December

Common Courtesy and Professionalism: Do We Expect Less from Each Other than We Expect of Our Students?

Many of us can remember Robert Fulghum’s 1988 work All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. The book became a bestseller due to its title essay’s simple yet often overlooked premise: our lives and our interactions with others would be richer and better if we observed the simple principles of common decency that we were taught as children.

Perspectives on Regionalization and Enrollment Management

At every ASCCC Plenary Session, you see some resolutions you know are going to be “interesting” and those that you expect to be relatively non-controversial. And then some resolutions take you by surprise, where impassioned debate occurs and you sometimes struggle to understand why. This was the case with the final resolution we considered at our Fall 2012 session, one that was effectively amended so as to lose its original meaning as the following phrase was struck from the final perfected and adopted resolution:

How Green is the Senate?

I have friends who used to laugh at my lifelong habit of reusing ribbon and wrapping paper, but today, with increasing awareness of the need to conserve resources, I am no longer saddled with the label of “cheap” but honored with the title of “green.” “Green” is becoming a part of daily operations in the Academic Senate as well, and in the past several years, the Academic Senate has implemented a number of ways to conserve resources. As early as 2006, the Senate moved to printing on 100% recycled paper for our directory, publications, and Rostrums.

Julie's Inbox

Dear Julie,

Recently, some California university faculty asked to see syllabi for a course that is already articulated through the course outline of record. Should we submit syllabi to the university faculty? Shouldn't the course of outline be enough?

Already Articulated

Dear A.A.,

Discount Program Helps Break Down Cost Barriers for Technology

Community colleges fill a unique role in society, making quality higher education available to any who seek it. Keeping fees among the lowest in the nation is one way California’s community colleges accomplish this mission, but once students enroll, the cost of staying in school continues to increase. Expensive software, textbooks, and supplies create an additional barrier for many.

What we “know” (about) what we “need”

Just recently, I heard a senior administrator refer to community colleges as “employment engines,” alluding to the pivotal but somewhat undervalued (or under-acknowledged) preparatory role we play in getting students ready for (or retraining them in) the world of work. This preparation refers to more than career and technical education (CTE) programs and certificates; it engages all of our most noble learning outcomes. We aspire to produce students who contribute to society in meaningful ways, who are ethical world citizens, who think critically.

Distance Education, the Wave of the Future?

In the focus of the November 2 elections, the publication of the Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) paper “The Master Plan at 50: Using Distance Education to Increase College Access and Efficiency” did not receive the notice that it might have otherwise engendered. The recommendations of the LAO potentially have significant impacts on all community colleges, regardless of their current use of distance education.

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