Access to education has long been seen as a fundamental element of a developed country. Specifically, the relative availability and access to education by various constituent groups has been identified as an essential metric in educational evaluation. Yet, individuals with disabilities have been identified as being underrepresented within…

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) developed this language access toolkit to share the expertise and experiences of National Asian American Education Advocates Network (NAAEA) member organizations with other community organizations interested in developing language access campaigns. This toolkit includes an overview of…

This paper considers noncredit instruction in the California Community College System. It identifies three related concepts: a state need for increased levels of education that noncredit instruction is well placed to supply, several changes that begin to facilitate that response, and additional changes that are needed to ensure success. The…

In 1988 the Community College Reform Act (AB 1725) began a phase out of credentials in favor of a process for establishing minimum qualifications and the determination of equivalencies that are at least equal to the state-adopted minimum qualifications for a particular discipline. According to Education Code sections 87359 and 87360, someone…

Fall 2005 enrollment data show approximately 73,000 students under the age of 18 enrolled in California community colleges. Given that students under the age of 18 are legally considered minors, community college faculty and staff are often uncertain about their roles and responsibilities for these students. Laws governing the opportunities for…

In spite of the fact that noncredit generates approximately 10% of enrollment in the California Community College System, many people outside and even within the system are not aware of or do not fully understand the importance of noncredit and how it serves California's educational needs. Noncredit courses are basically what its title…

The Associate Degree has been subjected to numerous demands and external pressures and, as a result, has evolved somewhat independently at each California community college to meet local needs. Most colleges in the system have developed Associate Degrees based on completion of a general education curriculum. However, current Title 5 language…

This Academic Senate paper is in response to two resolutions from Fall 2005 concerning academic dishonesty. One resolution, 14.02, "Student Cheating," sought clarification on a System Office legal position that limits the ability of local faculty to fail a student for a single incident of academic dishonesty, and pending the result of…

The rising cost of college textbooks has recently become a topic of intense public debate. It is perceived as a significant barrier to college attendance, and an assortment of legislative remedies has been proposed. This position paper of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges explains that profit is just one of a complex series of…