NONCREDIT INSTRUCTION: MOVING TOWARD EQUITY FOR STUDENTS & FACULTY

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1 NONCREDIT INSTRUCTION: MOVING TOWARD EQUITY FOR STUDENTS & FACULTY FACCC Advocacy & Policy Conference March 1, 2015 Debbie Klein Professor of Anthropology, Gavilan College ASCCC At-large Representative & Noncredit Committee Chair FACCC Policy Committee Gavilan Academic Senate March 3, 2015

2 Poverty Rates in the US and California in 2012

3 120.00% % 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00% Poverty rate No Diploma rate Unemployment rate California Poverty Rates by Region in 2012

4 WHAT IS NONCREDIT INSTRUCTION? CA EDUCATION CODE 84757(A) 1. Parenting 2. Basic Skills (Reading, Math, English) 3. English as a second language 4. Courses for immigrants 5. Education for persons with substantial disabilities 6. Short-term vocational programs with high employment potential (includes apprenticeship) 7. Education for older adults 8. Home economics (Family and Consumer Sciences) 9. Health and safety

5 HOW IS NONCREDIT DIFFERENT FROM CREDIT?! No course repeatability limits! No fees! No prerequisites! Traditionally, open-entry and open-exit! Flexible class attendance requirements! No penalty when dropping or withdrawing! Flexibility and time to adjust and transition to demands of college credit work! Students can quickly review, refresh and accelerate as they demonstrate competency.

6 WHO CURRENTLY OFFERS NONCREDIT? " Bulk of noncredit is offered by five districts: " San Diego " San Francisco " North Orange " Rancho Santiago " Mt. San Antonio " Approximately 85% of all noncredit courses are ESL courses.

7 STRUCTURE & FUNDING GAME CHANGERS IN # AB 86: Education Omnibus Trailer Bill ( ) # Enhanced Noncredit Rate Change: Governor s Budget proposes $49 million Prop 98 General Fund for CDCP (Career Development and College Preparation) rate to equal credit rate. # CDCP Categories ESL Math and English basic skills Short-term CTE courses with high employment potential High school diploma or high school equivalency certificates Workforce preparation courses Programs for apprentices

8 WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM & WHAT ARE THE ISSUES? # CA stopped funding k-12 adult education during Great Recession & looked to CCCs to fill in the gap. # CCC noncredit rate is only $ 2745/FTES. In 2006, CDCP funding increased and is now $3232/FTES. Credit rate is $4565/FTES. # Unprecedented opportunity to offer more noncredit due to the CDCP funding equalization & statewide focus on adult/continuing education (AB 86). # However, majority of CCCs don t have big noncredit programs. So colleges are faced with the problem of figuring out how to best meet their students needs by offering noncredit courses.

9 INEQUITIES: STUDENT ACCESS & SUCCESS! Noncredit may be the better modality for students trying to meet particular educational goals.! Difficult to access information about new academic opportunities and career pathways! Difficult to move freely between noncredit and credit classes if there are physical distances between facilities and campuses! Difficult to access transportation assistance, childcare opportunities, book vouchers, etc.! Difficult to access counseling and matriculation services

10 INEQUITIES: FACULTY! Noncredit faculty do not have the same salary and load as credit faculty.! Noncredit faculty do not have the same seniority and rehire rights as credit faculty.! 95% of noncredit faculty are part-time, so they are underrepresented in leadership and shared governance realms.! Need to ensure effective and regular opportunities for communication and collaboration between noncredit and credit faculty! In the absence of full-time noncredit faculty, administrators make academic and curricular decisions.

11 WHO ELSE AGREES THAT THESE ARE THESE INEQUITIES?! The LAO (2012) and CA legislation! Want the CCCs to move the majority of ESL & basic skills courses to noncredit to help students better succeed! Want students to get in and out as quickly and efficiently as possible! ASCCC, CTA, CFT, CCCI, FACCC! Agree that something needs to be done to support noncredit students & faculty

12 LAO RECOMMENDATIONS (2012) $ Provide a Clear and Consistent Distinction at CCCs Between Adult Education and Collegiate Instruction $ Restrict credit instruction in English and ESL to transfer level coursework, and credit instruction in math to one level below transfer. Require courses below these levels to be offered on a noncredit basis. $ ASCCC does not have a recommendation on this. It s up to local senates to determine their college s noncredit/credit cut-off point.

