Executive Governance Council Action Notes - March 25, 2009

Members Present:

  1. Anthony E. Beebe, Ed.D., President, Continuing Education
  2. Brian E. Ellison, Ed.D., Vice President, Instruction and Student Services
  3. Bob Parker, Vice President, Administrative Services
  4. Esther Matthew, President, Academic Senate
  5. Gretchen Bitterlin, Chair of Program Chairs, Academic Senate
  6. Rita Avila, President, Classified Senate
  7. Jose Hueso, Past President, Classified Senate

Members Absent:

  1. Pat Mosteller, Past President, Academic Senate
  2. Holly Leahy, Vice President, Classified Senate

Action Notes: Action Notes from February 11, 2009 were approved. M/S/P Matthew/Ellison.

Reports and Recommendations:

President’s Report: Anthony Beebe reported on the following:

Academic Freedom & Freedom of Expression

The District Governance Council is developing an Academic Freedom & Freedom of Expression statement/policy. Each College and Continuing Education needs to establish a related policy. This might be a wholly separate statement or it could be the adoption of the District’s expression. It was suggested the District’s policy be presented to Continuing Education’s Academic Senate, Classified Senate, and Administrative Governance Council for recommendation. Once the statement has been to these groups, final recommendations will be forwarded to EGC. Once a statement/policy has been approved by EGC, it will be incorporated into the Continuing Education Catalog and Accreditation Self-Study. The most recent draft of the District’s Policy is as follows:

Academic Freedom & Freedom of Expression

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

The San Diego Community College District is committed to an academic environment that embraces the principles of academic freedom and freedom of expression. This commitment is based upon the value that free expression is essential to excellence in teaching, learning, critical inquiry and service to the community.

Academic freedom affords the faculty the right to speak freely; write, without unreasonable restrictions or prejudices; and evaluate and be evaluated fairly and objectively, based upon academic merit.

In accordance with the doctrine of academic freedom, faculty should have the following rights:

  • Collective primacy in designing and approving curriculum, as well as in determining appropriate instructional methods, in accordance with professional standards;
  • Individual faculty selection of instructional materials, course content, and student evaluation methods, in concert with colleagues, so as to assure coherence in instruction and the maintenance of academic standards;
  • Individual faculty freedom to discuss subject matter of the course, as appropriate to the standards of the discipline and academic community, even when that material is controversial;
  • Individual faculty authority to evaluate enrolled students solely on the basis of the academic merit of the students’ performance in the section;
  • Individual faculty choice of research topics and methods of investigation—subject only to professional and peer-determined standards—as well as unconditional freedom to publish results, the dissemination of which is essential to the public good;
  • Collective faculty participation in shared governance, curriculum review, and accreditation processes;
  • Individual faculty liberty to address issues of public concern, outside of the classroom, regarding which the scholar has academic professional expertise.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Freedom of expression affords the faculty, staff and students the right to speak and write freely in accordance with the constitutional protections of free speech.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

In accordance with the principles of academic freedom and freedom of expression, faculty, staff and students shall have the following rights and responsibilities:

  • The District shall protect the rights of faculty to express their views in the classroom that pertain to class content. While it is understood that controversy is often at the core of inquiry, such controversy should be addressed in a mutually respectful manner.
  • The District shall protect the rights of faculty to speak freely on matters of public concern when working with students.
  • Faculty, staff and students are free to explore a wide range of views and judge the merits of competing ideas.
  • As outlined in District policies and procedures, faculty, staff and students have responsibilities which are based upon principles of fairness, integrity, confidentiality, safety, professionalism, and respect for others.
  • Members of the academic community have the right to participate in governance and to join or form organizations without fear of retaliation.

Annual Campus Forums

The topics presented included:

Budget:

President Beebe reported that even though the state budget was recently signed as a “balanced budget,” it is contingent upon several ballot measures passing in the May 19th Statewide Special Election. Current polls indicate that some of the more critical of these measures (e.g., securitization of Lottery funds) do not favor passing. If this happens, it will result in a continued state budget shortfall, precipitating additional budget cuts to the District and Continuing Education. A handout describing the ballot initiatives was distributed. Vice President Parker also gave a recap of Continuing Education’s budget plan to reduce Continuing Education’s Budget for the 2009/2010 fiscal year by $609,120. This is 12.69% of the District’s budget reduction goal.

