Thursday February 18, 2010

February 2010 - Update

It’s a sunny President’s Day in the Bay Area today, and Springtime makes me hopeful that a new season will promise change for the better (the eternal optimist. . . ).

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MOU with Kaplan

On February 10th I sent you a message about the new MOU that Chancellor Scott signed with Kaplan University. I have spoken to the Chancellor’s Office and will continue to pursue several aspects of this agreement: a) What the MOU means and doesn’t mean; b) Why the Academic Senate was not consulted in the development; and c) How best to inform local senates about what they should be doing. In the meantime, the advice I gave in that letter still stands: Senates should engage in an immediate discussion with the college president (and be sure to involve your articulation officer) and ensure that any local agreement that is developed is done so with the full support of your senate. We will keep you posted of any new developments.

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Diversity and Hiring

Is your college doing any hiring? If so, we would like to remind you of a resolution adopted last Spring (3.03 S09) which says that we, “Endorse the idea that hiring committees at local colleges should be diverse in terms of race, ethnicity or cultural heritage, age, gender, sexual orientation or identity, and disability when possible and without establishing quotas or compromising the professional expertise of the committee; encourage local senates to pursue the development of college policies and processes for the formation of diverse hiring committees that include consultation with local senates.”

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Accreditation

As a result of their January deliberations, the ACCJC announced several important decisions: our system now has 112 colleges! Welcome to Moreno Valley and Norco, both in the Riverside Community College District. In addition, the status of an array of colleges was changed, including the reaffirmed accreditation of several colleges. For details go to www.accjc.org.

In January I wrote you with an update from the Consultation Task group on Accreditation. The group will continue to work to try to improve accreditation processes. You’ll hear a lot more at our Institute in March.

Since my last report to you, an article was published (January 29) on the website of the School Services of California, Inc. which summarized the task group’s efforts At the bottom of the webpage is a link to the Community College Update, where you’ll find the article.
 

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Advanced Placement

Please share this with faculty who are involved in Advanced Placement (AP) decisions and who work on the publications of your catalog and schedules. Last spring the Academic Senate passed resolution 4.01 S09, which said that we, “Urge local senates to consider adoption and implementation of the California Community College General Education Advanced Placement (AP) test equivalency list; encourage local senates to use the proposed “Standardized Template for Advanced Placement Exam Information” to communicate the CCC GE, CSU GE and IGETC AP test lists in college catalogs, schedules, and/or websites.”

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Advocacy

At the state level, one of the messages we keep hearing is that the colleges needs to focus on local advocacy with elected officials. We have heard from legislators, staffers and lobbyists alike that while going to Sacramento is useful, what all colleges need to do is form a team (or several) and make local visits to the lawmakers in your district (not their Sacramento offices). Colleges need to have personal relationships and connections, so the representatives hear personally from their constituents in their communities. It is suggested that senates work with administrators, local boards, students, staff, unions etc., to visit local representative offices. The FACCC website provides useful tips and strategies and the CCLC has organized activities for trustees and CEOs. The statewide student senate has planned events in Sacramento in March (although they have been making a lot of visits to legislators all along) and whatever support local academic senates can provide to the students will help, as legislators love hearing directly from students!

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Sustainability in our Colleges

Last spring the Academic Senate passed Resolution 1.04 S09, which reminded faculty that “environmental sustainability has wide curriculum implications, involving new courses and program development in environmental and green technologies as well as the infusion of sustainability themes within existing courses.” Although many colleges are reducing some programs and cutting many class sections, one program that has been growing in the state is in the area of environmental studies. We encourage you to have discussions in your senate and in various departments about actions your college could take to foster understanding of sustainability issues in the curriculum and across campus.

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CB 21 Coding

As I explained last month, the Academic Senate held nine regional meetings to support faculty as they work on CB-21 coding of basic skills courses. We remind you that it is critical for the discipline faculty to determine the correct code for their courses, as only they know their curriculum. You can find information at http://www.cccbsi.org/pizza-and-cb21 . The deadline for all courses to be re-coded is March 1st. Please share this information with basic skills faculty.

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In Closing

The Executive committee and their standing committees are busy preparing for our various events this Spring and Summer: the Institutes on Diversity, Accreditation , Faculty Leadership, and Curriculum as well as Plenary Session April 15-17. The Plenary theme will be “Changing Climate” and I am sure you’ll agree that the climate has changed on our campuses! Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Brian Murphy, President of De Anza College and a keen observer and participant in the evolution of the California Community Colleges. Please ensure your college is represented at these important professional development activities! And don’t forget the Area Meetings March 26-27. Our website has all the details.

Jane Patton, President
Academic Senate for California Community Colleges

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