Academic Senate For California Community Colleges (ASCCC)

By Dan Crump

The ASCCC has established a task force on Open Educational Resources (OER), chaired by Dave Dillion from Grossmont College.  The Task Force hosted two workshops on OER---one in the North (College of Marin) on September 15 and one in the South (MiraCosta College) in the South on September 16.  The workshops are intended to update faculty regarding the status of OER in our colleges and to inform faculty at all levels in their OER experience, from the novice seeking to identify OER for their classroom, to the advanced user looking to facilitate OER adoption at the college.  (note: this article is being composed even as the workshops are occurring, so I will provide more information in the next Outlook).

With the passage of the $150 million allocation in the state budget, the Chancellor’s Office is in the process of implementing the Guided Pathways Award Program. This effort will continue into the fall term with the role out of the application process and workshops designed to assist colleges in completing the assessment tool and to provide information and resources for local implementation of guided pathways. Information on the program, including the statute requirements, videos, presentation materials, and other resources, may be found on the IEPI Guided Pathways website (http://iepi.cccco.edu/guided-pathways). The ASCCC is working in collaboration with the Chancellor’s Office and other partners, including the Career Ladders Project and the Research and Planning Group, to support colleges as they explore and decide whether to implement the guided pathways framework.  Additionally, the Academic Senate is committed to ensuring strong faculty participation and leadership as the guided pathways effort moves forward.  To assist in this effort, the ASCCC is requesting that local senates establish a Guided Pathways liaison position to facilitate information sharing between local senates, faculty, and the ASCCC.  It very important for the library and librarians to be in contact with local senate leadership to keep informed about Guided Pathways.

The First Friday update is a periodic news brief to chief instructional officers and chief student services officer colleagues and a great source of information for all of us. I send it out on several of the librarian listservs and you can also access it yourself by going to the Chancellor’s Office website, www.cccco.edu, click on System Operations/Divisions/Academic Affairs, and look under Notes and News. (on the left side of the page)