President's Update | February 2022

February 15, 2022

Hello Friends and Colleagues:

Welcome to the 2022 spring term. The ASCCC hopes that everyone had a pleasant winter break and had a chance to relax and rest before the start of the new year, since we know the coming months will be a busy time for all.

The ASCCC has been busy since the beginning of the year, starting with an Executive Committee meeting on January 7 and 8.  While we had planned to meet in Long Beach, Covid-19’s Omicron variant made an in-person meeting unadvisable and we were forced to change the meeting to online on short notice. The ability to adapt is something that faculty throughout the state have shown throughout the pandemic, and the ASCCC was able to do so as well, thanks in large part to our amazing ASCCC staff team.  We will be back to in person meetings starting in February and welcome anyone to attend; our meetings are open to the public and also have a hybrid option that can be found on the Executive Committee page on the ASCCC website.

Those who have not visited the ASCCC website recently are in for a treat: the website has been completely revamped with the organization’s new logo and color pattern and has been re-organized to make it more user friendly. As is normal with any technology, some areas still have not been updated, but we will work on those areas as soon as possible. The new format is more accessible, and more information is being uploaded regularly.

When visiting ASCCC.org, one will notice that a link is available to provide input on concerns and issues around AB 928 (Berman, 2021). As many faculty may recall, this was the bill that called for a single general education pathway to the CSU and UC systems as well as automatic placement on an ADT pathway. The ASCCC is working with the Intersegmental Committee of Academic Senates and others to determine the best general education pathway for students, and we welcome input through the portal on ASCCC.org. Further information about AB 928, as well as AB 1111(Berman, 2021) calling for common course numbering and AB 927 (Medina, 2021) concerning the expansion of baccalaureate degrees, is available in the forthcoming ASCCC Rostrum.  The ASCCC is also tracking other legislation that concerns academic and professional matters; one can visit the Legislative and Advocacy Committee page at https://www.asccc.org/directory/legislative-and-advocacy-committee or view any of Executive Committee Agenda agendas to read the most recent legislative updates about the bills we are watching or have taken positions on.  Faculty are also welcome to attend the ASCCC’s joint webinars with FACCC on legislative advocacy.

An area of advocacy that is being focused on right now is the new ethnic studies requirement, which was approved by the Board of Governors as a Title 5 regulatory change. In order to receive input and develop direction on the implementation of this new regulation, the Chancellor’s Office created an Ethnic Studies Taskforce that began meeting in November 2021 and will continue to meet through June 2022. The goals of the Ethnic Studies Taskforce include recommendations for the following:

1.    An implementation date for compliance with Title 5 regulations on ethnic studies;
2.    Unified core competencies for ethnic studies for the California Community Colleges;
3.    Professional development and technical assistance needs for faculty and colleges; and 
4.     Coordination with the CSU for intersegmental alignment.

Additionally, two new disciplines—Native American Studies and Asian American studies—have gone through the disciplines list process and will be brought to the spring plenary for the delegates to approve.  Information can be found on the plenary webpage.

New disciplines can lead to new hires, and to that end the Chancellor’s Office Equal Employment Opportunity Diversity Action Committee, co-chaired by the Chancellor’s Office and the ASCCC, is working on a revision of the 2016 EEO Best Practices in Hiring Handbook. The revision of the handbook has been preceded by changes to the Title 5 regulations around the EEO guidelines that were approved by the Board of Governors in 2021. A request for best practices being followed at local campuses or districts was sent out to local senate presidents through the ASCCC senate president’s listserv. The Chancellor’s Office hopes to have the revised handbook ready to publish in April, and the ASCCC will work with the Chancellor’ Office to provide presentations both in person and online about the use of the handbook for colleges and districts.  

The ASCCC also looks forward to seeing many faculty and other partners in person and online for the Spring 2022 ASCCC Plenary Session. The in-person session will be held at the Burbank Marriott from Thursday through Saturday, April 7-9, with remote access also available throughout the event.  Additional information can be found on the plenary webpage.  

Spring plenary also means Executive Committee elections. Faculty interested in running for one of the open seats on the board should read through the responsibilities of Executive Committee members and the requirements to be considered for a position.  Although serving on the Executive Committee involves a great deal of work, it is also an extremely rewarding experience and provides great professional development for those who serve.

Thank you to everyone for all you do for the students and colleges throughout the system, and welcome to spring.

With gratitude,
Dolores

Dolores M. Davison
President, Academic Senate for California Community Colleges

List of Upcoming Events

• February 25-26, 2022
  Accreditation Institute - Virtual
• February 28, 2022
  Curriculum Regional Meeting - Virtual
• March 2, 2022
  Curriculum Regional Meeting - Virtual
• March 4-5, 2022
  Executive Committee Meeting - TBD
• March 18, 2022
  Area A Meeting - Virtual
• March 18, 2022
  Area B Meeting - Virtual 
• March 19, 2022
  Area C Meeting - Virtual
• March 19, 2022
  Area D Meeting - Virtual
• April 6, 2022
  Executive Committee Meeting - TBD
• April 7-9, 2022
  Spring Plenary Session - Hybrid Event/Burbank

Upcoming Webinars

• February 15, 2022
  1:00pm - 2:00pm
  CTE Liaison Gathering
• February 15, 2022
  6:00pm - 8:00pm
  FACCC/ASCCC Legislative and Advocacy Training Webinar
• February 25, 2022
  10:30am - 11:30am
  Student Surveys - Measuring the Impact of OER and ZTC
• March 11, 2022
  11:00am - 12:00pm
  CTE Coffee Hour - Teaching with Technology
• March 11, 2022
  12:00pm - 1:00pm
  ASCCC Online Education Committee Lunch Hour Virtual Connect & Chat: Hyflex
• March 24, 2022
  2:00pm - 3:00pm
  CTE Liaison Gathering