13 WHY DO WE NEED ACTION? $ The majority of CCCs need to make college-wide planning decisions about noncredit. $ Due to time constraints, administrations are hiring new administrators and making decisions that may be adversely affecting existing programs and faculty load. $ We want to make thoughtful planning decisions with our students needs at the center. $ We also need to consider faculty equity issues.

14 WHO SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES? % State legislation: with direction from FACCC, ASCCC, and the unions % Local colleges: conversations in local senates, curriculum committees, budget and strategic planning committees, etc. % ASCCC: upcoming Noncredit Curriculum Regionals on March 20 at Foothill

15 IF THERE WERE NO ACTION AT ALL, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN? " The big 5 noncredit programs would get most of the new CDCP funding, and the rest may get some. " College administrations may make decisions that adversely affect existing programs and faculty load. " Tensions may escalate on local campuses around the noncredit issue. " Our students may not have access to noncredit courses, which may be the best kinds of courses to help them meet their goals.

16 WHAT S THE TRACK RECORD OF ADDRESSING NONCREDIT & WHAT S HAPPENING NOW? & Since 2012, ASCCC Plenaries, Curriculum Institute, and Curriculum Regionals. & ASCCC Resolution adopted in Fall 2014: change Ed. Code to include noncredit faculty in the FON. & ASCCC Noncredit Committee (no longer just a task force) & New FACCC-sponsored bill: includes a recommendation that the Chancellor s Office work with the ASCCC to address noncredit. & Hopefully, local senates & other campus groups are having conversations like this one!

17 MOVING TOWARD EQUITY: POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS " Change Ed. Code to include noncredit faculty in the FON. " Noncredit faculty load adjustment " Use community needs assessments to show where there is a need for noncredit. " Use progress indicator data to show that increasing the funding for noncredit programs and faculty is a student success issue. " Offer a statewide response to support local changes to noncredit (beyond CDCP funding equalization).

18 WHAT CAN WE DO? $ Help Gav develop a plan to consider why we might want to take this opportunity to offer more noncredit. $ Make sure conversations include faculty & administrators from noncredit, credit basic skills, and CTE, and that they happen at: senate, curriculum, budget, strategic planning meetings, etc. $ Send team to the ASCCC Noncredit Regionals on March 20. $ Educate our colleagues about noncredit. $ Bring our union and senate together to address salary and load issues during the planning process. $ Talk with our legislators (Assembly member Alejo and Senator Monning) about the new FACCC-sponsored bill.

19 " We re creating a new paradigm under the constraints of systems that were not designed to work with each other. ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM " Noncredit faculty are not representing noncredit issues. " Credit faculty are worried about losing their jobs or being forced to teach noncredit courses. " AB 86 consortia are worried that the CCC system will usurp adult education & thus aren t too interested in discussing noncredit. " Basic Skills programs have already gone through funding ups and downs & are worried about the sustainability of any substantive changes.

20 RESOURCES AB 86 website. www. ab86.cccco.edu Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. (2006). The Role of Noncredit in the California Community Colleges. Sacramento, CA. Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, Noncredit Ad Hoc Committee. (2009). Noncredit Instruction: Opportunity and Challenge. Sacramento, CA. Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. Noncredit Committee webpage. www. asccc.org/directory/noncredit-committee. Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, Noncredit Task Force. (2014). AB 86: A Brief History and Current State of Affairs from the Noncredit Task Force. Rostrum (March 2014). Sacramento, CA. California Community Colleges Chancellor s Office. (2006). Noncredit At a Glance. Sacramento, CA. Legislative Analyst s Office. (2012). Restructuring California s Adult Education System. Sacramento, CA. Shaw, Leigh Anne and Candace Lynch-Thompson. (2014). Trojan Horse or Tremendous Godsend? Retooling Adult Education in a New Era. Rostrum (October 2014). Sacramento, CA.