April

Since SB 850 (Block, 2014) created the California Community Colleges Baccalaureate Degree Program Pilot, only the original fifteen pilot colleges have been allowed to offer a baccalaureate degree. The fact that “pilot” was in the title of the program also suggested that California community college baccalaureate degrees could be temporary. Fortunately, this status changed with the passing of AB 927 (Medina, 2021), which removed the word pilot from prior legislation and opened up opportunities for as many as thirty new baccalaureate degree programs annually.

The California Community Colleges system, or rather the California community colleges, is implementing or anticipating implementing changes in regard to curriculum such as curricular offerings, general education, major study preparation, associate degree opportunities, baccalaureate degree opportunities, transfer pathways, and teaching and learning technology.

When I first started thinking about this article, I tried to determine what it should be titled. “What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been” immediately came to mind. Perhaps “The Long and Winding Road” or “The Never-Ending Story” would make sense as well, but nothing really stuck. It is difficult for me to believe that this is the last regular Rostrum article I will author as a member of the Executive Committee. For the last twelve years, I have served as a member of the board, going from North representative to Area B representative, and then secretary, vice president, and now president.

The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges’ mission statement, as published on the organization’s website, states that 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 equity, student learning, and student success. The ASCCC acts to

Legislation impacting curriculum, teaching, and learning has become increasingly more common over the last decade. Legislators, elected by the people, are responding to calls for improvements to the California educational system. In response, legislators do what they were elected to do: write laws. Legislators propose bills, many of which are sponsored by special interest groups or advocacy agencies with resources to lobby for bill passage through public events, reports, and media coverage. However, these same legislators also need to be well-informed with all of the facts.

The April 2021 Rostrum article “Integrating Expectations for Cultural Competence into Faculty Evaluations” (Aschenbach, 2021) highlighted reasons that elements of diversity, equity, and inclusion are encouraged in personnel evaluations, including faculty tenure review.

The passage of AB 1725 (Vasconcellos) in 1988 was a significant milestone in the evolution of the California Community Colleges system. Among the many provisions of the bill that were enshrined in Education Code, AB 1725 defined the specific rights of academic administrators to become first-year probationary faculty under certain conditions or to return to a previously held tenured faculty position after satisfactory service. The parameters and conditions for this process are specified in California Education Code §§ 87454 and 87458.

Note: 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.

The California Community Colleges Curriculum Committee, frequently referred to as 5C, plays an essential role in dialoguing about and supporting curricular change in the California Community Colleges system.
WHAT IS 5C?