Resolutions Handbook Publication
Foreword
Resolution 16.01 in Fall 2019 called for publishing resources for learning assistance with a focus on the role of tutoring and learning center faculty.
Whereas, The field of learning assistance has evolved since the last Academic Senate resolutions in 2008 (10.01 F08) and 2011 (10.12 S11) that addressed minimum qualifications and a 2011 article about separating learning assistance and tutoring;
A focus on faculty professional learning, given the challenges that California community colleges and students face, must remain a high priority and continue to evolve. The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) has long been an advocate for the development of robust professional development policies as part of senate purview under Title 5 §53200, colloquially referred to as the 10+1.
Whereas, After the second full year of AB 705 implementation for math and English, local outcomes reveal that while more first-time students are attempting and completing transfer-level math and English courses, growing and alarming equity gaps persist, particularly for students of color [1];
Whereas, Many colleges no longer offer English courses below transfer level or math courses more than one level below transfer which limits the options of students seeking additional preparation in transfer-level math and English courses; and
Whereas, Faculty have both the freedom to select the course materials they deem most appropriate and the responsibility to consider the cost burden as they do so (California Code of Regulations Title 5 §59404);
Whereas, Education Code §87360 Hiring Criteria, Subdivision (a), states that applicants for faculty and administrator positions must demonstrate, as a criterion for hiring beyond the state minimum qualifications, “a sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, and ethnic backgrounds of community college students”, that is included in all job announcements and assessed during the applicant screening process, per the requirements of Title 5.
Whereas, Faculty have both the academic freedom to select the course materials they deem most appropriate (Resolution 19.01 F04) and the responsibility to consider the cost burden as they do so (Title 5, § 59404);
Whereas, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) has long expressed concerns that the cost of textbooks and other course materials represent a financial burden for California Community College students (“Textbook Issues: Economic Pressures and Academic Values.” 2005) and has more recently also supported efforts “to reduce the cost of course materials and supplies for students in course sections for which open educational resources may not be available (Fall 2017, Resolution 12.01), and
Whereas, English language learners (ELLs) represent an important demographic served across the three segments of higher education in California;
Whereas, The complexities in addressing the needs of ELLs in California public higher education remain unchanged in the last fifteen years, and recent statewide legislation along with national and international developments have rendered the landscape even more precarious for ESL instruction and support services;
Whereas, California Code of Regulations Title 5 §53206 establishes the Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges as the representative of community college academic senates or faculty councils before the Board of Governors and Chancellor's Office on academic and professional matters (Title 5, §53200);