Continued Advocacy for Substantive Participatory Governance with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

Fall
2019
Resolution Number
07.02
 
Contact
Assigned to
President
Category
Consultation with the Chancellor's Office
Status
Assigned

Whereas, The principle of participatory governance in the California Community Colleges has long been established in practice and codified in law (California Education Code §70901 et seq.), which provides the framework whereby California’s community colleges actively practice and teach democracy;

Whereas, Concerns regarding the functioning of participatory governance between the California Community Colleges Chancellor and the faculty are documented through votes of no confidence by seventeen local senates, five local union groups, one student senate, the Faculty Association for California Community Colleges (FACCC, Summer 2019), and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT, Summer 2019), all with concerns about the lack of participatory governance between system stakeholders and the system office, but these representative constituent voices were disregarded by the Board of Governors when they authorized a four-year contract extension for Chancellor Eloy Oakley in July 2019; and

Whereas, The March 18, 2019 memorandum from the President of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, “Improving Participatory Governance with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges”, which responded to Resolution 07.03 F18, recognized continuing challenges in the consultative process with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s office in many areas, including the implementation of statewide initiatives (AB 705 [Irwin, 2017], Guided Pathways, Student Equity and Achievement) and, most notably, with respect to two areas “often cited as the most egregious”—the California online community college, Calbright, and the Student- Centered Funding Formula— which the memorandum specifies was “not addressed by the work this year;” [1]

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges express to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the Board of Governors its ongoing concerns regarding engagement in collegial consultation and effective participation by Chancellor Eloy Oakley and his staff;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges provide another report to the Spring 2020 Area meetings detailing the ways in which the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office has or has not continued to address the concerns articulated in this resolution or resolution 7.03 F18; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges continue to explore avenues for addressing failures to engage in collegial consultation and effective participation and recommend, as necessary, further action with clear and measurable criteria to address these issues at the Spring 2020 Plenary Session.

MSC


[1] https://www.asccc.org/sites/default/files/3.18.19%20Improving%20Participatory%20Governance