2017

At its Fall 2016 Plenary Session, the ASCCC approved Resolution 10.01 F16 which changed the process to revise the Disciplines List from a biennial to an annual process.  This important process has now begun again: faculty can propose new disciplines or make revisions to those that exist. Proposed revisions to the Disciplines List can be submitted to the ASCCC Office for possible consideration by the delegates at the Spring 2018 Plenary Session.

While attitudes towards the LGBTQ community have changed rapidly in recent years, the prospect of a dramatic shift in priorities in LGBTQ protections under the incoming presidential administration should prompt community colleges to take stock of how they are treating LGTBQ students locally.

The educational direction for California community colleges in the last four years has been on an increasingly rapid trajectory; what started with the historic actions of the Student Success Task Force of 2011 has resulted in the current dizzying array of initiatives all aimed at improving educational outcomes.  The response from faculty has been nothing short of heroic in shaping the Common Assessment Initiative, the Education Planning Initiative, the Online Education Initiative, the Strong Workforce Program, the Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative, a renewed and revised Equ

Apprenticeship programs in institutions of higher education include the pairing of coursework and paid work experience for the student.  The state and federal government are very supportive of such programs, as students learn a trade while earning college credits and money to support themselves.   Each year the California Legislature and the federal Department of Labor set aside money to support not only existing programs but also the expansion of apprenticeship programs into non-traditional fields.

One of the issues that every campus faculty leader faces is finding information:  what new laws have passed, the role of the faculty in certain areas, how the faculty should approach an issue with the administration, and various other topics.  Many leaders have difficulty determining what they should do or even where to look for resources regarding the issues they must deal with, and that is why the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges communicates with local academic senates throughout the state about academic and professional matters.  The ASCCC provides this information thro

On September 20, 2016, the Board of Governors approved a change to §55023 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations to include SP as an official grading designation. This evaluative symbol is defined as “Satisfactory Progress towards completion of the course (used for noncredit courses only and is not supplanted by any other symbol).” The adoption of this new grading designation was preceded by a substantial vetting process that was initiated in 2009 when the effort of establishing a grading system for all noncredit providers began.

With the California Governor’s 2017-18 budget including $150 million for Guided Pathways and the California Guided Pathways Project,[1] guided pathways have clearly arrived in the California Community College System. The California Guided Pathways Project is supported by the Foundation for California Community Colleges, funded by the College Futures Foundation and the Teagle Foundation, and modeled after the American Association of Community Colleges Guided Pathways Project.

Frequently, a creative or fashionable idea attracts attention at colleges across the state. Seemingly independent from one another, colleagues at different colleges and districts engage in conversations about a particular concept – newly conceived or perhaps reimagined from the past – that holds promise for helping colleges to better serve and support students. The latest such concept to garner attention and discussion is guided pathways.