Awards, the ASCCC facilitates the application and review processes for the Hayward Award and Regina Stanback Stroud Diversity Award. Hayward Award winners will be announced and celebrated at the March Board of Governors meeting, and the Regina Stanback Stroud Diversity Award honoree will be recognized at Spring Plenary Session. Generative Artificial IntelligenceArtificial intelligence (AI) and generative artificial intelligence are hot topics of conversation among educators, and the ASCCC is hearing faculty’s questions, concerns, and ideas. This spring, ASCCC President Cheryl Aschenbach will be co-facilitating two more generative AI webinars with FACCC President Wendy Brill-Wynkoop and, from the Chancellor’s Office, Visiting Executive of Strategic Research and Innovative Design Craig Hayward. Dates, times, and topics for the webinars are “Generative AI as a General Productivity Booster” on Tuesday, February 27 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and “AI-Enhanced Analytics and Learning Platforms” on Tuesday, April 30 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Register here for the series or visit the Vision Resource Center for recordings from the Fall 2023 webinars. Additionally, the ASCCC Educational Policy Committee is working in response to Resolution 13.05 SP23, which called for the ASCCC to “prioritize the development of resources addressing artificial intelligence and its implications on education and academic integrity, develop a framework for local colleges to use in developing academic and professional policies, and present these resources no later than the 2024 Spring Plenary Session or as soon as feasible.” Initial information and resources are coming soon. CCC Ethnic Studies CompetenciesThe ASCCC continues to receive inquiries regarding the California Community College Ethnic Studies Competencies. The competencies were developed by the California Community Colleges Ethnic Studies Task Force, which was initiated in Fall 2021 to provide recommendations for implementation of the new ethnic studies requirement for associate degrees, in response to Resolution 9.02 SP22 and consistent with competencies being developed by the CSU and UC systems. The California Community Colleges Ethnic Studies Competencies were approved by the C-ID Model Curriculum Workgroup in April 2023 and are available under the Resources tab of the C-ID website. A minimum of three of the five competencies should be present in ethnic studies courses included in the TMCs being developed. Although the competencies do not need to be included verbatim, they should be mapped to course content in some way. They may be included as student learning outcomes, although doing so is not a requirement. Assembly Higher Education Committee Title IX ReportOn February 1, 2024, the Assembly Higher Education Committee chaired by Assemblymember Mike Fong released a Title IX Call to Action report, How Postsecondary Education Institutions Can Address Sex Discrimination and Provide Educational Justice on Campus. The report is a synopsis of information gathered by Assembly Higher Education Committee staff through briefings with representatives from the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, and various independent colleges and universities. It includes “legislative proposals for how the State can partner with higher education institutions to prevent and address sex discrimination in all its forms on campuses throughout California.” The report’s legislative proposals will likely surface in one or more bills in this and subsequent legislative sessions, so all are encouraged to review the report and consider the potential impacts of the recommendations should they become law through legislation. Feedback can be provided to the staff of the Assembly Higher Education Committee. Spring ASCCC ConveningsWith a new semester comes new professional learning offerings and opportunities. Webinars being offered by ASCCC representatives this spring include OER, Work Experience, Online Education and Generative AI, Ungrading in the Online Classroom, Equity in Online Courses, Rising Scholars Faculty Office Hours, Overview of 2024 ACCJC Standards and Addressing Social Justice in ISERs, Accreditation Town Hall Q&A with ACCJC, and CTE MQs, Equivalency, and Eminence as well as monthly legislative updates. Regional meetings will include Career Technical Education Regionals, Curriculum Regionals, and Dual Enrollment Regionals. The CTE Regionals are being held in collaboration with regional consortia. Two were held in the fall, and six are being held this spring. The Curriculum Regionals and Dual Enrollment Regionals are being held in coordination with each other at each of three sites in the South (Santa Ana College), Central Valley (College of the Sequoias), and North/Bay Area (DeAnza College). These events will have shared time for networking at the start of each day and during lunch but have separate programs. Find a complete listing of all Spring 2024 ASCCC events at the ASCCC Events Webpage or Calendar. Coordination Cohort Facilitation for Zero Textbook Cost Pathway Grants (ZTC Pathways)Education Code §78052 requires that the Chancellor’s Office “ensure that a [ZTC Acceleration] grant does not result in the development or implementation of duplicate degrees for a subject matter.” The ASCCC Open Education Resources Initiative is now working with colleges that choose to participate in coordination cohorts when the Chancellor’s Office has determined they submitted a ZTC Acceleration Grant application that may be duplicating efforts at other colleges. The collaboration cohorts will be used to determine what, if any, duplication of subject matter exists and to facilitate plans for cross-college collaborations. Universal Design for Learning Task ForceIn Fall 2023, the Chancellor’s Office convened a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Task Force, co-chaired by ASCCC Vice President Manuel Vélez, to develop recommendations for implementing universal design for learning across colleges. The recommendations being developed are intended to support inclusive and accessible campuses for students, not just instruction as UDL is most known for. Draft recommendations are expected soon. The ASCCC will disseminate additional information as it becomes available in addition to facilitating opportunities for feedback on the recommendations. Legislation and AdvocacyThe 2024 legislative session, which is the second year of a two-year session, is still in its early stages, and new bills were introduced through February 16. In the second year of a legislative session, bills that stalled in the first year can be brought back for consideration in the second year. The re-introduction of bills from the first year can be done through an accelerated process in which bills must move to the second house by January 31. In contrast, new bills have until May 24 to move to the second house. The ASCCC Legislative and Advocacy Committee and Executive Committee