General Concerns

Whereas, Intersegmental Major Preparation Articulated Curriculum (IMPAC) has proven to be a successful project, providing intersegmental discussions of curriculum by disciplines;

Whereas, An unexpected benefit of the IMPAC meetings has been to provide opportunities for CSU department chairs from across the state to plan their meetings to coincide with IMPAC meetings;

Whereas, Many disciplines in California community colleges do not have organized, statewide discipline chair groups to benefit from similar discussions who can meet alone and with CSU chairs; and

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has long upheld and pursued the 75:25 ratio of full-time to part-time faculty, a goal articulated in AB 1725 as affording students academic excellence;

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has long resisted efforts by others to fragment the faculty ranks by applying false dichotomies, such as full-time/part-time, librarians and counselors/discipline faculty;

Whereas administrators receive amenities, such as a vehicle allowance, which are counted towards the amount paid to that administrator from the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) when that administrator retires, and

Whereas compensation faculty receive for working summer is not included as payment to faculty be STRS when faculty retire, and

Whereas there should be parity between faculty and administrators as it relates to income derived from college employment and STRS retirement, and

Whereas, Trustees of California community colleges are entrusted with public confidence and trust and therefore are expected to behave honestly and ethically both in meetings and when interacting with the public;

Whereas, Recent cases have occurred of trustees acting unethically, for self-serving purposes, contrary to the best interests of the colleges;

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges supports the need for standards of professional behaviors for faculty; and

Whereas, Community colleges throughout the state are adopting compressed/alternate calendars; and

Whereas, Such calendar changes can have a significant effect on counseling, library, and other nonclassroom faculty;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate conduct a study on the effect of compressed/alternate calendars on counseling, library, and other non-classroom faculty.

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has a long history of defending the practice of academic freedom for faculty and other constituencies on its campuses;

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges recognizes the value of diverse perspectives and the free pursuit of learning;

Whereas, AB 1725 supported a 75/25 ratio of courses taught by full-time and part-time faculty in the California Community Colleges System as beneficial to students and educational institutions;

Whereas, The California State University Academic Senate recently adopted a resolution in support of achieving a 75/25 ratio of courses taught by full-time and part-time faculty in that system;

Whereas, Current Chancellor's Office implementation guidelines prescribe a minimum number of full-time faculty but fail to examine the actual full-time/part-time ratio; and

Whereas, Higher education includes developing global social and economic awareness; and

Whereas, Education is concerned with developing higher level thinking skills;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate urge faculty members to encourage global, social, and economic awareness through debates, discussions, or other events. MSC Disposition: Local Senates

Whereas, The Bush Administration has stated that it intends to go to war with Iraq with or without the support of the United Nations or other world nations;

Whereas, The prosecution of such a war would divert billions of dollars from needed educational and social programs; and

Whereas, There is a strong possibility that many of our students would be wrenched from our classes to fight in a war with Iraq;

Whereas, One of the central roles of institutions of higher education is to provide educational contexts in which students can responsibly develop their capacities for critical thinking and dispassionate analysis and in which the interplay of diverse perspectives and experiences is a valued feature of an engaged educational community;