Dear Colleagues,
The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges will conduct hearings on proposed changes to the credit apprenticeship minimum qualifications on Wednesday, May 3, 2- 4 pm at Los Angeles City College in the Faculty and Staff Center, and Thursday, May 4, 3-5 pm at the San Jose Marriott in Salon 1. The proposed change from the ASCCC Apprenticeship Faculty Work Group meeting of April 6, as well as the proposal from the California Apprenticeship Council and a comparison table, are available below. Please bring this proposal to your academic senate for discussion, establish a position on this proposal, and provide testimony in support or in opposition. Testimony can be submitted in writing or orally, in person or by phone. If your senate is unable to take action prior to the hearings, it can submit written testimony after the hearings to Julie Adams at julie@asccc.org. The testimony will then be used to inform the discussions in our subsequent meeting with representatives of the California Apprenticeship Council.
BACKGROUND
As you may know, efforts are underway to revise the minimum qualifications for credit apprenticeship instructors in Title 5 section 53413(a). This effort was initiated by the California Apprenticeship Council (CAC) last fall in response to Strong Workforce Task Force recommendation 14(f):
Convene representative apprenticeship teaching faculty, labor organizations, and other stakeholders to review the appropriateness of minimum qualifications for apprenticeship instructors.
The CAC operates under the auspices of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards within the Department of Industrial Relations, and its role includes making policy recommendations regarding apprenticeship to the Director of Industrial Relations.
Education Code section 87357 requires the Board of Governors to rely primarily on the Academic Senate regarding faculty minimum qualifications. However, in reference to apprenticeship minimum qualifications, Education Code adds the condition that the Board of Governors “consult with, and rely primarily on the advice and judgment of, the appropriate apprenticeship teaching faculty and labor organization representatives.” As a result, the CAC asserted that it was the appropriate representative of both labor and apprenticeship faculty and adopted at its January 26, 2017 meeting, without consulting the Academic Senate, a proposal to significantly revise the credit apprenticeship minimum qualifications (attached). However, only the Board of Governors has the legal authority to identify representative constituency organizations, and it recognizes the Academic Senate, through Title 5 regulations and through its standing orders, as the representative of all faculty on all academic and professional matters. Therefore, the Chancellor’s Office recognizes the Academic Senate as the appropriate representative of apprenticeship faculty in discussions on the matter of apprenticeship minimum qualifications. Furthermore, the Chancellor’s Office has worked with the Academic Senate to establish a process and timeline for the Academic Senate and the CAC to agree on a final draft revision to the credit apprenticeship minimum qualifications.
On April 6, representatives of the Academic Senate met with five apprenticeship faculty and representatives of the Academic Affairs division of the Chancellor’s Office to review the CAC proposal and to determine if an alternative proposal was needed. The meeting included frank discussions about the role of the Academic Senate in academic and professional matters, the role of the Chancellor’s Office, and the concerns of apprenticeship faculty, particularly in regard to the difficulty in finding enough qualified apprenticeship faculty to teach apprenticeship courses. In the end, the result of this meeting was a proposal that maintains important aspects of the current minimum qualifications while incorporating interests of the CAC proposal that addresses concerns of the apprenticeship community. The proposed minimum qualifications language is attached.
The Academic Senate is following an expedited version of its Disciplines List revision process, with the required first hearings occurring in early May. Following the first hearings, this proposal will be brought forward to a meeting with representatives of the CAC later in May. Subsequently, the Disciplines List standard revision process will be followed, with anticipated action taken by the delegates at our Fall 2017 Plenary Session.
Please be aware that this issue is highly politicized. The Academic Senate is committed to ensuring that minimum qualifications recommendations remain under Academic Senate purview. It would be detrimental to the instructional integrity and quality of California community college educational programs if minimum qualifications were to be legislated. In fact, there was an attempt to legislate apprenticeship minimum qualifications in 2014 that included problematic clauses, including stripping local senates of their role in determining equivalencies for potential apprenticeship instructors. Furthermore, the Chancellor’s Office has agreed to adhere to the proposed timeline with the proposal going before the Board of Governors in March 2018. If the Academic Senate and the CAC fail to reach an agreement, the Chancellor’s Office will make the final determination on the proposal. It is understandable if your senate has concerns with this proposal. Aspects of it do represent a fairly significant change from the current credit apprenticeship minimum qualifications. It is not ideal, but the Executive Committee has endorsed this proposal as an acceptable compromise to bring to the meeting with the CAC, and it is important that local senates review it and provide testimony.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
All the best,
John Freitas, Chair
ASCCC Standards and Practices Committee
HEARING INFORMATION
Southern California, Wednesday, May 3, 2017, 2:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles City College in the Faculty and Staff Center, 855 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Parking: Faculty and Staff Lot 4 (under the athletic field) on Heliotrope Avenue. Use the north entrance. Parking is limited, so carpooling is strongly encourages. Attendess can also take the Red Line subway to the Vermont/Santa Monica stop.
Call Confer Participant: Telephone conference line: 1-719-785-4469 or Toll free number available: 888-450-4821 Participant Passcode: 643325
Northern California, Thursday, May 4, 2017, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: San Jose Marriott, 301 S Market St, San Jose, CA 95113. Driving directions can be found here.
Parking: Hotel has available parking.
Call Confer Participant: 1-719-785-4469 or Toll free number available: 888-450-4821 Participant Passcode: 147176
PROCESS AND TIMELINES
The ASCCC and the Chancellor’s Office have agreed to the following expedited process and timeline:
- April 6, 2017 – Apprenticeship MQ Work Group meets and develops proposal. Proposal distributed at the ASCCC plenary session in April.
- Early May 2017 – ASCCC holds public hearings in the north (May 4) and south (May 3).
- May 2017 – Representatives of ASCCC, CAC, and CCCCO meet to agree on final draft proposal.
- Summer 2017 – Title 5 language drafted by CCCCO legal.
- Fall 2017 – Title 5 change goes to CAC and ASCCC separately for action on moving MQ change to Consultation Council.
- November 2017 – Action at Fall Plenary Session, Consultation Council consideration.
- January 2018 – First reading by Board of Governors
- March 2018 – Final reading/action by Board of Governors