February

Are Academic Senates Brown Act Bodies? The Case that Settled the Question

In recent months, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has received inquiries and has been made aware of several situations in which entities at local colleges have questioned whether the academic senate is bound to operate under the Ralph M. Brown Open Meetings Act. This question was a matter of frequent debate up until roughly twenty years ago, when the court case of Callahan vs. Academic Senate of Long Beach City College gave a legal determination on the issue.

Advocating for Student Access and Success: Credit for Prior Learning through the California MAP Initiative

The mission of the California MAP Initiative is to increase equitable access, completion, transfer, and degree attainment for working adults and veterans by offering credit for prior learning (CPL) for industry certifications, military training, portfolio review, standardized assessments, and credit by exam, thus saving time and expense while incentivizing individuals with documented non-college learning to consider higher education that can lead to new career options.

Access to ASCCC Professional Learning Events

Developing and delivering professional learning opportunities for faculty is an on-going effort of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC). Professional development and learning is embedded in the mission of the organization (ASCCC, n.d.a):

As the official voice of California community college faculty in academic and professional matters, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) is committed to advancing inclusion, diversity, equity, anti-racism, accessibility, student learning, and student success. The ASCCC acts to:

Vision 2030’s Focus on Climate Action: How Faculty Roles and College Governance are Critical to Building Momentum and Implementation

The following article is not an official statement of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. The article is intended to engender discussion and consideration by local colleges but should not be seen as the endorsement of any position or practice by the ASCCC.

A Win-Win: Experiential Student Learning meets Transformational Institutional Hiring

Colleges frequently talk about centering on students. In curriculum design, syllabus construction, assignments, and even grading practices, many educators actively include student voice in their pedagogy. Institutions also attempt to include students in shared governance and college-wide processes and professional development.

Working Together: The ASCCC and CTE Regional Consortiums

Eight career technical education (CTE) regional consortia exist across California, serving “as a regional framework for communicating, coordinating, collaborating, promoting and planning career and technical education, and workforce and economic development initiatives” (Orange County Regional Consortium, n.d.). Although each of the California community colleges is aligned to a CTE regional consortium, many faculty are not familiar with or involved in the consortia’s work or goals.

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