In recent years, succession planning has become an important topic within our community college system. For example, to fully meet accreditation Standard IV, colleges need to demonstrate that they have processes in place to create leadership capacity by encouraging broad participation. In fact, Los Angeles City College received the following accreditation recommendation in 2009:
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
- Steve Jobs
Q: Last year I heard that colleges experienced disruptions in the degree approval process when new C-ID descriptors were finalized and then added to TMCs when colleges were in the middle of the degree approval process. Is anything being done to prevent these sorts of disruptions in the future?
Sincerely,
Darn I did not submit that to C-ID yet
Dear Darn –
The relationship between the Academic Senate (both locally and statewide) and accreditation is a unique one. At the local level, academic senates have a legal role in the accreditation process as outlined in Title 5 Regulation’s list of academic and professional matters designated to senates (“the 10+1”), an official responsibility in the accreditation process that no other faculty constituent group is afforded.
In spring 2011, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopted Resolution 13.03, “Democracy Commitment.” The resolution calls for three activities: that “the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges endorse ‘The Democracy Commitment,’” that the Senate “commit to further the aims of the "The Democracy Commitment" in general,” and that “the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges produce an action-oriented guide furthering the aims of "The Democracy Commitment" for use by the California community colleges.”
Recently, I travelled to Atlanta and needed to navigate my way around a new city. While I knew where I wanted to go, I was not quite sure how to get there. The young man at the hotel desk was very helpful as he assisted me every day in navigating the city with ease and confidence. As I departed the hotel on the last day, I wanted to thank him again for his assistance. However, it was his day off.
As we start another academic year, we finally have some additional funding to support our efforts, collaborations and partnerships that keep the system moving forward, and we renew our hope that our students will achieve their dreams. Once again, there is promise in the air, and new beginnings provide an opportunity to review an understanding of our roles as individual faculty members.
Whereas, Title 5 §55502 requires use of multiple measures in the assessment of course placement for individual students;
Whereas, Recent research conducted by the Community College Research Center (February, 2012) suggests that:
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has repeatedly noted the essential importance of a robust general education (GE) to becoming a well-rounded, educated citizen, and the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has established essential learning outcomes for a student's general education experience called the Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) outcomes, defined as:
Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World
Whereas, Recent events in Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut and California have served to remind us of the fragile nature of our sense of peace and security as well as creating safer environments for our faculty, staff and students;
Whereas, All members of the college faculty and staff are considered "Disaster Service workers" in the face of any emergency and will be held accountable for maintaining a level of training and expertise regarding safety and appropriate response to emergency situations;