Board of Governors Meeting Agenda for November 2014

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1 Board of Governors Meeting Agenda for November 2014 De Anza College, Cupertino Consent Calendar The board approved a set of contracts and grants including: the RFA for the fiscal agents for the Institutional Effectiveness and Technical Assistance Program and to disburse the $50 million from the Career Technical Education Enhancement Fund to the seven Regional Consortia. Action Calendar Item 2.1 Board of Governors Task Force on Workforce, Job Creation and a Strong Economy The board officially commissioned creation of this task force; Van Ton- Quinlivan will staff it with assistance from Pam Walker. Each of the four- year segments is involved in similar activities. The task force will be charged to consider strategies and recommend policies and practices to: a) Prepare students for high- value jobs that currently exist in the State. b) Position California s regions to attract high- value jobs in key industry sectors from other states and around the globe. c) Create more jobs through workforce training that enables small business development. d) Finance these initiatives by braiding state and federal resources. The three- phase process will be similar to the Student Success Task Force process: Phase 1 Regional conversations will be held to surface ideas and recommendations. Phase 2 Commonalities will be developed and town halls held with major stakeholders. Phase 3 Recommendations will go to the Consultation Council July and to the Sept BOG meeting. The task force will include representatives of the faculty, classified staff, students, and trustees (each selected by their respective group) plus external representatives including members of the public, employers and others involved in workforce development. The goal will be to increase both the ability of the individual and regions to increase skills and match employer needs to build a strong economy. Public speakers noted that CTE programs are suffering from grant fatigue and seek certainty in programs rather than grant funds. Some concern was also expressed about the possibility that there may be predetermined outcomes which could prejudice the product; these speakers urged a very open process to consider all recommendations. No legislator is planned to serve on the task force to avoid pre- judging the conclusions based on the person chosen. (The SSTF was different because it was created by a legislator who was given a seat in the group.) The Chancellor also committed to keeping the Legislature and the Governor informed throughout the process.

2 Former Governors Wilson, Davis and Deukmejian are also delving into workforce issues, while the UC system representatives state that they are all about educating the workforce. The chancellor intends to use braiding and cooperation to make sure that this workgroup fully cooperates with all the other initiatives in the state. The estimated kick- off date is January 22, A website will be developed as well as a publicity campaign and other outreach. Among the items sought by board members are the following items/information: 1) Inclusion of veterans on the task force. 2) A date by which the membership would be determined. 3) A final report to the board to include differences of opinion rather than a composite summary. 4) A calendar of task force meeting dates. 5) A business representative from each region. 6) Information regarding the level of K- 12 involvement. In addition, members asked about the possibility of adding a BOG member to the task force; Chancellor Harris responded that he would do so if asked but believes that not having one might allow the board to be more unbiased in responding to the report. It appears that the board would prefer regular briefings on the progress of the task force at this point in time. Item State Legislative Program The Chancellor s Office has determined that they would bring only one (dual enrollment) of the four proposals considered by the legislative task force to the BOG for consideration. Staff is still considering whether they want to start with a version of AB 1451 (which died in Senate Appropriations last year) or with a different version. The BOG endorsed sponsorship. Member Bielanskii noted that the group should reference the recent report by Dr. Rogéair Purnell, Senior Researcher, RP Group on dual enrollment for at- risk students. This report, which was funded by the James Irvine Foundation, is available online at: On January 30, the Chancellor s Office will host its second annual collaboration on dual enrollment in Sacramento. Members asked about the opposition to AB Challenges included: the location of courses; open class requirements; minimum qualifications of faculty; credit high school or college or both; and possible displacement of teachers. Staff committed to work through these issues and talking to potential authors in the coming month.

