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;
Whereas, The legislative intent of California Education Code §78052 is “that community college districts develop and implement zero-textbook-cost degrees and develop open educational resources for courses to reduce the overall cost of education for students and decrease the time it takes students to complete degree programs”;
Whereas, AB 928 (Berman, 2021) [1], the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act of 2021 aims to further streamline and make the transfer process easier for students to navigate but does not address the crucial need for additional spaces for transfer students to the California State University or University of California [2], especially for students to transfer to institutions in or near their community college service area;
Whereas, Zero-Textbook-Cost (ZTC) refers to instances in which textbooks are available to students at no cost, and California Education Code §66406.9 requires that California community colleges “Clearly highlight, by means that may include a symbol or logo in a conspicuous place on the online campus course schedule, the courses that exclusively use digital course materials,” providing a mechanism for marking course sections that are zero-textbook-cost;
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges supports efforts to increase student access to high-quality open educational resources and reduce the cost of course materials and supplies for students in course sections for which open educational resources may not be available to accomplish zero cost for students and encourages colleges to implement a mechanism for identifying course sections that employ low-cost course materials (Fall 2017, Resolution 13.01);