4/10 Work Schedule:

President Beebe reported on the District’s plan to initiate a 4/10 work schedule, beginning this summer for Continuing Education. The District Office, Colleges, and Continuing Education campus offices will be closed on Fridays and Saturdays. All Classified Staff with a few exceptions will work a Monday through Thursday schedule. Compressed work weeks will maximize the effectiveness of staffing resources and minimize the impact on students and the public. Continuing Education’s Friday closures will not include the offices of the President, Vice Presidents, and Deans. All classes will be operating on Fridays in a fashion similar to the way Saturday classes have operated for years. Saturdays will continue operate as usual. The following questions/ concerns related to the lack of classified support on Fridays were raised at each of the campuses and are being addressed by the Deans:

Proposed Name Change:

Dr. Beebe presented a brief summary of the importance and reasoning for an institutional name review at this particular time. A “Naming Review Taskforce” was created which included representatives from administration, faculty, and classified. After reviewing more than 50 names submitted by CE personnel, the Taskforce submitted a recommendation that “San Diego Continuing Education” remain the name of our institution. There will be more emphasis on marketing the image of the institution and using the full name instead of the abbreviated “Continuing Ed.” With the implementation of a central telephone number (388-1234), it was also suggested that the campuses be answered in a similar manner, identifying the institution first (San Diego Continuing Education) and then the location (e.g., Mid-City Campus).

Accreditation:

President Beebe reported that Continuing Education’s accreditation date was changed to align with the date of the colleges’ accreditation process. Preparations are now underway to begin the process. President Beebe reported that some of the comments Continuing Education received on the last Self-Study related to the lack of comprehensive inclusion of activities and accomplishments of the institution. The previous document should be reviewed and updated. The self-study goal for Continuing Education is to create a legacy document capturing a comprehensive profile of Continuing Education, producing a first rate benchmark document. To achieve this goal, everyone needs to be involved, so we do not leave important areas out. The creation of a “Good News” repository was suggested so that when something good occurs it can be captured. President Beebe will look into the development of a webpage to gather such information. Vice President Ellison reported that Dean Ray Ramirez, Academic Senate President Esther Matthew, and he attended an accreditation workshop the previous Friday and obtained useful information. He is also gathering information on other institutions’ self-studies for comparison. Dr. Ellison gave a brief update on Accreditation process. Continuing Education is now on the same schedule as the colleges and requested robust participation of faculty in the process. Vice President Ellison also commended the work CE personnel conducted on the previous Self-Study.

Enrollment:

Finally, President Beebe reported that Continuing Education is over on enrollment and reminded the EGC that our charge from the District was to remain flat. We are approximately up 4.5% from this time last year. We are looking at the possibility of not doubling CRNs over the summer again this year. The Deans will be looking at this issue more closely. Low enrolled classes cannot continue to run. Counselors and instructors also need to strategize on how we can accomplish our charge.

Administrative Senate Report:

No Report.

Academic Senate Report:

Esther Matthew reported the Academic Senate meeting was held on March 17th at the North City Campus where two resolutions were passed. One in support of college faculty that urged the District not to mail the 2009 summer schedule instead, find alternative means of marketing the information; the other, to reinstate the Continuing Education Communications/Marketing Committee. After a brief discussion, it was decided that this committee would fall under the Administrative Governance Council and be reinstated under the new Public Information Officer.

Esther will attend the ASCCC Area D Meeting on March 28th at Orange Coast College in preparation for the Spring Plenary scheduled to be held April 16-18 in San Francisco.

Gretchen Bitterlin announced that Price Charities would like to assist with paying for an electronic sign. Alma has the business card of the person at Price Charities to contact. Gretchen will follow-up with Vice President Parker.

Classified Senate Report:

No Report.

Adjourned