continue to review newly introduced bills to determine which to watch and to consider potential positions. Together, members from the two committees will visit legislators and legislative staff in Sacramento as part of the annual ASCCC Legislative Advocacy Day. The ASCCC advocacy priorities for the 2024 session include continued funding for the ASCCC Open Education Resources Initiative, a request to allow community colleges time to continue implementation of previously legislated initiatives, and a request to support the investments in California community colleges included in the governor’s January budget proposal, critical during a time of significant budget reductions in other areas of the budget proposal. For more information about legislation and the legislative process and to see bills the ASCCC is tracking, view the Legislative Update item (III.A.) on ASCCC Executive Committee agendas. To see position letters submitted to members of the legislature for specific bills, visit the Legislative Positions webpage. Curriculum and Transfer-Related InformationAB 89 Modern Policing DegreeIn addition to changes to the minimum qualifications for peace officers, AB 89 (Jones-Sawyer, 2021) Peace officers: minimum qualifications called for the Chancellor’s Office to develop a modern policing degree program. During 2022-2023, the Chancellor’s Office AB 89 Modern Policing Degree Task Force met to develop recommendations for the modern policing degree program and related aspects of implementation called for in the legislation. The final Report and Recommendations document was released in October 2023 and includes seven areas of recommendations. The ASCCC is convening a Modern Policing Degree Workgroup to develop model curriculum based on the task force recommendations, with the goal of disseminating the model curriculum for curriculum and degree development at interested colleges by Fall 2024. ICAS Baccalaureate Degree Duplication Subcommittee RecommendationsThe Intersegmental Committee of Academic Senates (ICAS) was asked by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in May 2023 to develop recommendations for review of proposed baccalaureate degree programs for duplication with existing programs in the California State University system. At its meeting on May 31, 2023, ICAS took action to form a CCC baccalaureate program duplication task force. The task force charge is to make recommendations on the curricular review process for determining program duplication, including a definition of program duplication, a set of program duplication criteria, and a program duplication standard. The subgroup, with a member each from the community colleges, the CSU, and the UC, met through early November, producing draft process recommendations that ICAS accepted at its November 30, 2023 meeting. The recommendations, which can be found on the ICAS website, were subsequently shared with the three system offices for consideration. It is unclear at this time whether the recommendations will be implemented or modified in some form by the system offices, but the shared hope of the subcommittee and ICAS is that the review of proposed programs as potentially duplicative will include more faculty involvement, since degree and certificate requirements are an academic and professional matter. AB 928 Intersegmental Implementation Committee: Report, Recommendations, and New GoalsThe requirement to develop a singular general education pathway for transfer to the CSU and UC systems, a pathway now known as Cal-GETC, is the most well-known part of AB 928 (Berman, 2021). However, the bill also contained two other mandates: By fall 2024, all entering students would be placed on an ADT pathway if one exists in their major and the student has a declared goal of transfer, and an AB 928 Intersegmental Implementation Committee would be formed “to serve as the primary entity charged with the oversight of the associate degree for transfer for the sole purpose of strengthening the pathway for students and to ensure it becomes the primary transfer pathway in California between campuses of the California Community Colleges and the University of California, the California State University, and participating independent institutions of higher education” (CA Education Code 66749.8.(b)(1)). Regarding the first of these mandates, automatic placement on an ADT pathway if one exists, the Chancellor’s Office issued guidance in September 2023, Memo ESS-23-41, highlighting the requirement and providing information about ways colleges might implement it. The AB 928 Intersegmental Implementation Committee, commonly referred to as the AB 928 Committee, released its 2023 Final Report and Recommendations in December 2023. The report included recommendations for areas identified in the legislation, including setting goals to increase transfer rates, increasing the unit threshold for STEM degree pathways, and reengaging ADT earners who did not transfer. With the 2023 report complete, the committee has a new set of priorities to guide its work in 2024. Governor's Master Plan for Career EducationOn August 31, 2023, Governor Newsom announced Executive Order N-11-23, which highlights state investment in career education and calls for a statewide Master Plan for Career Education to be completed by October 1, 2024. The Master Plan is to include and be collaboratively developed by leadership from all segments of education, from PK-12 to higher education, as well as the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Agency, Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, and Director of the Department of Rehabilitation. While the focus of the Master Plan at first seems to be career education or career technical education, the philosophy behind the master plan seems to be that all education is career education, and thus much more than what California community college personnel know as career education is likely to be included in the plan. The ASCCC is watching this effort closely and encourages local academic senate and administrative leaders to watch and, where possible, attend regional input meetings. More information can be found on the Governor’s Master Plan for Career Education webpage. Common Course NumberingThe AB 1111 Common Course Numbering Task Force met from September 2022 through December 2023, when the group finalized its implementation recommendations. Although the report has not been released publicly yet, the November 17 version of the report and recommendations can be found on the AB 1111 Common Course Numbering Project webpage. The Chancellor’s Office is now coordinating with stakeholder groups, including the ASCCC, to put together the Common Course Numbering Council, Steering Committee, and technology workgroups to begin implementing the recommendations. Thank you to the faculty who served on the task force or who participated in interviews or presentations with the task force. Upcoming Events
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