Local Control – Who Needs It
Our students.
The concept of ethnic studies and the Title 5 language that requires community colleges to offer courses that address the subject have caused confusion in various ways throughout the state. Two resolutions in recent years have asked the Academic Senate to look into issues surrounding this requirement and the degree to which colleges are meeting it.
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.
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.
What is retooling?
How do you do it?
Why should you retool?
Curriculum should be timely and competitive. As faculty, we know we should constantly update course content, learning objectives, etc., but curriculum change is a time consuming process. Most of us wait until program review or some other type of college wide mandatory process before we make changes.
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.
SB 645 (Johnston), The Job Training Report Card bill was signed into law October 11, 1997. Under this law the State Job Training Coordinating Council (SJTCC) is responsible for oversight of employment and training programs at the state level.
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.
The Academic Senate for CCC held its 29th Fall Plenary Session at the LAX Marriott Hotel October 30 - November 1. Over 350 people attended the session representing 107 Community College faculty. The participants addressed a number of important issues during the 41 breakouts presented by the ASCCC Executive Committee.
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.