Program Discontinuance

1. Program Discontinuance A Review of the Policies of the West Valley and Mission College Academic Senates

2. Legal Requirements • Title 5, Section 51022 of the California Code of Regulations states that,

3. Within six months of the formation of a community college district, the governing board shall adopt and carry out its policies for the establishment, modification, or discontinuance of courses or programs. Such policies shall incorporate statutory responsibilities regarding vocational or occupational training program review as specified in section 78016 of the Education Code.

4. Ed Code Section 78016 • Any program that does not demonstrate demand…will be terminated within one year • (a) Every vocational or occupational training program offered by a community college district shall be reviewed every two years by the governing board of the district to ensure that each program, as demonstrated by the California Occupational Information System, including the State-Local Cooperative Labor Market Information Program established in Section 10533 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, or if this program is not available in the labor market area, other available sources of labor market information, does all of the following: (1) Meets a documented labor market demand. (2) Does not represent unnecessary duplication of other manpower training programs in the area. (3) Is of demonstrated effectiveness as measured by the employment and completion success of its students. (b) Any program that does not meet the requirements of subdivision (a) and the standards promulgated by the governing board shall be terminated within one year. (c) The review process required by this section shall include the review and comments by the local Private Industry Council established pursuant to Division 8 (commencing with Section 15000) of the Unemployment Insurance Code, which review and comments shall occur prior to any decision by the appropriate governing body. (d) This section shall apply to each program commenced subsequent to July 28, 1983. (e) A written summary of the findings of each review shall be made available to the public.

5. ASCCC Recommendations Re Program Discontinuance • Local senate processes apply to all programs (not just occupational) • The following issues be considered:

6. ASCCC Recommendations Re Program Discontinuance (The following issues be considered) • Negative effects on students • College curriculum balance • Educational and budget planning • Regional economic and training issues • Collective bargaining issues • College mission statement • Educational master plan • Program’s goals and objectives • Student access and equity

7. Mission College Academic Senate Policy on Program Discontinuance • Adopted May 17, 2001 • Policy Statement: • Program discontinuance should be considered only if, after most serious deliberation, and after all recommended intervention strategies have been implemented, a program continues to fall outside the college’s mission and master plan, as well as the department’s goals and objectives.

8. Initiating a discussion on program discontinuance • Places to begin the discussion: • Governance and Planning Council • Office of Instruction • Office of Student Services • Division Chair Council • Individual Departments and Divisions Performance Goals Committee provides data and implements decisions about programs growth or shrinkage Academic Senate and its committees including Curriculum Review Committee

9. Discussion Criteria • Qualitative Indicators • Quantitative Indicators

10. Qualitative Indicators • Pedagogy of the discipline • Development of the whole student • Balance of college curriculum • Effect on students of discontinuance of program • Potential for disproportionate impact on diversity • Quality of the program and perception of students, community, transfer institutional and industry • Catalog rights of students • Replication of area programs

11. Quantitative indicators (not limited to): • Projected future demand • Student persistence • Sustained weak enrollment trends • Insufficient frequency of course section offerings • Term to term persistence significantly below college average

12. Quantitative indicators • Retention or success rates significantly below college average • Efficency of program (WSCH/FTEF) • Number of program graduates • Diversity issues (disproportionate impact) • Decline in importance of service to those in related programs

13. Discussion Guidelines • Must include all affected parties: • Faculty • Staff • Administrators • Students • Employing business and industry • Community • (Extraordinary efforts to include students and community)

14. Discussion Guidelines • Must be conducted in public, open meetings • Must include qualitative and quantitative indicators with sources cited • Written record of all discussions will be maintained and accessible to the public • Deliberations and conclusions rely primarily on the advice of the Academic Senate

15. 3 possible outcomes I. Recommendation to Continue • -documented in writing – maintained by MCAS – communicated to Office of Instruction

16. 3 POSSIBLE OUTCOMES II. Recommendation to Continue with Qualifications • Qualifications may include specific interventions • Time line and expected outcomes will be outlined • Program to be reviewed again after specified time

17. Examples of interventions • Immediate, frequent and sustained collaboration with advisory committee • Updating and comprehensive revision of curriculum • Change in focus • New degrees and certificates • Articulation with transfer institution programs • Participation in marketing opportunities • Increased responsiveness in scheduling • Move to online delivery system

