Professional Standards

Whereas the importance of active participation in hiring decisions is emphasized by the Commission for the Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education and in the September 17, 1987, draft of AB 1725, and

Whereas there is often a lack of effective faculty involvement in hiring, and

Whereas identification of which positions are to be filled is an integral part of the hiring process, and

Whereas a thoughtful planning process to determine which positions are to be filled requires knowledge of the budget,

Whereas the Educational Policies Committee was directed by the Academic Senate at the 1987 Fall Conference to present an ethics statement to the 1988 Spring Conference for possible adoption, and

Whereas the Educational Policies Committee has carried out that charge,

Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopt the 1987 AAUP Ethics Statement with "professors" changed to "community college faculty members" in the first sentence, and to "faculty members" thereafter.

Whereas the excellence of instructional programs is enhanced by the willingness and ability of faculty to assume responsibility for the quality of their peers, and

Whereas the Commission for Review of the Master Plan has recommended that the Board of Governors strengthen the role of academic senates with respect to the hiring, retention, and evaluation of faculty, and

Whereas the Academic Senate has previously taken strong positions in support of primary responsibility of the faculty for evaluation and selection of all full and part-time faculty,

Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges urge local senates to provide for periodic review of contract faculty hiring procedures by including in jointly developed hiring policies language specifying that the policy is subject to review and revision by the bodies responsible for its development at the request of either the academic senate or the board of trustees, and that such revised policy shall be mutually agreed upon by both parties before it replaces the previously agreed upon hiring procedures or policy.

Whereas every course must be included within one or more disciplines, and

Whereas this professional judgment can best be made by the academic senate of each college or district,

Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges recommend to the Board of Governors that it develop regulations directing local academic senates and local governing boards to jointly develop and agree upon a process for determining within which discipline(s) each course belongs.

Whereas current provisions in AB 1725 concerning administrator retreat rights to first-year probationary status are a cornerstone upon which other provisions of AB 1725 are based,

Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges oppose any attempt to change, modify, or delete the administrator retreat rights provisions of existing law.

Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges commend the Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for the following recommendations:

1. That the UC and CSU establish and maintain a 40:60 ratio of lower to upper division students.

2. That the community college cap on enrollment growth be lifted.

3. That each community colleges establish written transfer guarantees with 3 UC campuses and 5 CSU campuses.

Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges recommend to the Board of Governors the proposed lists of disciplines. (NOTE: Amendments to this resolution were referred to the Educational Policies Committee.

Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges endorse the model Contract Faculty Hiring Procedures proposed by the Educational Policies Committee and strongly urge its use by local senates as the basis for development, with district administration, of the contract faculty hiring procedures mandated by AB 1725.

Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges continue to address faculty concerns and make recommendations to the Board of Governors on the lists of disciplines.