Equitable Access to Technology

Fall
2021
Resolution Number
11.01
 
Assigned to
President
Online Education Committee
Category
Technology
Status
Assigned

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has long recognized the digital divide [1] evident in the lack of access to technology to support college instruction and services and has made system-wide and local recommendations in the 2003 paper “The Impact of Computer Technology on Student Access and Success in The California Community Colleges;” [2]

Whereas, The California Community Colleges and the communities they serve continue to lack the technology for affordable and sufficient internet access, which became more pronounced with the transition to remote instruction and services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and

Whereas, Inequitable access to technology disproportionately impacts students and staff, especially students living in poverty, students of color, and students with disabilities; [3]

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and system partners to secure greater state support to ensure equitable access to technology, including hardware, software, and platforms, for the California community colleges and the communities they serve; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) update the 2003 paper “The Impact of Computer Technology on Student Access and Success in The California Community Colleges” [4] for adoption by the ASCCC delegates in spring 2023.

MSC


1. “As used here, the term “digital divide” refers to the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels with regard both to their opportunities to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) and to their use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities.” Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, Understanding the Digital Divide, 2001, 5.
2. Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, The Impact of Computer Technology On Student Access and Success in The California Community Colleges, 2003
3. US Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, Education in a Pandemic: The Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on America’s Students
4. Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, The Impact of Computer Technology On Student Access and Success in The California Community Colleges, 2003