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 Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) has long expressed concerns that the cost of textbooks and other course materials represent a financial burden for California Community College students (“Textbook Issues: Economic Pressures and Academic Values.” 2005) and has more recently also supported efforts “to reduce the cost of course materials and supplies for students in course sections for which open educational resources may not be available (Fall 2017, Resolution 12.01), and
Whereas, English language learners (ELLs) represent an important demographic served across the three segments of higher education in California;
Whereas, The complexities in addressing the needs of ELLs in California public higher education remain unchanged in the last fifteen years, and recent statewide legislation along with national and international developments have rendered the landscape even more precarious for ESL instruction and support services;
Whereas, California Code of Regulations Title 5 §53206 establishes the Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges as the representative of community college academic senates or faculty councils before the Board of Governors and Chancellor's Office on academic and professional matters (Title 5, §53200);
Whereas, The California Community Colleges have demonstrated success with working through a remote environment as a result of the pandemic; and
Whereas, To support diversity, equity, and inclusion, institutions may use telecommuting and digital processes to provide greater flexibility and responsiveness to better meet the needs of students;
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has long recognized the digital divide [1] evident in the lack of access to technology to support college instruction and services and has made system-wide and local recommendations in the 2003 paper “The Impact of Computer Technology on Student Access and Success in The California Community Colleges;” [2]
Whereas, In Fall 2019, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopted Resolution 16.01 Develop Standards of Practice Resource for Learning Assistance and Tutoring in the California Community Colleges, including the Role of Learning Skills Coordinators or Instructors, and Tutoring Coordinators [1], which recognized the evolution of the field of learning assistance since prior learning assistance center and tutoring resolutions; and
Whereas, California Code of Regulations Title 5 §55009 established that the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office “shall prepare and maintain a handbook detailing requirements for district baccalaureate degree pilot programs established pursuant to California Education Code Section 78041,” and that the handbook “shall include, but not be limited to, requirements related to admissions, curriculum, student services, and financial aid,” much of which are academic and professional matters; and
Whereas, The Course Outline of Record (COR) is at the center of local curricular process [1]; its required elements have been outlined in California Code of Regulations Title 5 including Section 55002 and the application of those requirements is detailed in the Program for Course and Approval Handbook (PCAH);
Whereas the elements of the COR need to be integrated so each reinforces the purpose of the other elements and obvious relationships should be built between course objectives, methods of instruction, assignments, and methods of evaluation;
Whereas, Hybrid Flexible, also referred to as “HyFlex,” is an instructional modality that combines face-to-face and online learning, where class sessions and activities are offered in person, synchronously online, and asynchronously online, and where students have the flexibility of choosing any of these modalities in the same course during the same term;