Whereas, Previous Academic Senate for California Community Colleges presentations have recognized that course enrollment maximums are maximum student enrollment limits specified for each course, and course enrollment maximum determinations have sometimes been made inconsistently on the basis of classroom size and other arbitrary factors;
Whereas, Part-time faculty comprise the majority of the faculty on every community college campus [1] and are vital to the success and retention of students throughout the California Community Colleges system, and the representation of part-time faculty is crucial for the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) and California Community College Chancellor's Office to fulfill their respective missions;
Whereas, The COVID-19 pandemic forced a quick pivot, within weeks after California Governor Newsom’s March 19, 2020 Stay At Home Order, of most of California’s community colleges’ course offerings from in-person to online teaching and learning;
Whereas, Most of this online teaching and learning necessitated faculty and students quickly learning how to use and navigate learning management systems (LMS) and other online educational tools and services for course delivery and engagement;
Whereas, Faculty have both the academic freedom to select the course materials they deem most appropriate (Resolution 19.01 F04) and the responsibility to consider the cost burden as they do so (Title 5, § 59404);
Whereas, The funding to support institutional transformation as codified by the California Community Colleges Guided Pathways [Award] Program is coming to an end, with the final allocation of the remaining 10% in July 2021;
Whereas, The work of establishing and improving a college’s guided pathways framework is integral with all institution-wide work;
Whereas, The new Student Centered Funding Formula (SCFF) provides financial incentives to local districts for degree and certificate completion as well as completion of college-level English and mathematics within the first year that could lead to pressure on faculty to increase success and completion rates to maximize college funding;
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges will be initiating a five-year open educational resources (OER) initiative in spring 2019 that will provide OER-related support and resources to the colleges and gather data from the colleges related to OER use and challenges;
Whereas, Previous resolutions and papers from the Academic Senate have encouraged faculty participation in curriculum development, program planning, enrollment management, and scheduling;[1]
Whereas, California Community Colleges Guided Pathways is intended to create a sustainable framework for institutions to develop local implementations that serve the needs of all students in helping them identify and meet their educational goals;
Whereas, The AB 705 (Irwin, 2017) requirement that community colleges maximize the probability that students complete transfer-level English and math courses by the end of their first year has resulted in several reforms to address developmental education needs of many students who will be placed in these courses;
Whereas, “Effective participation” means that all stakeholders must be afforded an opportunity to review and comment upon recommendations, proposals, and other matters and to participate effectively in discussions of academic and professional matters delineated in Title 5;