To Be Presented at the 3/17 Senate Meeting, Downtown

Draft Academic Senate Resolution on the
Draft Resolution regarding “Recommendations on the Achievement Gap and Equity”

Whereas, the faculty, administration, and classified staff throughout the City College of San Francisco have worked diligently, creatively, and continuously to support the success of all our students over a period of decades; and

Whereas, Assembly Bill 1725 and state education code establish that community college faculty have primacy in curricular matters; and,

Whereas, faculty alone have the content expertise and practical experience to write curriculum; and,

Whereas, City College of San Francisco (CCSF) has a well-established process for developing and approving curriculum that includes faculty writing curricular proposals individually and in groups, frequently includes a department curriculum committee, and always includes the college-wide Curriculum Committee; and,

Whereas, CCSF also has well-established shared governance processes for non-curricular matters; and,

Whereas, the Student Achievement Gap and Social Equity Report, issued by the Chancellor’s office in October 2009, establishes that there are achievement gaps pre-collegiate sequence completion, degree completion, and transfer for many groups of students at CCSF; and

Whereas, some portions of the draft resolution regarding “Recommendations on the Achievement Gap and Equity,” released to the public at the February 25, 2010 meeting of the CCSF Board of Trustees, may impact curriculum; and,

Whereas, most portions of the draft resolution have nothing to do with curricular matters and can be implemented after appropriate and timely shared governance review or implemented administratively;

Therefore be it Resolved, that the Academic Senate recommends that the Board of Trustees remove from the draft resolution the sentences:
“The District shall offer a sequence for pre-collegiate English in a length no longer than two semesters”;
“The District shall offer a sequence for pre-collegiate Math in a length no longer than two semesters”; and,
“The District shall institute a pass-no pass grading system for all pre-collegiate English and Math courses. Pass-no pass shall be the default grading system. Students shall have the option of receiving a letter grade if specifically requested. This grading system shall be clearly stated on all registration materials for these classes”; and,

Be it further Resolved, that the Academic Senate recommends that the Board of Trustees work with the Chancellor, the English and Mathematics Departments, and the college Curriculum Committee to develop and implement in a timely manner appropriate curricular and other changes to eliminate the achievement gaps at in those departments; and,

Be it further Resolved, that the Academic Senate supports and encourages the timely shared governance consideration of the non-curricular portions of the draft resolution that should receive such review; and,

Be it further Resolved, that the Academic Senate supports and encourages the Board to work with Chancellor to implement in a timely manner all portions of the draft resolution that can be implemented administratively; and,

Be it finally Resolved, that the Academic Senate supports and encourages the continued examination of achievement gaps at CCSF, in all parts of the college, as well as timely action to eliminate all such achievement gaps.