Resolution of the Academic Senate of Santa Monica College


September 19, 2000
Background: recently, Ralph Black, counsel to the Chancellor's Office, issued a ruling that reassigned time generally must be counted as "administering" and not "teaching." In response, SMC's administration has claimed that some restructuring of duties might be needed to meet the state requirement that 50% of the college's expenditures be on teaching. In light of these actions, the Academic Senate strongly supports the following resolution.

Whereas SMC's mission is "Changing lives through excellence in education for a global
community";

Whereas the first goal in SMC's Master Plan is "Student Success";

Whereas the second goal in SMC's Master Plan is "Academic Excellence"; and

Whereas an outstanding faculty is vital to

    * maintain and nourish "excellence in education,"
    * promote student success so that students can develop to their full potential, and
    * advocate practices that will sustain academic excellence,

Be it therefore Resolved
1. Faculty must participate meaningfully in all significant college decision-making.
The faculty's responsibility is to emphasize academic values in all questions
concerning the college. Title V, Section 53200 of the California Code of
Regulations assigns to faculty the responsibility of participation in academic and
professional matters, specifically:

    * curriculum,
    * degree and certificate requirements,
    * grading policies,
    * educational program development,
    * standards or policies regarding student preparation and success,
    * college governance structures, as related to faculty roles,
    * faculty roles and involvement in accreditation processes,
    * policies for faculty professional development activities,
    * processes for program review, and
    * processes for institutional planning and budget development.

The Academic Senate is the main vehicle for faculty representation in these processes, and its leaders must have reassigned time in order to fulfill this responsibility without compromising their instructional roles.

1. Faculty must continue to lead departments; SMC must retain the department chair structure.
Department chairs serve the college in a number of important roles that are discipline-specific. The hiring and evaluation of faculty, the evaluation and development of curriculum, the scheduling of classes, and the supervision of classified staff and facilities all require an intimate familiarity with the characteristics of that discipline. A division dean model would give fewer people responsibility for a greater number of disciplines, some unrelated to that person's training. Further, a department chair's tenure guards against the appearance of inappropriate influence applied to the evaluation of academic performance. The department chair system is woven into the culture of this college, is widely accepted and respected, and has a record of excellent service to the central mission of the college —providing high-quality education for our students. We reaffirm the need for department chairs to receive appropriate reassigned time to fulfill their responsibilities.

2. Faculty must continue to create new programs and new ways for students to learn.
As an institution of higher education, Santa Monica College must have instructors who contribute in numerous ways to the operation and the spirit of academic inquiry that are crucial to an outstanding educational program. Members of the faculty are the primary innovators in curriculum and program development. When supported by grants, reassigned time for such projects is not a cost to the District (and therefore not part of the 50% law calculation). To continue to provide "excellence in education," however, the college must provide more support than just the grant projects: the college must encourage innovation by maintaining at least the current level of reassigned time.