18. 3 POSSIBLE OUTCOMES III. Recommendation to Discontinue • It is determined that the program falls outside the college’s values and mission and/or depts goals and objectives • Recommendation must include • Critera used to arrive at recommendation • Detailed plan and timeline for phasing out program w/ least impact – maintenance of catalog rights • Plan for implementation of all requirements of collective bargaining including reduction in force and opportunities for retraining

19. Programs to be considered for discontinuance by MCAS • Real Estate • Computer Information Systems • Computer Information Technology • Computer Networking Technology • Drafting • Industrial Technology • (based on recommendation by the ad hoc committee on budget reductions)

20. Timeline • Review and Recommendations to be completed by May 30, 2010

21. Program Discontinuance at West Valley College Program Definition An organized sequence of courses leading to a defined objective, such as a major, degree, certificate, diploma, license, or transfer.

22. Program Discontinuance at West Valley College Process 1. Any party can submit a program discontinuance proposal that is in writing and contains a justification for the proposal. 2. The Senate as an agendized item can approve or disapprove the initiation of the program discontinuance process for the identified program. [They Senate did this on December 8, 2009.] 3. If the Senate votes to initiate the program discontinuance process for a specific program, the next step is for the program discontinuance proposal to be agendized on the College Council agenda.

23. Program Discontinuance at West Valley College Process (continued) 4. • During the semester following the Senate's approval of initiating the program discontinuance process for a particular program, the Academic Senate will conduct special sessions in order to gather relevant data and to give affected parties an opportunity to be heard. • The West Valley College President determines and publishes the schedule of these meetings. • There must be at least two meetings to consider a program's discontinuance. • The Academic Senate President will chair these meetings.

24. Program Discontinuance at West Valley College (Process continued) 5. All affected parties must have an opportunity to be heard, including faculty, staff, administrators, students, employing businesses of students of the program, and interested members of the community. 6. Besides at least two hearings for each program discontinuance, the Senate will accept comments via regular mail, e-mail, and voicemail.

25. Program Discontinuance at West Valley College (Process continued) 7. At the conclusion of these meetings, the Academic Senate must prepare a file with justification for whatever decision the Senate reaches. The Senate can designate a plan for managing the work, including the designation of a Discontinuance Case Manager.

26. Program Discontinuance at West Valley College The Senate is obligated, when considering a program's discontinuance, to evaluate both qualitative and quantitative factors.

27. Program Discontinuance at West Valley College Final Resolution Once the Senate has held all hearings for a program discontinuance proposal, and received all comments from members of the affected communities, then the Academic Senate will hold a special hearing to receive any final comments, and to determine an outcome. The senators will vote on whether to affirm or disaffirm a program's continuance via a roll call vote.

28. Program Discontinuance at West Valley College Possible Outcomes The Senate can vote to do one of the three following plans of action: • continue the program as is • continue the program with condition/qualifications • discontinue the program

29. Program Discontinuance at West Valley College Continuing the Program If the Senate votes to continue the program, then the Senate must make findings in writing that are forwarded to the Vice President of Instruction, justifying the Senate's decision to continue with the program intact.

30. Program Discontinuance at West Valley College Continuing a Program with Conditions/Qualifications: • If the Senate votes to continue a program with conditions/qualifications, then the Senate must outline in writing specific interventions designed to improve the viability and responsiveness of the program. • Additionally, the Senate must provide a specific timeline to the program in question. The timeline will specify how long the program in question has to make the recommended interventions.

31. Program Discontinuance at West Valley College Continuing a Program with Conditions/Qualifications (continued) • The Senate must specify in advance the expected outcomes of the interventions. • The Senate will publish all the recommended interventions and the timeline for implementation. • The Senate will also send the interventions and timeline to the Vice President of Instruction. • After the timeline specified has passed, the Senate will evaluate the program again.

32. Program Discontinuance at West Valley College Discontinuing a Program If the Senate votes to discontinue a program, such recommendation must specify: 1) the criteria used to reach the recommendation; 2) a detailed plan and timeline for phasing out the program. a) A timeline for discontinuance must be designed to have the least impact as possible on students, faculty, staff and the community.

33. Program Discontinuance atWest Valley College Discontinuing a Program (continued) b) In particular, the Senate must determine a way in which the students currently enrolled in the program can complete the program of study prior to the program's discontinuance. c) a plan to implement any collective bargaining for faculty and staff, including application of reduction in force and opportunities to retrain. 3) Finally, the Senate's recommendation is forwarded to the College Council, and to the Board of Trustees for final approval.