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Academic Senate Newsletter
 

Friday January 14, 2011

Welcome back to a new year!

I hope you all had a safe and refreshing break. The start dates this term vary across the state, so I am sending this message knowing some colleges have yet to return to classes. However, the work in Sacramento continues and we have much to inform you about!

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Budget

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I am sure by now you have read Governor Brown’s proposed budget news this week. The highlights that pertain directly to us include a $10 fee increase for students, which would result in an increase in growth of $100 million; a potential change in the census date; and an apportionment cut up to $400 million. In some ways it is nonsensical because it says that we will cut you deeply but here are some crumbs and we want you to actually do more. The Chancellor spoke passionately at the January 11, 2011 Board of Governors meeting in opposition to the census proposal and I know he will fight that hard. The critical thing to remember is that this budget is just a proposal and the coming months will be spent in tremendous lobbying and negotiating efforts to finally settle on a budget next summer (in theory). I encourage you to follow the updates from the FACCC and CCLC sites and memos to the colleges and to also join with your administrators, board, and staff in local lobbying on behalf of community colleges.

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Board of Governors: Prerequisites

Yesterday the proposal to change prerequisites went to the Board of Governors for a first reading. Vice Chancellor Barry Russell presented the regulation change that now is a system proposal to the Board of Governors rather than simply a faculty recommendation. There were a number of articulate speakers supporting the proposal and quite a few individuals passionately opposing it. The system is now in a 45-day vetting period where people can send comments to the Board. All input will be summarized for the Board prior to the second reading in March. We posted the agenda item on our website if you want to read the details ( http://www.asccc.org/content/title-5-recommended-change). A special thank you goes to Richard Mahon who has shepherded the prerequisites proposal for a year and a half!

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1440 degrees: The name and the status (Note: 1440 now is Education Code §66746)

The 1440 Implementation group (now called the “1440 Intersegmental Curriculum Workgroup”) has made excellent progress and in January will release detailed information to colleges including a calendar of roll-out dates for disciplines and their Transfer Model Curriculum (TMC), an explanation of the approval processes and deadlines, and will begin to provide training for faculty, administrators and others mostly via webinars (although various other venues are being planned). Announcements/updates will be sent to academic senates, curriculum committees and articulation officers. The Academic Senate Curriculum Committee and the System Advisory Committee on Curriculum (SACC) will be involved in the implementation activities as well as other advisory committees such as the Chancellor’s Office Advisory Group on Counseling. The Chancellor’s Office is the agency behind the implementation efforts, and representatives from both student services and instruction are leading the work. When colleges are back in full swing in February, they will be able to consider the adoption of the first round of TMC, which will be followed by additional disciplines shortly after.

The Academic Senate clarified that the official names of the degrees (per SB 1440) are:
“An AA in ___X___ (discipline) for transfer" and "An AS in __Y__ (discipline) for transfer". The Academic Senate has been clear that we want the degree viewed as a bone fide associate degree and that it is an associate degree in a major----not in "transfer.”

Because these new AA and AS degrees carry distinct characteristics which typically will be explained in places like a footnote in catalogs and elsewhere, the designation that will be used when speaking to students, for posting on transcripts, for data collection, program inventory etc. will be AA-T and AS-T. (AA hyphen T). Note that it is NOT a new degree name like an "AAT". Instead it is an AA or AS degree--with special characteristics.

The thing that stands out is the AA and AS as the foundation "statement" while the "qualifier" is the T---which, in other words, is what makes this particular AA distinct.

In addition: You will recall that the Academic Senate passed a resolution 9.03 F08 (see footnote below) calling for a change in Title 5 such that the associate of science degrees would be used for the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and most career technical education degrees while associate of arts would be for the remaining degrees. You may also recall that the Department of Finance view was that making the change would be an unfunded mandate, so it did not become regulation. Well, now that we have to develop new degrees per 1440, we are asking that those designations be used.

Thank you to those who have attended previous webinars. If you missed one, they are archived and you can easily watch them on our website.

Special kudos are due to Michelle Pilati and Julie Adams for their outstanding leadership of C-ID and the -above-and-beyond workloads they maintain as C-ID serves as the infrastructure for 1440 implementation. 
 
9.03 F 08
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges support defining the Associate of Science degree in Title 5 regulation as an associate degree in the areas of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) or in the area of career technical education (CTE), with all other associate degrees given the title of Associate of Arts.  (http://www.asccc.org/resolutions/defining-associate-arts-and-associate-science)

 

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SB 1143 Student Success Task Group Named

The Board of Governors on Monday approved the 20-member task group on Student Success required with the passage of SB 1143. The Academic Senate has four slots in addition one Board of Governors representative on the group is Manuel Baca, who is also a faculty member. The Academic Senate appointees:

Rich Hansen, Math, De Anza College, Teaches basic skills and transfer, has state level union and FACCC experience.
David Morse, English, Long Beach City College, Teaches basic skills and transfer courses.
Cynthia Rico Bravo, Counseling, San Diego Mesa College, Provides counseling and student services perspective.
Jane Patton, Communication Studies, Mission/Academic Senate President

I wanted to ensure we had diversity of region, district, ethnicity, gender, discipline and both senate and union experience.
The Task Force will begin deliberations January 18, 2011. We will provide an update at the Spring 2011 Plenary Session.
 

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Exemplary Program Awards

We sent you a separate, detailed announcement about the Exemplary Programs that were awarded at the Board of Governors this week. The Academic Senate sends hearty congratulations! Here’s a re-cap:

  • Exemplary Programs: Chaffey College: Opening Doors; and Mira Costa College: Textbook Lending program
  • Honorable Mention: Los Medanos College: Process Technology Center; and Mt San Antonio College: WIN program

 

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Hands Across California (www.handsacrosscalifornia.org)

Please mark your calendar for Sunday April 17, 2011. The CCC Foundation is planning one day when 1.5 million people across the state will stand for community colleges. Your public information office and local foundation will provide you with more information. We hope many students and faculty will participate.

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In Closing

On behalf of the Executive Committee I send you best wishes for the start of a new term and New Year.

Jane
President

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