3 Member Bielanski also asked for a status update about allowing local districts to approve stand- alone credit courses as a local option. AB 1943 (2011) sunsetted as of January Members want to know what happened and whether the system will seek reenactment of that measure. Item 2.3 Implementation of Fall 2015 Faculty Obligation Number (FON) Vice Chancellor Dan Troy reported that the budget is very robust with the end of the five- year freeze. The system received $600 million (a 10% increase) last year with healthy amounts for access, a minimum COLA, resources for deferred maintenance and equipment, and substantial increases for the SSSP program. He noted that districts can meet either the number of faculty or the prior year s percentage to be in consistent with the law. Troy also noted that there are no exemptions for not reaching a district s FON and recommended that the board trigger it for Fall The board triggered the FON for Fall 2015 and seek more complete information when it is available in late summer. The Chancellor s Office will continue to make colleges aware of the revenue situation on a monthly basis. Item 2.4 Request for Waiver of Property Use Requirements: Sale, Lease, Use, Gift and Exchange This item would allow Evergreen Valley Colleges to waive Education Code requirements which require sealed bid proposals with acceptance of the highest bid for the long- term lease of property. The district wants to enter into a long- term ground lease agreement for a site adjacent to its EVC campus and has notified other public agencies as required by law, but none are interested. Due to the complexity of a long- term ground lease transaction and the non- economic factors that the districts must take into account, it will be difficult to lease this excess land under the highest- bid requirements. The board approved the waiver. Item 2.5 Fiscal Independence Request Santa Barbara and Southwestern Community College Districts sought fiscal independence which would give them broad authority to issue warrants without review or approval of the local County Office of Education or the County Auditor. Fiscal independence can be granted by the BOG based on the recommendation from a community college district s applicable county office and results of an independent Certified Public Accountant survey of the district s accounting controls. Only nine of the 72 districts are fiscally independent. Upon review of the materials presented by the two districts, the Chancellor s Office staff found that both satisfactorily meet the control standards for fiscal independence; the board acted to grant the request for both districts. Item 2.6 Board of Governors Meeting Dates for 2016 The board approved the following meeting dates: January 19-20; March 21-22; May 16-17; July 18 19; September 19-20; November The January 2015 agenda will include recommendations for the annual offsite (campus) meeting.

4 Item 2.7 Election of Board Officers The board elected Gregory Baum as President and Cecilia Estolano as Vice- President, effective January First Reading Item 3.1 Nonresident Tuition Exemption Regulation Public Hearing There was no public comment regarding the proposed change in Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations which would determine when a student may be exempt from paying nonresident tuition to conform to a recent change in law. That change allowed the attainment of credits earned from a California high school equivalent to three or more years of full- time high school course work to substitute for three years of high school attendance as long as the student attended a combination of elementary and/or secondary schools in California for a total of three or more years. The intent of the change is to allow high school students who participate in accelerated learning programs and graduate early to be eligible for the nonresident tuition exemption. This item will be presented to the Board for adoption at its January 20-21, 2015 meeting. Item 3.2 Change to Board of Governors Accreditation Regulation Public Hearing This proposed amendment would delete the designation of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) as the accrediting agency for California Community Colleges and replace it with general language that the Board of Governors must approve a regional accreditor recognized and approved by the US Secretary of Education. There were a number of positive comments as well as a member seeking inclusion of a statement regarding review of the accrediting agency at a minimum every ten years regarding compliance with the following standards: transparency of deliberations; consistency of rulings; and level of sanctions compared with other regional accrediting agencies. This item will be presented to the Board for adoption at its January 20-21, 2015 meeting. Information and Reports Calendar Item 4.1 Welcome to Foothill- De Anza Community College District (FHDA) and Online Education Initiative Update Chancellor Linda Thor welcomed the board on behalf of the 62,000 students at FHDA. FHDA is the local district in charge of the online initiative in partnership with Butte s Technical Center; Pat James is the director. The intent is to centralize online courses for Access, Quality and Completion. While the system transitioned from tele- courses to online courses ten years ago, there has been little support, attention, or respect from other institutions. Excellent work has been done by community college faculty who have built their own courses over the years. There are currently 19,000 credit classes in our community college system. The system received $16.9 million to increase online offerings to help students complete their degrees sooner. The initiative began with a Launch Team. A distance education coordinator event was held this summer; colleges were recruited to pilot the course management proposal. The COCCC received 58 proposals; and created three pilot groups (student readiness, online

