Letter from CCL Interim President Kenley Neufeld | Council of Chief Librarians

Welcome back to another academic year. I trust your library doors are open and the students are taking advantage of your programs and services. The Council of Chief Librarians has been working throughout the summer to plan for the coming year with programs and retreats. I will continue to serve as the interim president through December 2015 and am happy to report that Meghan Chen, from Mt. San Antonio College, was elected president and she will begin in the new year. Look for great work from Meghan.

We have also elected two new regional representatives. Carol Hutte, from Chaffey College, who will represent the Desert Region and Alicia Virtue, from Santa Rosa Junior College, who represents the Northwest Region. Please thank both those individuals for being willing to serve and represent your colleges and extend a special thank you to Peter Sezzi and Pearl Ly for their service as outgoing board members. If you’re not certain what region your college is located, we have the complete list at http://cclccc.org/board.html.

During our board retreat this summer, we continued to review and refine our strategic plan. In this work, we have removed some elements and clarified others. We remain committed to our three goals and will focus on different strategies within each.

Strengthen the capacity of California community college libraries to support student success through the attainment of information literacy.
Leverage access to information and technology tools to support student learning.
Promote libraries as dynamic spaces where students congregate to creatively engage with their peers, information, and instruction.

The CCL president serves as a liaison to the Telecommunications & Technology Advisory Committee (TTAC) of the Chancellor’s Office and to the California Community Colleges Chief Instructional Officers (CCCCIO). Both are great opportunities for the library voice to be heard at the highest level of the state and our participation has helped to carry forward much of our programming and services. The most recent CCCCIO executive board meeting was attended by Meghan Chen. Here are a few highlights from that meeting.

The Academic Senate (ASCCC) reported on an Instructional Design and Innovation Institute to take place in Riverside in January 2016). There will also be a Curriculum Institute on Nov. 13 (Solano) and Nov. 14 (Mt. SAC) that will have a strand for curriculum specialists.

The Online Education Initiative (OEI) reported that NetTutor has been implemented for online tutoring. They will continue to look for methods to address academic integrity and test proctoring tool through an RFP in Spring 2016. Districts are continuing faculty-to-faculty conversations about Canvas adoption and a critical mass will indicate a possibility for the CCC Tech Center to adopt it as a resource for the state following the current funding. The Exchange Consortium has been pushed to Fall 2016 due to figuring out admissions, fees, and other pieces.

CCC Systems Budget for 2016-17 will reach the Board of Governors for approval later in September. Key issues include funding for growth (likely at 3%), general operating expenses (including covering employer contributions to STRS and PERS; low COLA), funds to hire full-time faculty, Basic Skills program, Strong Work Force recommendations, and possibly some one-time funds. And the

Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) reported on the curriculum approval and changes to the inventory system. The Program and Course Approval Handbook (PCAH) is still under revision and should be ready for next summer. Programs of interest moving forward include the bachelor degrees at CCCs, AB 288 Dual Enrollment Partnership Pathways, inmate education, and the Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative (IEPI).

Your CCL Executive Board will be meeting next on October 22nd in Sacramento. If you have any suggestions, questions, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at neufeld@sbcc.edu.

Kenley Neufeld