Grow! Grow! Grow! … Shrink?

1. Grow! Grow! Grow! … Shrink? Julie Bruno, Sierra College Lesley Kawaguchi, Santa Monica College Craig Rutan, Santiago Canyon College 2012 ASCCC Fall Plenary Session

2. Overview • How did we get here? • Program Integrity • Temporary Suspension/Hiatus • Program discontinuance • Where do we go from here?

3. How did we get here? • Do you remember the good times? Back when administrators were chasing growth dollars? • Back then, local Curriculum Committees and Academic Senates saw many new experimental courses and programs to offer new opportunities to students. • If there was student demand, it was mission appropriate, and the discipline faculty thought it was a good idea then so did we.

4. The Bottom Drops Out • For several years, we have been dealing with increasingly constrained budgets. • Expensive courses and programs have been dramatically reduced or eliminated in favor of popular GE courses that offer more bang for the buck. • New offerings might seem like they are a thing of the past as we try to survive the storm.

5. The Students • Students come to our colleges with dreams of what the future holds. Once they choose a major, they are counting on us to offer ALL of the classes that they need. • Does your catalog contain courses that you haven’t offered in several years? • Are those courses required for a student to earn a degree/certificate? • Who decided that those courses would not be offered?

6. Lurking in the Background • Student Success Task Force Legislation • Title 5 Changes • What do or can colleges offer with these economic constraints and other initiatives? • Program Discontinuance: A Faculty Perspective Revisited

7. Course Suspension • Many colleges already have courses that are unofficially suspended because the administration has determined that they are too expensive or aren’t vital to the college so they don’t schedule them. • While suspension isn’t our preferred option, developing a process on how to handle it might be a good idea. • Your Curriculum Committee or Academic Senate might not want to be part of these uncomfortable discussions but if we don’t come to the table the administrators will make the choices for us.

8. Establishing a Process • Setting priorities? What is essential for students and the mission of the college? • Who should make the request? • How long can it be suspended? • Is the course required to complete a degree/certificate? • Is the course a major preparation requirement in a transfer program that is successful at your college? • Is your course part of a GE area? How many other courses could satisfy that area?

9. Who should be involved? • Everyone needs to be involved in this process (faculty, articulation officer, curriculum committee, academic senate, college administration, students). Discussions need to happen between the affected faculty and their dean first. • The curriculum committee is the likely body to consider these requests because they originally approved the courses. • The academic senate needs to monitor this process at all times. If the curriculum committee is not willing to make the tough decisions, it is the responsibility of the academic senate to step in!

10. Potential Considerations?

11. But how can we do this? • We can choose to be part of making these tough decisions or we can allow administrators to make these tough choices for us. • The faculty know more about their program than anyone. They know what has to be offered and what might be nice to offer but the college could survive without. • We are given primacy in curriculum decisions and we need to accept that responsibility when times are bad as well as good.

12. What if the whole program needs to go? • Depending on the resources available to your college, it might be impossible to continue to offer all of the programs that appear in your catalog. • Often colleges begin cutting sections across the board but eventually that will create a schedule that no longer meets the needs of anyone. • Suspension is appropriate for one or two courses in a program but some programs may be so costly that getting rid of them might be the only option. This is when program discontinuance could be an option.

13. Program Elimination Due to Budget • These are discussions that no one wants to have but a college cannot simply cut equally across all disciplines forever. • Does your college have procedures in place to analyze the cost of a program versus the benefit to the students? • Does your college have a program discontinuance policy? • We are used to using discontinuance only when a program is determined to not be viable anymore but we no longer have that luxury. Our task now is to preserve as much as we can for our students!

14. Who is involved? • Faculty and the academic senate are crucial. Program discontinuance directly affects curriculum, student success, and budget and planning processes, which fall under academic senate purview. • Discontinuance requires collaboration among faculty, administration, and support staff • Particularly important: Academic Senate, Counseling, Curriculum Committee, Bargaining Unit, Articulation Officer, affected full time faculty • Occupational advisory committee • Local governing board • Participatory governance and transparency in procedures are essential. • Remember no oneis to blame!

15. Where do we go now? • Discipline faculty need to take a close look at their program and think about what is vital, really important, nice to have, and great if we had lots of resources. • The academic senate should lead these discussions to ensure they are college wide and that no program feels singled out. • All faculty need to be treated as equals • No programs are untouchable • It is natural to want to keep the classes that you love to teach. It is important that the senate create an environment where the faculty can come together and change for the good of the college.

16. Need to keep an eye on this: • Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Standard II.A.6.b: “When programs are eliminated or program requirements are significantly changed, the institution makes appropriate arrangements so that enrolled students may complete their education in a timely manner with a minimum of disruption.”

17. Where do we go (2)? • By establishing these procedures now, we will have a framework for how things are added when more resources are available. • Innovation cannot stop just because times are bad. New courses will still be created but we have to be more cautious about whether we can really afford to offer them and how resources need to be shifted. • Limited resources are not an excuse for not serving the needs of students. We must always change our curriculum to keep it current and get the students the best education possible. • If we decide to wait we may end up like the dinosaurs.

18. Summary • We can no longer offer everything and some courses might need to be shut down. Consider adopting a suspension policy that involves an open discussion instead of right of assignment. • Some programs may be too expensive for your new reality. Consider using discontinuance to keep your college as viable as possible. • Take an honest look at how your courses benefit students. Some classes that you love may need to go. • Don’t stop innovating or we may end up extinct.

19. Thank You • Do you have any questions? • Presenter Contact Information: • Julie Bruno: jbruno@sierracollege.edu • Lesley Kawaguchi: KAWAGUCHI_LESLEY@smc.edu • Craig Rutan: rutan_craig@sccollege.edu