President's Update | March 2020

March 19, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

I send this message to you today with great concern. Our state and country are facing a health crisis beyond the scope of what most of us have ever experienced. We, as faculty of the California Community Colleges, are struggling to care for ourselves, our families, our students, and our communities, but I am heartened to see and report to the chancellor and the legislature the phenomenal work you are doing during this time. This message is in three parts: an update about scheduled events, information on the role of senates and advice on how to manage it, and a plan for resources to assist faculty providing service to students during this emergency. 

The ASCCC’s work on guided pathways, faculty diversification, and improving transfer pathways is important, and we hope to direct more of our attention to those issues in the future. But, at this time, focusing on support for basic services and continuity of structures of governance is imperative. 

Please forward this message to all constituents at your college. All stakeholder work is interconnected, and the system is strongest when we work together and keep each other informed. As always, academic senate presidents should feel free to contact the ASCCC at info@asccc.org should they require any assistance or have questions. We are here to serve the 62,000 faculty and 2.4 million students in all academic and professional matters. 

On behalf of the Executive Committee, I hope all of you are well, finding time to breathe and disconnect when needed, and filled with strength and grace as we engage in our collective work of serving students during this crisis. I have confidence in each of you, and your Executive Committee is here to support you. 

       Respectfully,

        John Stanskas, President

Scheduled Events and ASCCC Elections

Per the advice of the Center for Disease Control, the California Department of Public Health, the governor, and Chancellor Oakley, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has cancelled the in-person Spring Plenary Session, the Career Noncredit Institute, and any scheduled in-person regional or area meetings through May 15. This schedule may be changed depending upon the advice of the agencies mentioned above. To the greatest extent possible, meetings have been converted to technologically mediated participation but have been cancelled if such arrangements are not feasible. For context, the California Legislature intends to go on an extended recess, and other organizations have also postponed or cancelled in-person meetings and gatherings. The Board of Governors moved its most recent meeting on March 16 to a virtual meeting and stripped the agenda of all non-essential items. 

The ASCCC Spring Plenary Session has always been designed to perform three functions: 

1. Distill the advice and judgment of the faculty in the system about academic and professional matters through the resolutions process;
2. Ensure the continuity of leadership of the ASCCC through a regular elections process; and
3. Provide professional development to the field. 

With the legislature not in session, the Board of Governors not meeting again until May, and the focus of the entire system on maintaining instruction and services to our students and communities, and with a current Executive Committee in place, we will work to ensure that the voice of faculty is heard. We plan to have a series of professional development presentations delivered virtually in April as described below. 

At its March 16 emergency meeting, the Executive Committee determined that the ASCCC will hold elections this spring electronically to ensure the continuity and leadership of the organization. Guidance on the process will be forthcoming, but we will adhere to our processes as closely as possible. The positions open for nominations will be president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, at-large representative, Area A (1-year term), Area B, Area C, and north and south representatives. Eligible faculty may accept nominations for up to two positions. At this time, the Executive Committee is asking faculty to consider state-wide service as a member of the Executive Committee and to ensure that the ASCCC Directory is up-to-date with each college or district senate’s current delegate information. If a change to the delegate is needed, please do so by completing the delegate change form and emailing it to info@asccc.org by April 16.  Further information on the process will be forthcoming.

Governance and the Role of Academic Senates

Academic senates are an integral part of college governance processes and have a duty to advise their local boards of trustees and administrations on academic and professional matters.  The closure of colleges’ physical spaces to in-person meetings is difficult, but the governor’s Executive Order N-29-20 on March 17 suspends most of the requirements for the Brown Act that impact academic senates and boards of trustees. Particularly, the order waives the requirement that each teleconference location be accessible to the public and that agendas be physically posted. This waiver allows senates to meet virtually to conduct their required business. Therefore, academic senates are free to have meetings via teleconference and utilize technology to limit in-person congregation. An example of how to notice a meeting publicly can be found with the most recent Board of Governors’ meeting notice here. 

Senates may wish to schedule meetings with an agenda of only necessary topics. Such topics may include supporting faculty transitioning to technologically mediated instruction, counseling and student support services, supporting students transitioning to technologically mediated instruction, creating flexible standards for the demonstration of content mastery that recognize the crisis that students and communities are facing, advising on the immediate professional development needs of faculty, and discussing how to help faculty practice self-care and compassion. 

Academic senate presidents, as leaders of their institutions, must themselves practice self-care and feel supported during these times. Leaders are often expected to have answers and guidance that simply does not exist or changes by the day or hour with a rapidly evolving health crisis. Each faculty member in the system is a leader and needs the support and time to function as such for both students and peers. Practice mindful self-care, create space and time to rest, forgive others who may have moments of weakness or irrationality as the pressures of uncertainty rise, and forgive yourself: nothing will be perfect, and in emergency situations finding good enough for now is sometimes a triumph. 

Resources During This Emergency Period

None of the Executive Committee members is an epidemiologist, nor are any of us pre-eminent figures in public health. That said, the committee is evaluating ways to support faculty during the next six weeks as best we are able through technology. Having Zoom meetings with video is often helpful to enhance the important human connections we lack during times of mandatory isolation. As such, I have asked members of the Executive Committee to consider opportunities where we can assist and support faculty in areas of remote instruction, pedagogy, and facilitated regional or categorical dialogue during this time.  In the meantime, below are some websites that may be useful. 

While we are coordinating opportunities for virtual meetings to support faculty, one date I would appreciate that all keep in mind is the Zoom meeting scheduled for April 9 from 1-3PM.  The legislature is on recess until April 13, and the ASCCC should have a message on behalf of all faculty to provide our advice and judgment regarding academic and professional matters when they return. On April 9, I have scheduled a webinar as the ASCCC President to talk through ideas and gather feedback and information to formulate our collective message. While a webinar is a poor substitute for the resolutions process, it is important to me to have a mechanism to gather feedback from the faculty statewide about legislative issues. I hope to see many of you then. 

Upcoming Events

Apr. 09, Webinar with the ASCCC President: Legislative Advice, ZOOM Link

Apr. 15, ASCCC Executive Committee Meeting, Zoom
May 08, ASCCC Executive Committee Meeting, Zoom
Jun. 05-07, ASCCC Executive Committee Meeting, South Lake Tahoe

Jun. 18-20, Faculty Leadership Institute, Newport Beach
July 08-11, Curriculum Institute, Riverside

Mar. 23, 9AM Open Educational Resources Licensing and Attributions
Mar. 24, 8AM Creating Accessible Open Educational Resources
Mar. 25, 2PM Creating Accessible Open Educational Resources
Mar. 26, 1PM  Open Educational Resources Initiative, Open Forum
Mar. 26, 3PM Open Educational Resources Licensing and Attributions
Mar. 27, 12PM Open Educational Resources Licensing and Attributions
Mar. 27, 1PM Creating Accessible Open Educational Resources

Useful Resources

We are creating a central location on the ASCCC website that will include some of these links below.

Chancellor’s Office COVID-19 Update Page
Anxiety Management in times of crises
ACCJC Guidance on interruptions of study
ACCJC In-Person to Distance Education Memo
CVC-OEI support library
Zoom support library
Office 365 support
Student Online Readiness Modules
Indiana University Resources
              IU Teaching Materials
OER Simulations and Virtual Labs
Advice for New Remote Instructors
3CSN Zoom Sessions on Navigating the Virtual Landscape