Expansion of the Online Course Exchange

Whereas, The 2013-2014 Budget Act enacted the governor’s Online Education Initiative to expand access to online education in the California Community College System and allocated $16.9 million for that purpose, and furthermore the Chancellor’s Office established the California Community College Online Education Initiative (OEI) to realize this legislation through the creation of the OEI Online Course Exchange;

Whereas, The OEI Course Exchange promises to allow students to enroll in high quality online courses from colleges across the state through a centralized exchange, with potential for great benefit and opportunities for our students by providing additional access to courses needed for transfer and degree completion, and the 2016-2017 Budget Act (AB 1602) appropriated an additional $20,000,000 to “expedite and enhance the adaptation and development of courses that are available through the online course exchange of the Online Education Initiative”;

Whereas, Since OEI is at a point of expansion from pilot to broader implementation, it is important that efforts to expand the courses offered and colleges participating in the OEI Course Exchange continue to emphasize high standards for course quality and instructional integrity and that practices and policies focus on increasing student access and success across the system; and

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges is the collective faculty voice on academic and professional matters statewide and has long provided leadership for faculty on distance education matters through its position papers, resolutions, Rostrum articles and presentations;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges continue to partner with the Online Education Initiative (OEI) to ensure that faculty primacy in academic and professional matters continues to be exercised within the initiative, including consultation with the OEI Steering Committee with input from the OEI Consortium for any decisions directly impacting courses offered on the OEI Course Exchange;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges remind OEI that faculty primacy in academic and professional matters applies to curriculum and academic standards, which includes the academic standards for development and offering of courses for the OEI Course Exchange, and that any decisions directly impacting courses need to be made in consultation with the OEI Steering Committee and with input from the OEI Consortium;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges insist that high standards, including review of courses by trained faculty reviewers and determination of alignment with the OEI Course Design Rubric by those same faculty reviewers, remain in place to ensure that courses offered on the OEI Course Exchange are of superior quality, of appropriate rigor, and offered and supported locally prior to being offered on the OEI Course Exchange; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the Online Education Initiative Management Team to ensure ASCCC-appointed faculty participate in the development of criteria for managing the course offerings.

MSC