Whereas it is vital to assure a quality education for our students, and
Whereas a quality education for our students requires that properly qualified instructors be hired and evaluated, and
Whereas the hiring and evaluation of full-time faculty currently must involve the local academic senate, and
Whereas, AB 1725, California Education Code Sections 87360(b) and 87663(f) specify the involvement of faculty in the hiring and evaluation of faculty,
Whereas California Community Colleges have different procedures for faculty evaluation, and
Whereas peer evaluation procedures should be in place that stress aiding the evaluee to become a better instructor to further assist student success, and
Whereas a breakout session at the 1996 Fall Academic Senate for California Community College session would aid this process,
Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopt and disseminate the COFO Faculty Equity Statement and encourage both full- and part-time faculty to incorporate the principles of the statement into local college practices. (Appendix D) M/S/C Disposition: COFO, Local Senates
Whereas resolutions pertaining to part-time faculty may, at times, be interpreted as facilitating the practice of hiring part-time as opposed to full-time faculty,
Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges stipulate that all resolutions pertaining to part-time faculty should in no way be interpreted as supporting the practice of hiring part-time as opposed to full-time faculty. M/S/C Disposition: Executive Committee, Local Senates
Whereas the California community colleges are teaching and learning institutions and all students deserve full-serve professional faculty to guide their educational activities, and
Whereas the California Legislature has recognized that there is only one type of faculty by establishing a system of minimum qualifications for all faculty positions under the disciplines list recommended by the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, and
Whereas the Academic Senate in 1994 received an ethics policy in the paper entitled "Faculty Ethics: Expanding the AAUP Ethics Statement," and
Whereas this policy was meant to guide the community college faculty in the performance of their duties and their interactions with colleagues, staff, and students, and
Whereas the distribution and the implementation of this policy are important for maintaining professional relations and a good academic climate on campus,
Whereas historically community colleges were developed to match the strata of post-secondary education to the economic strata of American society, and
Whereas current calls for the restructuring of community colleges reflect an effort to impose the practices of corporate culture on education, thus rendering higher education an extension of the marketplace, and
Whereas historically tenure was established to promote academic freedom, consistency of educational programs and philosophies, and
Whereas students benefit from academic freedom and consistency of educational programs and philosophies, and
Whereas the governor and some legislators are proposing the elimination of tenure,
Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges support the maintenance of tenure, and
Whereas the term "expert instructional aide" has been utilized as a job title to circumvent the role of faculty in the instruction of students, and
Whereas districts are using the "line of sight" rule to assign classified staff in instructional areas with minimal supervision from faculty,
Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges direct the Executive Committee to prepare a position paper on paraprofessionals or instructional aides to define their duties, responsibilities, and the criteria for supervision, and
Whereas there is evidence that tenure and academic freedom are being challenged in the California Legislature, and
Whereas the AAUP emphasized the need for a statement on academic freedom at various times from 1925 through 1995, and
Whereas because of the financial problems facing community colleges, the Legislature often sees the curtailment of tenure and academic freedom as ways to save money,
Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges reaffirm our 1986 position on academic freedom and tenure (Appendix E), and