Request Clarification and Support of Area F Requirements

Fall
2022
Resolution Number
15.04
 
Contact
Assigned to
President
Category
Intersegmental Issues
Summary
Assigned to: 1st Resolved: President
2nd Resolved: President
3rd Resolved: President
4th Resolved: General Education Advisory Committee (GEAC) members

Whereas, Ethnic studies curriculum is essential to the holistic development and educational experiences of California community college (CCC) students, and a growing number of California community colleges are developing courses in the four core autonomous disciplines collectively referred to as ethnic studies;

Whereas, During the California State University (CSU) Chancellor’s Office “Office Hours for GE Submission” in January of 2021, the then Associate Vice Chancellor of the CSU told California community college (CCC) faculty not to “cut and paste” the CSU Ethnic Studies core competencies for Area F proposals, but the California State University Chancellor’s Office denied the inclusion of California community college (CCC) courses submitted for CSU General Education Breadth Area F Ethnic Studies consideration that did not include Area F core competency language verbatim in the course outline of record course objectives, despite the lack of any such requirement being published or shared during any of the Area F submission information sessions;

Whereas, The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office attempted to assist California community colleges in securing Area F approval with Memo ESS-22-300-11, June 29, 2022, addressing “difficulties being faced,” and recommending “Guidance for Effective Ethnic Studies Approval” including that “the Ethnic Studies core competencies (at least 3 of the 5) must be listed (verbatim) within the Course Outline of Record” [1]; and

Whereas, In October of 2022, during the Southern California Intersegmental Articulation Council Meeting, the California State University (CSU) released a new “CSU Area F Ethnic Studies Requirement Rubric,” which was not included in the annual reminder for December submissions and does not indicate that the competencies need to be included verbatim, but whether or not that rubric and annual reminder for Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum and CSU General Education Breadth submissions are officially approved by the CSU Academic Senate and CSU Ethnic Studies Faculty Council is unclear to California community college faculty;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges request the California State University Chancellor’s Office convey to the California community colleges publicly whether courses approved for Area F of the California State University General Education Breadth pattern must include at least 3 of the 5 core competencies verbatim;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the Academic Senate for the California State University to discern and convey whether the new California State University Area F Rubric has been officially approved or sanctioned by the California State University Ethnic Studies Faculty Council;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges request that the California State University Chancellor’s Office publicly and transparently share requirements for Area F approval; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges continue to work with the California State University system to gain additional information on how to better support California community colleges seeking approval of courses for Area F of the California State University General Education Breadth pattern. [2]

ACCLAMATION


[1] Memo ES-22-300-011 Ethnic Studies Area F Course Certifications can be found at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uDQgqNL_O87rGSaV_8JBxGNiIdgunfQQ
[2] California community college academic senates are empowered by AB 1725 (Vasconcellos, 1988) “to assume primary responsibility for making recommendations in areas of curriculum and academic standards” to governing boards of community college districts, reinforced by California Code of Regulations (CCR) , title 5, §53200 and CCR, title 5, §55002 Standards and Criteria for the Course Outline of Record.
     CSUGE-B Requirements indicate “courses that are approved to meet this requirement shall meet at least 3 of the 5 the [sic] following core competencies” (see CSU Executive Order 1100 found at https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/8919100/latest/#autoid-zvggy). However, the CCCCO June 29, 2022, memorandum ESS 22-300-011 titled Ethnic Studies Course Certification for CSU GE Breadth Area F under the header Guidance for Effective Ethnic Studies Course Approval indicates “the ethnic studies core competencies (at least 3 of 5) must be listed (verbatim) within the Course Outline of Record (COR) as stated in CSU GE Breadth Policy” (CCCCO memorandum can be found in the ASCCC Resolutions shared folder at
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g9Hbf_KP6Noh_H7h2bBFXe4npYd7h2N-/view).
     On October 20, 2022, the CSU Associate Director of General Education and Intersegmental Partnerships emailed California community college articulation officers the message, “Annual Submission of CCC Outlines for IGETC, CSU GE Breadth, and American Institutions” inviting them to submit courses “for the state’s transfer curriculum in IGETC, CSU GE Breadth, or American Institutions (AI)” which included prefix and cross-listing requirements for Area F submissions, but no mention of including the competencies “verbatim” or applying the new rubric https://drive.google.com/file/d/19p_jt-Fjah7ogaR3Az9CFP0Hh4hqkUac/view?usp=sharing