5 tutoring) with eight colleges in each group. They seek colleges with the most robust programs and policies in place. The Full Launch Group will be functioning by summer with all aspects of management operational. This will include an exchange to level the colleges so that students can take courses seamlessly across colleges. We need to determine registration (probably using CCApply with a common ID number) for financial aid and hopefully for common course management as well. All courses will be reviewed for quality (using 30 reviewers from 28 colleges.) Local staff will have common course standards; 70 C- ID courses are currently under consideration and will be the first courses available. Training is needed to be effective online teachers. A repository of learning materials is planned for a clearinghouse; and courses are expected to expand using the common course management system (CCMS), a common platform which should be in place by March. The goal is to see retention and success online equal to that of face- to- face classes. A home college, where a student receives most of his/her courses, will be designated; then each student can take classes at other campus. Member Budnick is working with inmates and veterans. For the first time, prisoners are allowed to use computers through some grant funding. Currently, 8000 prisoners are taking online classes. The online initiative is also trying to involve prisoners while not providing them with the ability to talk to students. Budnick will send an e- copy of the slides used for this presentation to the Department of Corrections. Member Bielanski asked about the status and process of the federated ID. Butte has opened CCApply; 70 colleges have adopted it; the remainder is expected to adopt it by June Chancellor Harris indicated the need for funding to serve students, even when they are taking online courses. If we had had robust online education during the recession, we could have enabled some colleges to help others in meeting their caps and serving students. But this is not a panacea that would allow us to double capacity without additional funds. However, it should help colleges operate more efficiently during the down- turns. Item 4.2 Democracy Commitment Project Dr. Brian Murphy, president of DeAnza College and a co- Founder of the project, noted that the stunning level of ignorance of the American public represents an enduring, profound crisis as only 37% of the electorate voted in 2014; among those between the ages of 18 and 30, only 21% voted. This is the lowest turnout of any industrial country. Most Americans cannot identify the three branches of government nor can they list the rights of citizenship. This initiative was launched three years ago and includes 50 community college leaders (including Brice Harris) from across the country. This initiative seeks to have every community

6 college student receive an education in democracy. The colleges which have committed to this project enroll 3 million students, while 13 million are enrolled in community colleges across the country. 23 California community colleges participate. Dreamers at Cañada provide legal services for undocumented students and discuss with students the meaning of legal rights. LA Trade Tech has initiative programs around Proposition 47 which would reduce some victimless felonies to misdemeanors to reduce the prison population. DeAnza includes a public policy school with a two- course sequence to prepare students to lobby legislators. This project is entirely self- funded, but seeks outside funds. The commitment welcomes different approaches/courses/procedures between colleges. Murphy also noted that our curriculum is colonized by UC so it is difficult for our colleges to make new requirements. Massachusetts has mandated courses on the process of civic engagement and civic learning, while California s curriculum remains entirely voluntary. We need to determine how to make civic learning an expected part of our students education, and it would be helpful if UC and CSU required it for entry or completion. The founders hope to triple the number of participating community colleges within three years. Jean Kennedy Smith has challenged community colleges to start a national conversation about the importance of voting. She is talking to PBS about this; Jon Stewart is also interested. There are associated student governments in most colleges while some are quite large, others are very marginal. The DeAnza student body president has a $1.3M budget. Dialogue and public works are very important and student government can help link students to these initiatives. C- Span also has a similar project. Item 4.3 City College of San Francisco (CCSF) Local Control Plan CCSF has applied for restoration which would give the college 24 months to bring its district up to standards. There is a parallel track in a lawsuit by SF City Attorney Herrera. In preparing this report for the BOG, Chancellor Harris spoke with CCSF board and learned that they did not feel that it acknowledged the election results and that the board to be seated in Jan is significantly different from the board when the ACCJC actions were taken. They believe that return to local control should take place more quickly. In response, Chancellor Harris amended the proposal in the BOG agenda with the following: a) Changed the possible timeline for returning authority to the board of trustees from months to months; b) Required that compliance on standards and the time necessary for transition to full authority of the board would be determines by the progress of the local board in meeting accreditation standards.

