Request of CCCCO to Alter Definition of “Apportionment”

Fall
2013
Resolution Number
05.01
 
Contact
Assigned to
Vice President
Category
Budget and Finance
Status
Assigned

Whereas, The definition of "enrollment" for both the purposes of apportionment and repetition have been modified by Title 5 §58161 in 2011 and later by §55000(n) in 2013 to occur "only when a student receives an evaluative or non-evaluative symbol for the course"; and, Title 5 §58003.1 declares the census date for apportionment for full-term courses to be the "Monday of the weeks nearest to one-fifth the length of the term", resulting in a census date that is the third Monday of the semester for those colleges with 13 - 17 week semesters;

Whereas, Title 5 §55024 provides that no notation "shall be made on the academic record of the student who withdraws during the first four weeks or 30 percent of a term whichever is less" unless the governing board establishes a shorter time;

Whereas, This combination of Title 5 language has created a situation where some students present at the census date may not yield apportionment to a district, where districts are under significant pressure to change "drop without W" deadlines to the day before census on the basis of "fiscal necessity", and where should a district make such a change, students in Monday only classes during the fall semester observe the "drop without W" date pass prior to their second class meeting due to the Labor Day holiday; and

Whereas, This earlier date inhibits students’ success by forcing a premature commitment to courses before students can assess whether they will succeed in the course, and counts against their repetitions of these courses;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges petition the Chancellor's Office and Board of Governors to revise §55000(n) to restore the previous interpretation of "enrollment" for the purposes of apportionment to occur when a student is formally enrolled in a course as of the census date; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges further petition the Chancellor's Office and Board of Governors to add to §55000 to maintain the current interpretation of "enrollment" for the purposes of repetition.

MSC