10.08 Expectations of Executive Committee Members

Officially designated as the Board of Directors, all members of the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC), are expected to observe and follow certain protocols and procedures. Acceptance of a position on the Executive Committee signifies an implicit agreement to meet such protocols and procedures to the greatest degree possible.

Communications Protocols

The primary principle regarding communication with local academic senates, faculty members, or other individuals around the state is simple:  The president, and only the president, represents the ASCCC, and thus all communication outside of the Executive Committee or the ASCCC committee structure must go through the president.

  1. Communication with the President and the Executive Director

    1. All Executive Committee members are responsible to the president and should inform the president regularly regarding their activities on behalf of the ASCCC. Reporting timelines on standard or routine updates may be established between the member and the president. However, when a new issue or unusual development arises, members should immediately contact the president. All members of the Executive Committee must help to ensure that the president is well-informed regarding all matters and is never caught unaware or unprepared by a question from any source regarding the work of the ASCCC.
    2. Like the president, the executive director must be kept informed regarding all activities related to the work of the ASCCC.  Communications regarding staff, operations, or logistics should always go directly to the executive director, and the executive director should be copied on anything other than the most routine correspondence with staff.  In addition, the executive director should be copied on all ASCCC-related written correspondence with the president in order to ensure that both are updated regarding the activities and work of Executive Committee members and to ensure organizational consistency.
  2. Communication with Local Senates, Faculty At-Large, and Other Organizations or Their Members
    Executive Committee members who receive emails, phone calls, or other communications from faculty leaders and others throughout the state regarding matters related to the ASCCC or the California Community Colleges system should refrain from responding in substance to such messages without authorization from the president. A brief note to the sender stating that the message has been received and that the member is checking on the issue is acceptable, but no actual response to any question or attempt at guidance should be sent without the president’s approval.  When a request for information or assistance is received by an Executive Committee member, the member should forward that request to the president and copy the executive director. The president may then authorize the receiver to answer or may assign the duty of responding to another member of the Executive Committee with more expertise or current knowledge of the issue or who chairs a committee or holds another role that deals directly with the subject of the inquiry. Written responses should be shared with the president and executive director for review prior to being sent to the individual or group asking the question.
  3. Communications through Listservs or Other Message Groups
    Most members of the Executive Committee are subscribed to various listservs or other message groups, such as the unofficial senate presidents’ listserv or the listservs for curriculum chairs, articulation officers, or others.  However, no public statement regarding matters connected to the ASCCC or its work should ever be published by an Executive Committee member through any medium without the direct, prior approval of the president. Executive Committee members may not post messages or respond to posts on these services without explicit permission from the president. If a member sees a message on a listserv or other service that he or she feels needs a response, the member should contact the president and request authorization to answer the message.  When in doubt regarding any communication, members are encouraged to ask questions and seek advice from the president and executive director.
  4. Communication through Social Media
    Executive Committee members should be cautious regarding their use of social media.  While Facebook, Twitter, and other similar services are private and personal media, posts and comments through such venues can still reflect on the organization. As with listervs or email, members should not comment through social media on issues related to the work to the ASCCC without prior authorization from the president. Furthermore, members should not publish insults or disparaging remarks regarding individuals or institutions that are in any way related to the California Community Colleges system.  Members should also consider the ways in which any post, even those that are strictly commenting on the members’ personal lives, might impact their own images as Executive Committee members as well as the image of the ASCCC.

Period of Executive Committee Assignment

Terms of office shall commence at the start of the second day of the last Executive Committee meeting of the academic year or June 10, whichever occurs first. Terms of office shall conclude at the end of the first day of the last Executive Committee meeting of the academic year or June 9, whichever occurs first.As such, members are expected to fulfill the requirements of their assignments throughout this period, even when their own colleges may not be in session, such as during winter intersessions and the beginning and ending of summer breaks. Fulfilling an assignment may include such activities as attending meetings or other events, both virtual and in-person, that are related to the member’s assignment for the academic year.

Attendance at Events or Activities of Other Organizations

Executive Committee members may be assigned to attend events presented by various organizations inside and outside the California Community Colleges system. In such cases, members are expected to represent established ASCCC positions as explained in ASCCC Policy 10.02.

Executive Committee members may at times by their own choice attend events or activities presented or sponsored by other organizations with connections to the work of the ASCCC or the California Community Colleges system. Members are free to attend such events at their own expense as a regular attendee, but they should still see themselves as bound by established ASCCC positions per ASCCC Policy 10.02. However, for any event in which members would participate as speakers, panelists, content experts, or in any other formal capacity, especially those in which the member would be listed in the event program, the member may only participate with the authorization of the ASCCC president.

Attendance at ASCCC Events

Executive Committee members are expected to attend the entirety of all ASCCC plenary sessions and the annual Faculty Leadership Institute unless the member is explicitly excused by the ASCCC President. Members are expected to attend other ASCCC events, such as institutes and regional meetings, when the member is involved in the planning and presentation of the event as a part of the member’s assignment or when the member is invited to participate as a presenter or in some other official capacity.

When Executive Committee members are not involved in ASCCC events as organizers or presenters or are not explicitly invited by the ASCCC President or the ASCCC Executive Director, the member may choose to attend the event but must do so at the member’s own expense. In such cases, members should still see themselves as bound by established ASCCC positions per ASCCC Policy 10.02 and by all other ASCCC policies.

Participation at ASCCC Events

Area representatives are responsible for organizing and chairing the meetings for their areas. All other members of the Executive Committee are normally expected to attend area meetings for the area in which the home college of each member is located, although members may attend a different area meeting with the approval of the president. Members other than area representatives are expected to assist the area representatives as necessary with the organization and conduct of the meetings.

All members of the Executive Committee are expected to attend and participate actively in all plenary sessions during their service. This participation goes beyond the breakouts and general session presentations for which a member has been assigned responsibility. It also includes such activities as being present and attentive in other breakouts or sessions when one is not presenting, attending the area meetings held during the plenary session, establishing a presence in common areas and offering advice and directions to plenary attendees at need, assisting the ASCCC office staff when asked, and simply answering questions for attendees and making them feel welcome. Members should plan to attend any receptions or other social events that are planned. At breakfasts and lunches, members should make an effort to join tables with attendees rather than grouping with other members of the Executive Committee.

Attendance at Executive Committee Meetings

Executive Committee members are expected to attend all Executive Committee meetings and to prepare appropriately for those meetings through actions such as reading or reviewing all relevant documents in advance of the meeting. Failure to attend either two successive meetings or six days total of Executive Committee meetings per year may be deemed a resignation, pending review by the Executive Committee and subject to ASCCC Policy 20.05, Removal of a Member of the Board of Directors.

Rostrum Submissions

Each member of the Executive Committee is generally expected to submit at least one article for each issue of the Rostrum. Members are not necessarily expected to write the articles they submit; the articles may come from members of the committees that the Executive Committee members are chairing. Rostrum articles should be on matters directly related to the Executive Committee members’ individual assignments. Periodically, members may write articles not related to their assignments with the authorization of the president.

Approved by ASCCC Executive Committee June 2021