General Concerns

Whereas, There have recently been incidents of entire editions of college newspapers being removed from circulation with no consequences to those who removed them;

Whereas, The removal of campus newspapers takes away the right of students and others to read these publications;

Whereas, These publications are products of the instructional component of the college and are paid for by taxpayer dollars and advertising money for which colleges have a contractual obligation; and

Whereas, Some alarming trends in higher education include the corporatization of academic administration and the commodification of the research and instructional functions of higher education;

Whereas, Huge investments of public money are devoted to develop online education, and the promise of high-tech education is used as an excuse to reject claims for the building of needed schools and colleges and the hiring of new teachers and classified workers; and

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has adopted a resolution calling for its Executive Committee to document the success of the California community colleges (5.8 F00);

Whereas, The Board of Governors, through the Chancellor's Office, is commencing in 2001-2002 a statewide marketing campaign to raise public awareness of the California community colleges and their essential role in the social and economic well-being of the state; and

Whereas, The state Chancellor's 2001 Model Policy and Procedures for Unlawful Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Complaints requires each district to establish a mechanism for "administrative determination";

Whereas, The mechanism for administrative determination does not explicitly require consultation with faculty as to contemporary standards and practices in the field; and

Whereas, The administrative determination recommendation can be appealed by the claimant but not the respondent;

Whereas, The hiring of consultants and their resulting suggestions affect academic issues; and

Whereas, AB 1725 establishes participatory governance on academic issues;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate urge that the process for hiring consultants that will deal with academic and professional matters and the implementation of their suggestions be subject to collegial consultation with the local academic senate.

Whereas, Some California community colleges have adopted compressed and/or alternative calendars and more are considering doing so;

Whereas, Compressed alternative calendars may affect the quality of student learning;

Whereas, Title 5, 53200, defines student success as an academic and professional matter; and

Whereas, Reliable studies on the effect of alternative and compressed calendars on student learning have not yet been published and widely disseminated;

Whereas, Housing in many areas of California is among the most expensive in the country;

Whereas, Community college faculty salaries are not competitive or comparable to those of other professionals; and

Whereas, The problem of finding affordable housing is an increasing burden on and deterrent to faculty hiring and retention;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate explore and support measures to assist faculty in securing affordable housing.

Whereas, The tragic events of September 11, 2001, have unfortunately precipitated instances of racial/ethnic backlash and the targeting of individuals based solely on their appearance or racial/ethnic identities or religious backgrounds;

Whereas, Our students need and deserve climates free of intimidation and discrimination; and

Whereas, Faculty and educational institutions have responsibilities to ensure that students have climates of inquiry that are open, safe, fair and balanced;

Whereas, K-12 students are eligible for special admission as both part-time and full-time students of California Community Colleges under Education Code 48800, 48800.5, 76001, 76001.5, and 76002;

Whereas, The provisions of Education Code 76001.5 and 76002 leave the determination of admission to the college president, once parental and K-12 permission has been granted; apply the same regulations to all K-12 students regardless of grade level; specify that the admissions decision is to be made only by the college president; and provide no guidance to assist in the decision;

Whereas the high cost of California housing may impact the California community colleges' attempts to diversify the faculty, and

Whereas four-year colleges as well as K-l2 schools are addressing the housing issue in a variety of ways,

Resolved that the Academic Senate work with colleagues in four-year institutions, as well as with K-l2 schools and districts, to research possible solutions to high housing costs that may deter potential faculty hires, and