Thursday August 14, 2014

President's Update

David Morse, Academic Senate President

Hello senate presidents and other faculty leaders,

I hope all of you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer.  Early August is a slightly slower time than others for the ASCCC, but we still have plenty going on.  Below are a few updates and pieces of information as you prepare yourselves and your senates for the fall term.

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Executive Committee Meeting in Long Beach

The first ASCCC Executive Committee Meeting of 2014-15 will be held in Long Beach on August 22 and 23.  On Friday the 22nd, the meeting will be held at Long Beach City College from 12:30 PM to 5:30 PM in Building P, Room 104.  On Saturday the 23rd the meeting will continue at the Long Beach Westin on Ocean Boulevard from 9 AM to 4 PM.  The agenda for the Executive Committee Meeting can be found here.  Both days of the meeting are open to all visitors who may be interested.  We especially encourage local senate leaders and faculty members to join us, to hear our discussions, and to share their thoughts and experiences with us.

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Budget News

Conversations have already begun regarding the California Community College System’s budget request for 2015-16.  The current draft plan for the request includes the following:

• $120 million for access (growth) funding—approximately 2% growth in FTES
• $70 million for hiring full-time faculty (This funding would not be a categorical but would be added to a college’s base)
• $30 million for part-time faculty (to restore cuts to categorical programs such as office hours)
• $200 million for Student Success and Equity Plans  (This funding could be used in part to hire counselors)
• $85 million in categorical restoration  (This funding should restore all categoricals to pre-recession levels)
• $180 million (3%) for COLA
• $25 million for Economic and Workforce Development
• $25 million for professional development (primarily to colleges for local use)

The conversation regarding the budget request is still in its developmental stages, but at this time we are expecting another strong budget and the system intends to propose appropriate increases in funding.

In addition, the Legislative Analyst’s Office released its analysis of the 2014-15 budget.  The report can be found here.

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C-ID Structural Changes

The Academic Senate is currently involved in conversations with the Chancellor’s Office to ensure the future of the C-ID (Course Identification Numbering) System.  We are working toward an agreement that would supply more reliable long-term funding and a more secure technological infrastructure.  The curricular and content aspects of C-ID would of course remain fully under the control of the Academic Senate, ensuring the quality and consistency of the system.  We will provide more information on these developments to C-ID as it becomes available.

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The Statewide Technology Initiatives

Work on the three statewide initiatives—common assessment, online education, and educational planning—continues to move forward.  Executive Committee members John Freitas, Dan Crump, Cynthia Rico, and Craig Rutan have played important roles in leading the steering committees for these projects, and the many other faculty members appointed by ASCCC to these groups have also represented us well. 

At this time, the leadership for the various initiatives is pulling together the pilot colleges that will be included in the first phase of each project.  Workgroups have been formed or are being formed for such discussions as a common course management system for the online education initiative, the various discipline content and multiple measures considerations for the common assessment initiative, and the student services portal for educational planning.  The Academic Senate has representatives on all of these groups to ensure that the faculty perspective is heard.

A current topic of discussion for the initiatives is how professional development for each one will be conducted.  The Academic Senate has been invited to help develop an overarching professional development steering committee for the three initiatives.  We expect that this committee will be made up primarily of Senate appointees, thus ensuring that faculty professional development remains under the influence of the ASCCC.

A full report on the three initiatives will be provided at the ASCCC Executive Committee Meeting at Long Beach City College on August 22.  See above for details.

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Equity Funding and Activities

Executive Committee Member James Todd, chair of the Equity and Diversity Action Committee, joined me in representing the Senate at a meeting to discuss the formula for distributing the $70 million in equity funding in the budget for 2014-15.  Representatives from various system constituent groups attended, as well as several members of the Chancellor’s Office staff.  The discussion was focused on developing a formula to ensure that, while all colleges could participate, more funding would go to colleges with the greatest need for addressing equity issues.  The proposed formula that emerged from the meeting seemed very reasonable and would in fact provide additional funding for many colleges that may be unable to take full advantage of access (growth) funding.  We will publish details of the proposal as soon as they are available.

James Todd and Cynthia Rico also attended the Region X Student Equity Conference in Costa Mesa on August 8.  The conference included energetic discussions of evidence-based change regarding equity, research on equity and diversity, and effective practices.  James and Cynthia also connected with Chancellor’s Office staff regarding collaboration with the ASCCC on professional development efforts surrounding equity and the student success plans in the coming year.

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Curriculum Institute

The ASCCC Curriculum Institute, held in San Jose from July 10-12, was a huge success.  Well over 300 faculty, administrators, and staff members attended, along with several representatives of the Chancellor’s Office.  At Consultation Council two weeks later, Vice-Chancellor of Workforce and Economic Development Van Ton-Quinlivan praised the Curriculum Institute’s effectiveness and inclusivity, especially in the area Career-Technical Education.  Congratulations to 2013-14 ASCCC Curriculum Chair John Stanskas and his committee for presenting such a great event.

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BSA Report on Accreditation

One important conversation at the July Consultation Council meeting was the report issued by the California Bureau of State Audits (BSA) regarding accreditation.  This report, which can be found at https://www.auditor.ca.gov/reports/recent under reports from June 26, contains several recommendations that the Consultation Council expressed an interest in considering.  The Council came to no conclusions at this meeting, but discussion will continue in the coming months.  The ASCCC Executive Committee will discuss the report and other accreditation issues at its meeting in Long Beach on August 22 and 23.

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Strategic Planning

The ASCCC Executive Committee will hold its initial strategic planning meeting on September 6 at the Sacramento Westin Hotel.  This meeting will be led by a professional planning facilitator and will lay the groundwork for a strategic plan to be developed by the ASCCC for adoption at the Spring 2015 Plenary Session.  Further strategic planning meetings are set for October and December.

We hope to see many of you at the Executive Committee Meeting in Long Beach on August 22 and 23.  If you are not able to attend, we hope to see you at our meeting in San Diego on September 12-13 or in Lake Tahoe on October 10-11.  In addition, please remember that you can always contact any member of the Executive Committee to share your input with us. 

Enjoy the rest of the summer, and best of luck to everyone as you return to your campuses for the fall term.

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