Whereas, There has been discussion suggesting that all high school seniors across the state should be permitted or encouraged to take all coursework required for their entire senior year at a community college so that their senior year of high school would also be their freshman year at college, a practice that has occurred in some states;
Whereas, It is the strong belief of the faculty of the El Camino College Compton Community Educational Center that AB 318 (2006) has provided a viable mechanism by which the Center could be established under the aegis of El Camino College;
Whereas, A budget analysis report dated January 29, 2009, from the California Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) proposed that the "Legislature reduce the funding for credit bearing P.E. courses . to the regular non-credit rate" and further argued that Physical Education (P.E.) activity courses should not receive the same level of funding as other college courses because these courses are "not transferable" and are "primarily for students' personal enjoyment";
Whereas, Peer review is a uniquely American higher education process, relied upon by all American college and university faculty to assure educational quality, integrity, and institutional effectiveness;
Whereas, AB 1725 established in law the role of academic senates in peer review, accreditation, program review processes, and planning and budgeting processes;
Whereas, The current accreditation process is founded on peer review, a process that largely relies on accreditation visiting teams mostly composed of California community college faculty and administrators; and
Whereas, Both written and oral testimony given through the consultation process used for the review of minimum qualifications for faculty in the California community colleges, known as the "Disciplines List," indicated much greater opposition than support for revising the Mathematics Discipline:
Master's in mathematics, applied mathematics or statistics OR Bachelor's in mathematics or applied mathematics AND Master's in statistics, physics, or mathematics education OR The equivalent; and
Whereas, Under the auspices of the Basic Skills Initiative (BSI), an extensive literature review was conducted and resulted in a document entitled Basic Skills As A Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges, which identified 26 effective practices for basic skills in community colleges;
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges led the BSI for two years (calendar years 2007 and 2008) and continues to lead basic skills efforts and disseminate the literature review widely and showcase effective practices; and
Whereas, In its adoption of the Report of the Consultation Council Task Force on Assessment in Fall 2007, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges supported the establishment of a statewide system for the sharing of assessment testing data;
Whereas, Given the continuing erosion of matriculation funding, colleges would benefit from a reduced cost in administration of assessment tests for the purpose of placement, savings which could be used to fund other vitally important components of matriculation; and
Whereas, Working with the Chancellor's Office Management Information Systems (MIS) codes for Accountability Reporting for Community Colleges (ARCC) Report has revealed inaccuracies due to lack of curricular input from faculty on basic skills course progression;
Whereas, Some colleges have miscoded basic skills courses as degree applicable, a practice which does not comply with Title 5 Regulations; and
Whereas, Over 140 English, mathematics, English as a Second Language, and reading faculty from across the state created rubrics to describe the skills required in courses below transfer level;
Whereas, These rubrics have been vetted by over 200 faculty in those disciplines and by discipline professional organizations; and
Whereas, The Basic Skills Initiative was initiated and developed by leaders of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges in collaboration with chief instructional officers (CIOs) and chief student services officers (CSSOs) throughout the state, who recognized and promoted the role of faculty in ensuring the success of students;