2017

Colleges regularly examine their board and administrative policies to ensure that they are up to date and aligned with statute and regulatory changes. In doing so, the academic senate is consulted regarding establishing or changing any policy that falls within academic and professional matters—the 10+1—or other policies related to faculty as designated in statute such as faculty evaluations, faculty hiring, minimum qualifications, administrator retreat rights, and the appointment of representatives to college bodies.

(In 2013, the Academic Senate Executive Committee approved a project to record and preserve the history of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges.  The April 2017 Rostrum contains an article that explains the intent and structure of this project and the reasons for the delay in moving its work forward.  However, the project is now making progress: the History of the ASCCC Task Force has developed a questionnaire to gather information on the organization’s history and sent that questionnaire to approximately 60 individuals who have worked with or had close connections to t

Since the November 2016 presidential election, significant discussion has taken place regarding the need for civic discourse and civil engagement across the United States, and while some faculty have been quick to pick up on the issue, others have been more reticent, in part because they may not believe that their disciplines lend themselves to this issue. One might easily see how political science courses lend themselves to concerns about civic engagement, but connections to math curriculum, for example, may be less obvious.

Over the years, and especially recently, much debate has taken place over whether or not intermediate algebra should be required as the prerequisite to statistics. The debate has included discussion of whether or not competency in intermediate algebra should be required for an associate or a baccalaureate degree.

Many of us frequently say that the best job in the world is serving as a faculty member in the California community colleges and that the work we do as faculty in service of our students is its own reward. Faculty do the work they do because it is truly a vocation in the sense of being a calling and a labor of love. Even so, human nature makes one want and appreciate recognition for the work that one does, and faculty are no exception to this tendency. Recognition of good work of our faculty colleagues can motivate them to grow further as professionals.

The last three years have been a whirlwind in the curriculum world, culminating with the 2017 Curriculum Institute, which included multiple presentations about the streamlining changes occurring in curriculum.  In collaboration with the divisions of Academic Affairs, Student Services, and Workforce and Economic Development at the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO), the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges and the Chief Instructional Officers (CIO) Board began implementing changes to curriculum processes to make them more efficient and effective at the sta

Currently in California, three major guided pathways programs have been initiated: the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Pathways Project, the California Guided Pathways Project, and the California Community Colleges Guided Pathways Award Program. The programs all have different features, and thus the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges is working to provide information on all three as well as general guidance for faculty as they address guided pathways at their local institutions.

Clarifying the Pathways Programs

The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking. ― Albert Einstein

The course outline of record (COR) is central to the curricular processes in the California community colleges.  The COR has evolved considerably from its origins as a list of topics covered in a course. Today, the course outline of record is a document with defined legal standing that plays a critical role in the curriculum of the California community colleges. The course outline has both internal and external influences that impact all aspects of its content, from outcomes to teaching methodology, which, by extension, impact program development and program evaluation.

Whereas, AB 86 (Committee on Budget, 2013-2014) shifted all fiscal authority for apprenticeship programs from the California Department of Education to the Chancellor’s Office, and the expansion of educational programs in apprenticeship in the California community colleges is anticipated;