January

Academic Dishonesty and the Faculty’s Right to Assign a Grade: A Test of the Academic Senate’s Authority

While the Academic Senate has wished on more than one occasion that its resolutions were promptly carried out, the reality is that the will of the Academic Senate is subject to many factors. For example, in spite of its recommendation that information competency be required for obtaining an associate degree, the Department of Finance was able to usurp the Senate’s authority by claiming that implementing such a requirement would be an unfunded mandate.

The Master Plan for Higher Education and the Missions of the California Community Colleges

In 1960 the California State Legislature adopted the Master Plan for Higher Education, which established the distinct roles of the three public segments of higher education. Its principles included a commitment to ensure Californians access and affordability to postsecondary education. Later, in 1988 the California State Assembly passed Assembly Bill (AB) 1725, which aimed to move colleges away from the K-12 system and into higher education and to professionalize the role of community college faculty. No other legislation has shaped our colleges more than these two seminal works.

The California Virtual University

The Academic Senate, along with representatives from the Chancellors Office, University of California, California State University, and other public and private education institutions in California, is part of Governor Pete Wilson's design team for the California Virtual University (CVU). The design team is charged with proposing to the governor a blueprint for serving the needs of California students and employers through emerging technology-enhanced educational programs and distance education.

Fall Session Elections

At the Fall Session 1997, a special election was held for the office of Treasurer. Debra Landre, San Joaquin Delta College, who held the office of treasurer as of Spring 1997, resigned last June when she was elected CCA President. Also in June, the Executive Committee appointed Lin Marelick, Mission College, as Interim Treasurer. Lin had been serving on the Executive Committee as North Representative. In anticipation of Marelick's possible candidacy for Treasurer at the Fall Session, the position of North Representative was announced in the Fall Session mailing.

Technology Issues from the Fall Session

The Fall Plenary session approved a number of resolutions around the issues of technology. The Executive Committee, through the Technology Committee, put forward a paper entitled "Guidelines for Good Practice: Technology Mediated Instruction." There are a series of recommendations concerning good teaching, applicable to any form of teaching, but with an emphasis on the use of technology mediated instruction. We encourage faculty and curriculum committees to read and incorporate these suggestions for good practice across the curriculum.

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