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District Flex Day . August 18, 2010. State Budget Cuts . California has sharply decreased funding to community colleges. Districts must reduce course offerings, downsize programs, and place programs on hiatus. There is a need for short term planning to effectively meet these challenges.
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District Flex Day August 18, 2010
State Budget Cuts • California has sharply decreased funding to community colleges. • Districts must reduce course offerings, downsize programs, and place programs on hiatus. • There is a need for short term planning to effectively meet these challenges. • The goal is to achieve reductions while maintaining academic integrity and serving our students.
New Paradigm • The new paradigm for education is to find creative ways to make programs flourish and students succeed in the face of limited resources and deep budget cuts.
District-wide and College Level Planning • Planning efforts should take place both district-wide and at the college level. • Disciplines must reduce offerings while maintaining excellence.
Cooperation vs. Competition • As a college district, we work together. • As separate colleges, we compete. • District-wide cooperation can allow successful strategies that aren’t possible in a purely competitive environment.
District-wide Strategies • Consolidate programs across campuses. • Eliminate inactive programs, e.g., programs with few graduates. • Make scheduling more efficient. • Rotate important but sparsely attended classes across campuses. • Develop district-wide strategies for keeping up with advances in technology.
College level Strategies • Cut courses with low enrollment. • Identify and eliminate non-essential courses. • Address budget cuts in program reviews and unit plans.
Flex Day Outcomes • Set the stage for further planning, both district-wide and college level. • Determine topics to discuss and decisions to be made at the colleges. • Complete template describing today’s activities in your discipline and email to Mike Orkin for posting on Flex day Web page (located on Institutional Research Web site). • Schedule future meetings to keep the dialogue moving.