2008

Responding to ARCC Reports

Whereas, California community colleges are being asked to use the Accountability Reporting for Community Colleges (ARCC) report to identify areas of institutional strength and weakness and to seek methods of improving areas of institutional weakness; and

Whereas, The data fields reported in the ARCC report are of varying data quality and significance in identifying the most pressing areas for institutional scrutiny and improvement;

Support for K-12 Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Whereas, California is currently ranked 46th among the states in per-pupil spending on elementary and secondary education, and even the State Superintendent of Public Instruction has stated publicly that "California schools are not doing what they should to prepare the state's more than 6 million students for a society in which technological advances are occurring at lightening speed and business can be conducted around the clock anywhere in the world." (Education Week, Vol. 25, February 15, 2006, p.18);

Preparation for Community College

Whereas, The California Community College System and the Academic Senate are committed to our colleges being open access institutions;

Whereas, An unintended consequence of our colleges being fully open access institutions without academic admissions requirements is that prospective students and others may presume that there is no need for secondary students to prepare academically to attend community colleges, and, as a result, students may not take advantage of the college preparation opportunities in high school;

Academic Integrity

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopted the paper Promoting and Sustaining an Institutional Climate of Academic Integrity (2006-2007);

Whereas, One of the paper's recommendations is "to support local faculty rights regarding Education Code 76224(a), which provides that faculty have the final authority on grade determination, in the absence of mistake, fraud, bad faith, or incompetency";

Monitoring of Local Budget Process

Whereas, The State of California is currently experiencing a fiscal crisis of historic proportions;

Whereas, In times of fiscal crisis, administrators in many community college districts attempt to respond to budget constraints in a fashion which places a higher priority on expediency and efficiency than on the following of appropriate participatory processes which have been designed to ensure faculty input; and

Suspend Rules to Test New Ballots

Whereas, Section I.G.2) of the Academic Senate Rules for the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges is very specific about the design of the ballot and the process used by delegates when electing officers and representatives;

Whereas, There is great interest among delegates, senate presidents, and the Executive Committee to test new ballot designs that may be more environmentally friendly and more efficient to use; and

Faculty Involvement in Noncredit Issues

Whereas, California Education Code 87357-87359 and Title 5 53200, 53430, and 55002 require that local Governing Boards rely primarily on or reach mutual agreement with their academic senates with regard to (1) curriculum development for both courses and programs, (2) the assignment of courses to disciplines, and (3) the process for establishing equivalency; and

Whereas, The requirement for academic senate consultation is the same for both credit and noncredit curriculum matters and faculty equivalency;

Amend Academic Senate Election Rules

Whereas, New election rules and procedures were introduced and successfully tested at the Spring 2008 Plenary Session;

Whereas, In order to continue to use the new ballots or other efficient design, the "Election Rules and Procedures" must be amended to be less prescriptive; and

Whereas, Changes to the Academic Senate Bylaws must have the support of a majority of the members;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges change the Election Rules section I.G.2.a-c as stated below:
2) Each ballot shall proceed as follows:

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