Expand System-wide Online Educational Opportunities

Fall
2017
Resolution Number
09.02
 
Assigned to
Online Education Committee
Category
Curriculum
Status
Assigned

Whereas, The May 11, 2017 letter from Governor Brown to Chancellor Oakley spoke only of exploring options for a 115th college, an entirely online college; and

Whereas, The target population of “adults with some college and no certification” as well as “working adults with vocational needs” was defined by Chancellor Oakley[1] without input from system partners, including the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges despite the fact that designing programs and developing curriculum is an academic and professional matter; and

Whereas, The Flex Learning Options for Workers (FLOW) workgroup was constituted by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to provide feedback on options identified by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) but did not have an opportunity to recommend other options and will not be asked to officially endorse recommendations made to the chancellor and governor; and

Whereas, The impact of an entirely online college is likely to have an adverse effect on existing colleges given that “In 2014-2016, 45% of California’s community colleges offered certificates and degrees that could be earned without stepping onto campus for classes”[2] and 13% of 2016-2017 FTES system-wide were online[3];

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and system partners to explore the feasibility of developing non-traditional online programs, including but not limited to programs with a focus on awarding credit for prior learning, experience, and competencies, programs with more flexible scheduling options, and programs with innovative student service supports that are accessible 24-7; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges advocate for the use of existing system resources, including the Online Education Initiative and C-ID, in development of identified non-traditional online programs.

MSC