Whereas, A workgroup formed by the chief executive officers of California community colleges is currently working with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) to improve the relationship between ACCJC and the California Community College System by addressing issues with the processes and policies of the ACCJC;
Whereas, Article III, Section 2 of the ACCJC bylaws states that “At least five of the Commission members shall be elected as academic representatives who are faculty,” but the bylaws further state, “A Commissioner who held the status of faculty may be allowed to complete their [sic] term if they [sic] continue to meet the requirements of an academic representative,” which allows commissioners who were elected to represent faculty to continue to serve as faculty representatives even after they become administrators;
Whereas, Currently two of the five faculty representatives serving on the ACCJC hold administrative positions, and thus 40% of the intended faculty representation on the commission is not filled by faculty members; and
Whereas, Administrators, even those who recently held faculty positions, have many perspectives, priorities, and pressures that differ from those of faculty due to the obligations of their administrative roles, and thus administrators, no matter how capable and faculty-friendly they may be, are not appropriate representatives of the faculty voice;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the chief executive officers’ workgroup on accreditation and the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) to ensure that when faculty serving on ACCJC take administrative positions, they are replaced as expeditiously as possible with active faculty members.
MSC