The Genie in the Bottle: Disaggregation of Student Learning Outcomes Data by Randy Beach
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SEPTEMBER 2015 THE ACADEMIC SENatE FOR CaLIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES QUARTERLY NEWSLEttER The Genie in the Bottle: DIsaGGREGatION OF STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES Data by Randy Beach also in this issue Local Control Vs. LGBT Campus AREA OF EMPHASIS TRANSFER MODEL CURRICULA | 10 System-Level Climate Surveyp6 DEFINING THE CCC Decisions p1 BaCCALAUREatE DEGREE | 13 Big Wheels (of ACCESSIBILITY IN ONLINE Faculty Primacy in Accreditation) EDUCatION | 17 Online Education Keep on Turningp9 FaCULTY RECOGNITION: | 22 p4 Striking The Right Balance: Local Control Vs. System-Level Decisions by David Morse, President hen I first began attending Aca- of curriculum, finances, or other areas. Each demic Senate plenary sessions, of our institutions is different and serves a former ASCCC Executive Commit- different community, and each institution must tee Member Richard Mahon semi- therefore be allowed to determine for itself how jokingly labeled me the champion best to serve the needs of its community and its W of local control. Richard’s reason students. Yet I have also come to understand for assigning me this title was that I loudly and that in some cases legitimate reasons for system- emphatically protested whenever anyone raised level mandates or decisions do exist and that the possibility of set- in some instances all ting system-level stan- of our colleges may be dards or regulations I continue to believe best served by a unified that would restrict that local control over position, policy, or colleges’ ability to set standard. their own standards or decision making should make their own deci- be the default position The need to balance sions. I fully believed local control with in the right of colleges and that only for specific systemwide or to manage their own and compelling reasons statewide concerns resources and practic- is not new. Each es, and I continued to should the system or the time Title 5 is added champion local control state impose decisions on to or amended, the over all other consider- Chancellor’s Office, the ations for a number of colleges’ management of Academic Senate, and years. curriculum, finances, or other constituencies work to craft language Time has passed, other areas. that is specific enough and I have learned a to provide meaningful great deal about how guidance and structure the community college system and individual while still allowing the greatest degree of local colleges really work. I continue to believe that flexibility that is reasonable in the specific local control over decision making should be the circumstance. Each time a new program or default position and that only for specific and initiative is launched, the ASCCC consults with compelling reasons should the system or the system partners to determine the best ways to state impose decisions on colleges’ management address statewide needs and concerns without 1 imposing on or mandating local decisions or use able to determine for themselves the processes of resources. In numerous cases in the past, the and requirements through which minimum system has managed to strike an appropriate qualifications will be met. In these ways the balance between these opposing perspectives, system is able to maintain minimum standards and in the coming months the system will be for faculty qualifications at the state level while forced to do so again in a number of cases. still leaving the final decisions regarding local standards and ways in which applicants can meet them to processes established at the local level. A Successful BAlAnce from ThE Past: Faculty MInimuM QuAlIficationS One very successful instance of the system’s ThE BaccalAureate Degree PIlot ability to balance state level concerns with local A recent instance in which issues of local control control is the process for establishing faculty and statewide standards have arisen regards the minimum qualifications. Education Code §87356 community college baccalaureate degree pilot. mandates that the Board of Governors will fifteen colleges were chosen to participate in this establish minimum qualifications for faculty, pilot, each having developed its own vision and administrators, and others, and §87357 states plan for implementing its degree. The Academic that the Board shall rely primarily on the Senate has been tasked by the Chancellor’s recommendation of the statewide Academic Office to lead discussions of academic standards Senate in establishing these qualifications for and parameters for these new degrees and has faculty. Education Code §87359 also allows for formed a representative task force to work the hiring of faculty with the pilot colleges who do not meet In order to implement and other stakeholders applicable minimum to develop requirements qualifications through these standards, the for general education a local equivalency Academic Senate has and faculty minimum process. Through these qualifications. sections Education Code established the disciplines mandates that all faculty list process, which The colleges involved employed by California in the pilot are serving community colleges must allows colleges to bring different communities meet a specified state- forward local suggestions and creating degrees level minimum standard for different disciplines, in order to ensure for additions to or and therefore no single quality instruction for all revision of the minimum structure or plan are students in the system. likely to serve all needs. qualifications for faculty furthermore, the In order to implement disciplines. concept of a pilot is to these standards, the allow experimentation Academic Senate has and exploration, not to established the disciplines list process, which restrict options. for these reasons, the pilot allows colleges to bring forward local suggestions colleges rightly expect to be able to develop their for additions to or revision of the minimum degrees in ways that they feel best suit the needs qualifications for faculty disciplines. In addition, of their students and their programs, not to be the disciplines list is always understood to forced to conform to one specific template. contain minimum qualifications, meaning that any community college district can set a higher On the other hand, the purpose of the pilot is to standard if it finds more rigid qualifications to prepare the way for other colleges to develop be appropriate. finally, through the equivalency and offer bachelor’s degrees in the future. process allowed in §87359 local districts are Already rumblings exist regarding the expansion 2 of the program. for this reason, the details of standards regarding curriculum and programs is the pilot implementation will impact more than also essential, thus requiring clear and efficient just the pilot colleges, and every college in the processes in the Chancellor’s Office. system has a stake in how the degrees develop and are perceived. Although the degrees will however, faculty representatives and other task be granted by individual colleges, they will be force members frequently found themselves representative of the community college system reminding the group that curriculum is and as a whole, and thus all of our institutions have should be approved locally and that for a college an interest in ensuring the quality, integrity, to plan and manage the overall resources of and viability of the degrees. The parameters and the institution and its instructional program, standards for the degrees are therefore more it cannot have select programs directed or than just a local issue and some level of statewide developed by regional consortia or other external consistency and oversight is needed. interests. The same issues arose on topics such as faculty qualifications: state level standards have Balancing these competing but legitimate been established, but local districts need to be perspectives is at times a difficult task. The able to work within those standards to employ key will be to set parameters that ensure the quality faculty that will best benefit students. integrity and quality of the degrees while leaving the pilot colleges as much freedom as possible On the whole, the members of the Workforce to experiment within those parameters. This Task force did an exceptional job of balancing challenge is what the Chancellor’s Office and local concerns with state and regional interests. the ASCCC Bachelor’s Degree Task force must however, the need to reconcile these perspectives address. will not disappear when the Board of Governors approves the final recommendations. The same issues will likely arise during efforts to implement Task Force On Workforce, Job the recommendations, and thus the same focus Creation, AnD A StronG Economy on appropriate balance will be necessary. The Board of Governors’ Task force on Workforce, local control has been and remains an important Job Creation, and a Strong Economy, also known value of the ASCCC. The Academic Senate has as the Workforce Task force, is another recent fought for and will continue to fight for colleges’ example of the tension between local control and districts’ right to make their own decisions and statewide interests. Throughout the task and manage their own resources as most fully force meetings between January and July, benefits their students and communities. recommendations were proposed that would But in some instances state-level standards have granted greater oversight and control at and requirements are necessary to ensure either the state or regional level. These proposals consistency and quality that will reflect positively involved topics from funding to curriculum to on the system as a whole. What happens at one faculty qualifications and beyond. college can and often does impact other, both Once again, all parties in these discussions have in perception and in actuality. The challenge is legitimate positions. California is a very large always to maintain reasonable overall standards state, and its various regions do have differing and policies that benefit the system and the state economies and different needs. The concept of while still allowing colleges the greatest possible a regional approach to many issues is a logical flexibility.