The following glossary was developed from research and feedback gathered from faculty and researchers from within the California community colleges. It was created in response to ASCCC Resolution 09.01 S17, which asked the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges to address confusion in the field by researching and updating the 2009 glossary of common terms for student learning outcomes and assessment.
Whereas, Cross-college online enrollments have increased due to California Virtual Campus-Online Education Initiative (CVC-OEI) efforts, and the terminology colleges use for online courses, hybrid courses, and courses with required proctoring on examinations differs significantly, causing confusion and frustration for students navigating multiple colleges;
Whereas, Resolution 13.03 F15 asserted that “incentivizing faculty to adopt any specific instructional materials over others could potentially compromise quality by encouraging or pressuring faculty to adopt materials that are less pedagogically sound” and opposed the provision of direct compensation to faculty for the adoption of open educational resources in the context of the implementation of AB 798 (Bonilla, 2015);
Whereas, All California community colleges are mandated to adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 sections 504 and 508, which require all educational printed and digital materials to be accessible;
Whereas, The California Community Colleges have Information Computer Technology Accessibility Standards including both the U.S. section 508 standards and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) that provide criteria for making information and communication technology more accessible;
Whereas, In the California Community Colleges, the course outline of record is the official document that establishes, among other things, the content, objectives, and instructional materials for a given course and is the basis for articulation;
Whereas, Both the California State University Chancellor’s Office and University of California Office of the President are on record establishing that the use of open educational resources (OER) that are comparable to commercial texts with respect to currency and stability does not jeopardize articulation; and
Whereas, Resolution 13.02 F15 directed the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges to “update its paper Noncredit Instruction: Opportunity and Challenge, adopted by the body in Spring 2009, no later than Spring 2017 to include recent developments affecting noncredit, including using noncredit to improve equity and close the achievement gap, leveraging Career Development/College Preparation equalization funding, and addressing an increased emphasis on adult basic skills and workforce education”;
Whereas, Faculty statewide from English, mathematics, and related disciplines in credit, noncredit, and adult education vetted the Course Basic (CB) 21 rubrics during the five March 2019 AB 705 Data Revision Project Recoding Regional Meetings;
Whereas, Faculty discipline groups drafted the CB21 rubrics using the federal educational functioning levels (EFLs) currently used by noncredit and adult education practitioners for data reporting purposes for funding and student educational level gains, including the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS);
Whereas, Guidelines for AB 705 (Irwin, 2017) implementation were disseminated to the California community colleges on July, 10, 2018,[1] and changes to Title 5 regulations for compliance with AB 705 (Irwin, 2018) are expected no earlier than January 2019;
Whereas, Professional development opportunities regarding AB 705 (Irwin, 2017) are planned throughout fall 2018;
Whereas, Online courses reviewed with the California Virtual Campus – Online Education Initiative (CVC – OEI) Course Design Rubric and offered through the CVC – OEI Course Exchange have a success rate 4.9 percentage points above the statewide average;[1]
Whereas, California Code of Regulations Title 5 §55206 maintains districts’ local authority to determine if courses will “be provided through distance education”;[2][3]
