Noncredit Distance Education Attendance Collection Procedures for Open-Entry/Exit Courses

Fall
2020
Resolution Number
13.02
 
Contact
Assigned to
Noncredit, Pre-Transfer, & Continuing Education Committee
Category
General Concerns
Status
In Progress
Status Report

Fall 2022: This is a priority of the CIOs - discussing next steps with president and ED.

Whereas, During the current emergency conditions, the Alternative Attendance Accounting Procedure, Title 5 § 58003.1(f), is employed for noncredit distance education courses that do not use the Positive Attendance Procedures, Title 5 § 58003.1 (e), requiring a calculation of student contact hours that includes

(a)  The total number of hours of instruction in the class
(b)  The number of hours expected for any outside-of-class work
(c)  Instructor contact as defined by Title 5 § 55204;

Whereas, The Alternative Attendance Accounting Procedure does not take into consideration the nature of noncredit distance education open-entry/exit courses because only students who enroll by the first census date (20% of the course) can be included in noncredit distance education attendance collection, resulting in an inability to report students entering after 20% of the course;

Whereas, The difficulties presented by the Alternative Attendance Accounting Procedure used for noncredit distance education open-entry/exit courses create inequities for already underrepresented noncredit students, since it limits offerings of noncredit distance education open-entry/exit courses, which provide pathways to adults who are underprepared for college-level coursework, returning to school, unemployed and seeking employment, employed and seeking career advancement, and English language learners, making it more difficult for them to successfully complete their college education and enter the workforce; and

Whereas, The Alternative Attendance Accounting Procedure has impacted the workload of faculty, both full-time and part-time, due to the tremendous amount of time needed to develop and teach a distance education course in order to meet the attendance requirements of the Alternative Attendance Accounting Procedure, limiting the time they can spend focusing on instruction and student contact in a distance education course;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges recognize that noncredit distance education open-entry/exit courses provide valuable opportunities that prepare diverse adult learners for transition into credit certificate and degree programs as well as entry into the workforce; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to ensure that noncredit attendancecollection procedures equitably allow for noncredit distance education open-entry/exit courses in order to equitably serve noncredit students.

MSC