Tuesday October 8, 2013

President's Message

Beth Smith
Grossmont College
Mathematics

I hope your fall terms are progressing smoothly and your students are engaged and learning. The fall is a beautiful time in our state as the hot days of summer turn cooler and activities on campus settle into a good rhythm. The state Senate has been moving full speed ahead toward our Fall Plenary Session Nov. 7-9 in Irvine, and information about Area meetings is posted on our website. We continue to see interesting challenges and opportunities for the work of faculty and our interest in increasing student success.

Importance of Data - Our system is rapidly becoming one that regularly expects to use data, seeks additional relevant data, and makes decisions based upon data-informed conversations. The publication of the Scorecard and the Salary Surfer last year are two examples of the use of data in very public ways which bring attention to a college and its programs. These tools are only useful and valuable to the college and students if the data are correct and submitted appropriately. While senates are not usually involved in the submission of data to the state Chancellor's Office, faculty leaders should make every effort to remind and nudge the folks who do have the responsibility for data submission to ensure that the correct data are used.

E-Transcripts - Another source of very important data is the information contained on student transcripts, especially new e-transcripts and the fields on the transcript that the college can activate. We encourage you to activate those sections on e-transcripts that show students have certification for transfer GE and have completed the CSU American Institutions requirement. Senate leaders should contact their A&R people and directors of technology for more information about local implementation of e-transcripts and the active fields within them.

Basic Skills E-Resource - The Senate thanks Kathy Malloy from Santa Barbara City College for researching all the programs across the state focused on helping students with basic skills needs and writing a significant portion of the new resource available from the Chancellor's Office. Her work together with that of others in the state has contributed to a wonderful tool for colleges and faculty leaders interested in identifying programs successfully implemented around the state. We encourage all of you to share the resource widely to everyone working with basic skills programs at your college.

Faculty Commitment to Student Learning - The body approved resolution 19.03 in Fall 2012 about the work faculty do, day in and day out, to improve learning for all our students. The resolved clause is provided as a reminder:

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges encourage local senates to identify means whereby faculty can communicate as efficiently as possible the methods they use from term to term to improve the success of their students as a method of documenting the challenges arising from the educating of an exceptionally diverse student population and the methods faculty use in their pursuit of that goal.

We at the state level hope that locally you are having conversations about the methods faculty are using to improve student success, and when you identify excellent programs or great resources, that you share them with us as well.

Third Party Letter - The Academic Senate submitted a third party letter to the US Department of Education regarding ACCJC and our long standing resolutions concerning ACCJC actions. We are also in the midst of planning our annual Accreditation Institute which will be a partnership this year with the Community College League of California (CCLC) and ACCJC. More information about the event is available on our website.

Looking forward to seeing all of you in Irvine for plenary,

Beth

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