2006

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges supports the principle of the separation of church and state;

Whereas, The California community colleges serve a diverse population, including people with a wide range of religious beliefs and practices;

Whereas, Given that our mission is to provide open access to education, it is not within the scope of the California community college mission to represent students, faculty, staff, or the wider community in religious matters; and

Whereas, On September 11, 2006, the California Community Colleges' Board of Governors approved the recommendation of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to raise the Title 5 minimum graduation requirements in English and mathematics;

Whereas, In its analysis of this recommendation the System Office stated that the fiscal impact of implementing these changes will be "minimal"; and

Whereas, Information technology gives faculty and staff the ability to access detailed data at the program and course level for use in improving Information technology's capacity is reaching the point where data can be accessed in real time and "drilled" down to the program and even the course levels such that this data can be utilized to make decisions that could impact retention and success rates across both despite equity and diversity barriers;

Whereas, Information technology's capacity is reaching the point where data can be accessed in real time and "drilled" down to the program and even the course levels such that this data can be utilized to make decisions that could impact retention and success rates across both equity and diversity barriers;

Whereas, Most of today's equity efforts are aimed at either systemic or collegiate adaptations simply because there is little capacity to do otherwise; and

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges is an inclusive organization that encourages the active participation of community college faculty across the state; and

Whereas, Faculty who volunteer to serve on committees of the Academic Senate by submitting volunteer forms are not routinely notified of the status of their committee appointment;

Whereas, There are many statewide community college issues that impact vocational programs, faculty and students;

Whereas, Vocational faculty have difficulty participating in governance locally and statewide;

Whereas, Vocational faculty participate in the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Vocational Leadership Institute and this would provide a resource list of names to start creating an email listserv; and

Whereas, The requirements for the use of Carl D. Perkins Vocational Technical Education Act (VTEA) funding, Federal Bill S250, have recently been substantially revised and will require major changes in the way vocational programs can receive and spend VTEA dollars;

Whereas, The VTEA changes as well as the California measure AB1802 were enacted so recently that local college personnel may not even be aware of the changes and how they will affect their programs; and

Whereas, Because today's jobs have become more complex and the need for workers to have higher levels of knowledge, skills and thinking abilities has increased; and

Whereas, Some people argue that students in some occupational certificate and degree programs do not need the same levels of knowledge and skills of students in other certificate and degree programs;

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has long supported the provision of a core of full-time faculty as vital to the educational success of our programs and students;

Whereas, Despite Title 5 Regulations specifying a full-time faculty obligation number, the goal of 75% full-time credit instruction is far from being realized; and

Whereas, Some question the origins and validity of the long-standing 75% goal of both the Legislature and the Board of Governors;

Whereas, The granting of equivalencies is directly related to the hiring of faculty and the breadth and depth of academic preparation;

Whereas, The granting of equivalencies and faculty hiring are so important that local boards and local senates must reach joint agreement on policies, procedures, and the hiring of individual faculty; and

Whereas, A current document is needed that sets out the principal issues and provides guidance to local senates for handling equivalencies;