7 c) Removed Phase I which called for a year of education because there is ongoing training for all trustees, including a January board retreat. d) Documentation of the process should be done so the board can demonstrate that they meet the governance requirements. The board then heard testimony from 25 speakers from CCSF; afterwards they indicated that they would like a report and update from Bob Agrella in January on all areas in the plan as well as a report from the CCSF Board of Trustees. The chancellor also reminded the board that the decision on restoration will be made by ACCJC in January, a few days before the BOG meeting. Item 4.4 Report on Senate Bill 850 (Block) Pilot Baccalaureate Program The Chancellor thanked Dr. Constance Carroll and Senator Marty Block for their extensive work to bring SB 850 to the Governor for his signature. This is a significant change which will have far- reaching and significant benefits for students and employers. Vice Chancellor Pam Walker indicated that her office has determined that 35 colleges are interested in applying for these degrees. The scoring rubric is being refined. The RFP will be sent to the field shortly; the review will include UC, CSU and workforce colleagues, with the pilot colleges to be chosen in January. Upon determine of the pilot colleges, the Chancellor s Office will hold a meeting in January with the colleges to develop some of the internal components of these programs. David Morse, president of the Academic Senate noted that while they did not support SB 850, there are extensive academic and professional matters which will require collaboration with the academic senate The ASCCC offered its assistance to make all degrees as strong as possible. They have several concerns: 1) They urge the Chancellor s Office to ensure that the faculty voice is included in all aspects of the process and UC/CSU faculty should be represented as well. 2) Clear parameters should be defined for all degrees before any is approved. 3) The expectations for these degrees should be developed by the Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senate (ICAS) to ensure that curricular standards are met. When asked about the types of programs proposed, Dr. Walker indicated a broad range including: air frame manufacturing, watershed restoration, dental hygiene, health records management, real estate appraisal, food safety, automotive design, respiratory therapy and care, sustainable facilities and operations, electron microscopy, interactive design, computer cyber security, and mortuary science. Chancellor s Office staff noted that the review team has not been determined and reminded the board that a substantive change proposal must be sent to ACCJC before a community college can offer an applied baccalaureate degree. Dr. Walker will be meeting with Susan Clifford from ACCJC about this.

8 The chancellor also noted that he will make value judgments before bringing forth recommended colleges for these degrees. The forms will require colleges to specify their current accreditation status so that there is assurance that each college has enough overall health to add this new project without harming the college s core mission. He also noted that colleges are required to include CSU/UC conversations in their applications. Item 4.5 Step: Forward Priorities Project - Student Awareness Campaign and System- Wide Integrated Website This item was delayed until the January meeting. Item 4.6 Faculty Professional Development Efforts by the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) This was an extensive listing of the many professional development efforts of the ASCCC which has responsibility for academic and professional matters listed in Education Code and others as agreed upon at a local college. Current activities include: 1) Events, workshops and the Professional Development College as well as events throughout the year supported by the AS foundation. 2) Publications including papers of various lengths on the ASCCC website. 3) The annual Academic Academy which features a particular area each year last year it centered on general education; the March 2015 Academy will focus on student equity and support in Costa Mesa to assist faculty professional development. 4) A Faculty Leadership Institute will be held in San Jose for new Academic Senate leaders. 5) In 2014, past ASCCC president Jane Patton taught a cultural competency session for the executive board. This model will be expanded for local academic senates. 6) The ASCCC will be partnering with CSU to ensure there is instructional integrity in the associate degrees for transfer across the colleges to reflect the basic coursework needed for transfer. Item 4.7 Federal Legislative Update Vice Chancellor Vince Stewart noted recent regulatory activity on gainful employment and the additional reporting required by them. Colleges should be familiar with the Clery Act which requires all colleges that participate in federal financial aid programs to maintain and disclose information about crime on or near their respective campuses. Similar legislation (SB 967- deleon) extends these provisions to colleges which participate in state financial aid programs. It is unlikely that the Higher Education Act will be reauthorized in this congressional session. There will be changes in committee assignments in the California Legislature with decisions hopefully made by the first week of December.

9 On January 6 the Chancellor s Office will hold a reception with new legislators, in conjunction with UC and CSU. The ACCT National Summit will be February 8 12 and will include a good program for California participants..