Aligning Credit/Noncredit Attendance Counting

Fall
2006
Resolution Number
05.02
 
Assigned to
Noncredit, Pre-Transfer, & Continuing Education Committee
Category
Budget and Finance
Status
Found Not Feasible
Summary
Work with the System Office to revisit the issue of scheduling patterns available for noncredit courses and pursue Title 5 changes to make scheduling patterns for attendance counting options the same for credit and noncredit courses.
Status Report

The committee worked with Michelle Pilati (SACC and Title 5 committee member) address issues related to non-credit. The committee's primary concern in this area concerns the recommendations that emerge on course repetition. In addition, the Spring 2009 paper, Noncredit Instruction: Opportunity and Challenge, made recommendations for the creation of additional noncredit attendance accounting options. Update 6/25/2015: Moot: Noncredit and credit attendance cannot be alligned due to the needs of noncredit students for flexibility (in order to succesfully complete their courses).

Whereas, In 1991, when credit and noncredit attendance counting were changed from the Average Daily Attendance (ADA) system to FTES, credit attendance counting was allowed five scheduling patterns (semester length-census, less than semester length-census, irregularly scheduled-positive attendance, open entry/open exit-positive attendance, and independent study/work experience), while noncredit attendance counting was limited to only two scheduling patterns (open entry/open exit - positive attendance and independent study/work experience);

Whereas, Positive attendance is an expensive and cumbersome accounting method, and many noncredit courses have scheduling patterns similar to credit courses using other scheduling patterns (semester length-census, less than semester length-census, irregularly scheduled-positive attendance);

Whereas, Like credit, noncredit should be able to determine which type of course scheduling pattern in which to offer a noncredit course, a decision that is best made based on the needs of the students and the goals of the curriculum; and

Whereas, The participants of the 2005/06 Noncredit Alignment Project concurred with a 2002 Chancellor's Office recommendation (see Attachment A) that the use of only "positive attendance" in noncredit, needs to be changed to allow more flexibility to better reflect the actual attendance patterns and should be aligned with the five credit measures of attendance counting;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the System Office to revisit the issue of scheduling patterns available for noncredit courses; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the System Office to pursue Title 5 changes to make scheduling patterns for attendance counting options the same for credit and noncredit courses. MSC Disposition: Consultation Council, System Office, Local Senates