Faculty divided on draft equity resolution
Posted on 26 March 2010 by Liska Koenig, The Guardsman
By Liska Koenig
The Guardsman
A draft resolution by the City College Board of Trustees has some faculty up in arms because they feel the board is interfering with their responsibilities.
Based on data from the Student Equity Report and “Poppy Copy,” a study that evaluates basic skills as a foundation for students’ success at California community colleges, the draft resolution calls for major changes to the curriculum.
The draft resolution, which was presented to the board on Feb. 25, aims to bridge the student achievement gap and prepare students to more efficiently transfer to four-year colleges.
Students who identify as African-American, Native American, Filipino, Latino or Pacific Islander are 19 to 21 percent less likely to complete two- or four-year degrees than their white and Asian counterparts, according to the 2009 City College Student Achievement Gap and Social Equity Report.
“The role of the English and math curriculum is very important in how we understand the problem facing different groups at the college,” Trustee Steve Ngo said. “We need to intensify our basic efforts to get students college-ready and if we can’t do that, then we aren’t doing our job.”
A student entering at the lowest possible level may need to take six English classes and four math classes to finally take transferable math and English courses.
Ngo said these classes will have to be restructured so students don’t have to slowly work their way up in 3-unit increments. To speed up the process, the board is debating turning them into 11- or 12-unit classes.
Under the draft resolution students would have the option to take these subjects as pass/no pass. The board also wants to give students better access to English and math classes and improve professional development training programs to teach basic skills.
