2019

(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. The project has been stalled several times, but it has not been abandoned. The following article was written as an aspect of the history project and as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ASCCC.)

Local academic senates are tasked to make recommendations for faculty professional development policies and activities at their colleges.[1] Such policies may include consideration of how faculty professional development (PD) is defined, how much is required, when, where, and how it will be offered, whether faculty will be compensated, who will be responsible for selecting and planning particular activities and assessing their efficacy, and how funds are allocated for PD activities.

At the September 2018 Board of Governors (BOG) meeting at Southwestern College, the BOG approved changes to Title 5 §§55200-55210.[1] The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) endorsed proposed changes to the regulations through Resolution 6.08 in Spring 2018.

Those who are familiar with Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) events from the past know that February has featured the Accreditation Institute for many years. This year, the ASCCC has chosen to partner with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) to hold a joint event, marking the first time that the two groups have combined their events into one. This decision was made for a number of reasons, including timing, resources, and the relationship between the ASCCC and ACCJC that has continued to grow over the past several years.

For years, the University of California has offered various different forms of guaranteed admission to transfer students. In some cases, the UC has guaranteed admission to specific campuses for community college students that complete a specified set of courses with a certain GPA. Unfortunately, these guarantees have never been available at every campus, and the most popular campuses may not offer any admissions guarantees.

Throughout the half-century since the founding of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC), the ASCCC has become an invaluable source of guidance and leadership in academic and professional matters, but for a range of reasons the ASCCC hesitated in many cases to become involved in statewide advocacy efforts.

The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) offers local senate visits and technical assistance visits to colleges as part of the college’s membership with the ASCCC. When colleges request a visit from the ASCCC, we often ask whether the college has a process or procedure documenting what is supposed to happen in the specific situation under discussion. If such a process exists, we work to determine where it is written down and whether the college is following what is written.