Whereas, Funds have been allocated from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office to California community colleges for Guided Pathways implementation;
Whereas, The California Community College Guided Pathways work seeks to advance equity, transform institutions, redefine readiness, and redesign supports to remove barriers and holistically support students' attainment of skills, credentials, and socioeconomic mobility [1]; and
Whereas, The state of California has seen a significant increase in Spanish-speaking residents over the last 10 years, an increase that is reflected in student enrollment trends; and
Whereas, Several colleges, including Cerritos College and Los Angeles Trade Tech College, have already successfully implemented processes by which Spanish-language versions of their courses can be offered; and
Whereas, The Asian and Pacific Islander (API) population is more heterogeneous than any other racial group in the US, with more than 48 ethnicities, over 300 spoken languages, various socioeconomic statuses, immigration histories, cultures, and religions, and “Asian American” is a political term originally intended to unite Asian sub-groups in a unified fight for justice and equity, and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) only publicly disaggregates API students into three ethnic groups—Asian, Filipino, and Pacific Islander [1]
Whereas, The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) required that all California community colleges submit an Equitable Placement Validation Report on their AB 705 implementation strategies for the lowest GPA band of entering students using a template that asked colleges to report enrollments as placements and de-coupled pre-transfer level coursework from college-level courses (with or without a corequisite) so colleges could not separate enrollments from placement, and colleges might have reported intermediate algebra as a college-level course;
Whereas, California Education Code §78052 (a) states that “It is the intent of the Legislature that community college districts develop and implement zero-textbook-cost degrees and develop open educational resources for courses to reduce the overall cost of education for students and decrease the time it takes students to complete degree programs,” a goal that can promote student success without impinging on either academic freedom or faculty’s rights to choose appropriate instructional materials;
Whereas, Resolution F20 3.04 Develop Resources on Effective Practices for Anti-Racist, Equitable, and Inclusive Instructional Strategies [1] directed the “Academic Senate for California Community Colleges [to] develop resources identifying effective practices for anti-racist, equitable, and inclusive instructional strategies and present the resources to local academic senat
Whereas, The California Community Colleges system has prioritized inclusion, diversity, equity, anti-racism, and accessibility (IDEAA) work—including through the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) Call to Action, the DEI Task Force Recommendations, and the Vision for Success goals—to eliminate equity gaps and to align with the CCCCO inclusion of accessibility [1];
Whereas, Zero-Textbook-Cost (ZTC) refers to instances in which textbooks are available to students at no cost, and California Education Code §66406.9 requires that California community colleges “Clearly highlight, by means that may include a symbol or logo in a conspicuous place on the online campus course schedule, the courses that exclusively use digital course materials,” providing a mechanism for marking course sections that are zero-textbook-cost;
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges supports efforts to increase student access to high-quality open educational resources and reduce the cost of course materials and supplies for students in course sections for which open educational resources may not be available to accomplish zero cost for students and encourages colleges to implement a mechanism for identifying course sections that employ low-cost course materials (Fall 2017, Resolution 13.01);
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has adopted resolution 06.04 in spring of 2016, which urged “local senates to advocate for the improvement of and access to mental health services at their local campuses” and “support consistent resourcing and funding to enable the expansion of and improve access to mental health services for community college students;”
Whereas, The global pandemic starting in 2020 and continuing into 2021 has exacerbated and increased the need for mental health awareness, support, and education;