Whereas, AB 1111 (Berman, 2021) 1 would require that all California community colleges incorporate common course numbers in their catalogs even though the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has previously endorsed, through resolution
9.02 F19, that local colleges include the C-ID alphanumeric code in college catalogs and transcripts and on local course outlines of record, and AB 1111 would further require that for every general education and transfer pathway course for which an intersegmental developed and approved C-ID descriptor does not exist, a new C-ID descriptor, subject code, and course number be developed through the C-ID process and subsequently adopted at all CCCs even though C-ID supports major preparation articulation, which is separate from the general education approval process;
Whereas, The provisions in AB 1111 proposing changes to §66725.5 of the California Education Code are in direct conflict with the existing and unaltered authority of local governing boards and academic senates as set forth in Education Code §70902, which authorizes local governing boards to establish policies for and approve courses of instruction, including individual courses, and ensures the rights of local academic senates to assume primary responsibility for making recommendations in the areas of curriculum and academic standards;
Whereas, C-ID descriptors, including subject codes and numbering, were developed to describe minimum conditions for local course alignment but do not limit local colleges from developing courses that go beyond those minimum standards and adapting their curriculum to meet local student needs and do not require local colleges to change course subject codes or numbering systems to be deemed comparable to the C-ID descriptor and other courses aligned with the same descriptor; and
Whereas, The mandates of AB 1111 would create undue and unnecessary difficulties for colleges regarding educational planning, student information systems, curriculum management systems, institutional data analysis and reporting, program review, college publications, articulation databases, student transcripts, and other areas and would potentially increase confusion for disproportionately impacted students who may have gaps in their education when courses are renumbered or when deleted courses are replaced with renumbered active courses in college catalogs;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges oppose AB 1111 (Berman, 2021) Postsecondary Education: Common Course Numbering System as of April 9, 2021.
MSC
1. AB 1111 (Berman, 2021): https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1111