Academic Senate President’s Report to the Board

Meetings:

On Monday, April 27^th, I met with Dr. Laguerre. My first impressions of him still remain true. He is a man of integrity who is planning on staying at Solano for the long haul. When he asked me what Solano needs from its new Superintendent/ President I responded that we need a strong guiding hand and that we would continue to need some of the leadership skills that Dr. Jensen has shown. In particular I mentioned that the Accreditation sanctions have put the College in a real position of change and that I was hopeful that he would be able to identify the healthier elements of change and to support them.

Accreditation Visit:

I met with three of the four ACCJC representatives. They were all very positive about the work we had done and in general were impressed with the steps taken to turn the College around. One of my messages for them was that there is much change afoot at Solano but that we still need time for the seeds of change to take root. I assured them that we do have a plan and are working for the betterment of the College. When asked if I thought that the changes we were making to "live the Standards" of accreditation would stick or not, I assured them that we have the will and the commitment to move forward. For me, it is not only about change but creating a living manual, vibrant processes and outlines, for change. When I think of our old planning models that led faculty and staff to go to the Board for change I know that our newly re-vamped Integrated Planning Process is one piece of the puzzle that promises a much more accessible and accountable means of change. At the end of the day, WE are the ones who will have to live the changes and hold ourselves, our colleagues and the Board accountable. The visiting team report will go to the Commission and Dr. Jensen will have a chance to comment on it for accuracy. We should have the Commission's decision by mid-June.

Senate Business:

Senate Resolution 09-02-- As a result of our earlier conversation in Shared Governance and in the Senate about the Board's Code of Conduct, the Senate has passed the following resolution:

Enrollment Management Trend Analysis-- In an attempt to better inform the Senate of the nuances associated with scheduling and enrollment management, I asked Dr. Steinback to present her most recent enrollment trend analysis report. Since it is apparent that Solano College will have to grow its way out of our current budget problems, I think it is important for the Senate to be as informed as possible about enrollment management. We want to be able to provide knowledgeable and informed input on decisions that affect quality teaching and learning.

Institutional Review Board—Rob Simas presented the final draft of a Board Policy and procedures for a Solano College Institutional Review Board. This Ad Hoc committee of the Senate worked over the semester and has produced a very concise and thorough document. In particular the committee wanted to recognize the efforts of Debra Berrett, Occupational Education. The Senate will vote on this item in our next meeting.

Plenary Resolutions –Robin Arie-Donch presented the ASCC recommendations from Plenary Resolutions that local Senates adopt and implement CCC General Education AP test equivalency list and the "Standardized Template for Advanced Placement Exam Information".

Constitution: We continue try and scratch out time to update our by-laws. I don't think we'll make it this semester.

Integrated Planning Process—In our continued efforts to "live the standards of accreditation", in particular Recommendations 2 and 3 on planning and effectiveness, the Process Evaluation and Review Team (PERT) presented its most recent draft of the Integrated Planning Process for the Senate's conceptual approval. The PERT is looking to establish a timeline for approval and implementation of the Integrated Plan and know that over the summer we'll need to continue to move forward and since the Senate doesn't meet during that time, we need the Senate's tentative "go ahead" on the Integrated Plan.