Survey Available Feb. 1-15, 2018, for Faculty to Provide Input on Progress Reporting System to Take Effect Fall 2018

Dear Faculty,

Responding to a variety of concerns regarding both student success and completion, the DCCCD administration has charged our instructional leaders to create a consistent, district-wide systematic approach for all faculty to report on student progress in courses during each academic term, beginning in Fall 2018.  This effort at student progress reporting is intended to help students better understand their status in a given course early enough for students to take action to improve that status and for intrusive interventions to be provided, if needed, in order to improve retention and completion. Further background information on the evolution of this process is available at this January 18 post on the DCCFA Advance Blog.

Instructional leaders, including the academic vice presidents and the DCCFA faculty council, believe that it is crucial to gather faculty input, so as to guide the design of a student progress reporting system approach. At present, the plan is to use the eConnect interface for progress reporting.  Specific elements of the design will be determined later, taking into consideration feedback obtained from faculty in a variety of ways, beginning here.

We respect your academic freedom and the institutional responsibility to provide quality teaching and learning experiences for our students, so rest assured that:

• No aspect of this reporting system will expect, encourage or require you to change or adjust any aspect of your teaching, evaluation or assessment strategies,
• The design of this system will take into account our many and diverse types of courses, and
• A primary goal of this system is to provide effective reporting while not being a burdensome or time-consuming activity.

All faculty – full-time and adjunct faculty – are invested in student success and therefore are invited and encouraged to participate in this survey. The survey is being made available between Feb. 1 and Feb. 15, 2018. Please review this “Supplemental Information” document and then complete the survey at this link: https://goo.gl/forms/Sb6I9yDXWhndySoI2

DCCFA Offers Two Upcoming Opportunities for Faculty to Provide Input

The Faculty Council plans two initiatives specifically designed to gather input from faculty. 

Student Progress Reporting Survey

From Feb. 1 through Feb. 15, a survey will be made available for faculty to provide both structured and open-ended input on the issue of student progress reporting. Details about that evolving conversation can be found in this post from Jan. 18. All faculty are invited and encouraged to provide input. Messages will be sent by each college’s faculty association president, and academic vice president, when this survey is live. Results gathered from this survey – which will be completely anonymous – will be analyzed in detail by the Faculty Council in order to craft the best possible student progress reporting system to serve our diverse student population while not imposing excessive and unproductive labor burdens on the faculty. These findings will then be shared with The Instructional Leadership Team, which includes the district and college instructional leaders, for implementation.

Part 2, Biennial Faculty Climate Survey

From Feb. 19 through March 2, Part 2 of the biennial Faculty Climate Survey will be administered. Part 1 was administered in Fall 2017, and a selection of results are available at this post on the Advance Blog, in which are links to raw data from each of the seven colleges. Whereas Part 1 of the Faculty Climate Survey gathered faculty input on issues of compensation and shared governance, Part 2 includes questions that are designed to gauge faculty attitudes on the overall climate within the various college chapters of DCCFA, the colleges, and the District. Results gathered from this survey also will be completely individually anonymous, and only aggregated results by college will be reported and shared with the college presidents.

The Faculty Council encourages all members to participate in both the Student Progress Reporting survey, and the DCCFA Biennial Faculty Climate Survey.

DCCFA Legal Assistance Philosophy and Statement of Purpose

Note: This statement of DCCFA Legal Assistance Philosophy and Statement of Purposes was updated April 4, 2017. More information on DCCFA Legal Assistance can be found on the Legal Assistance page on the DCCFA web site.

The DCCFA is committed to the principles of academic freedom and the right of due process in the settlement of any dispute. If any member of the DCCFA feels that he or she has been dealt with in an unlawful or unfair manner, the member will be provided access to the best information available concerning available avenues for assistance. It continues to be the expressed intent of the DCCFA to provide counsel and assistance to the membership to help work toward a reconciliation of any dispute and to do so (if possible) in a non-adversarial manner. 

Although most disputes can and should be settled with simple collaboration and thoughtful conversation, it is sometimes necessary to seek other remedies. In matters that involve contractual disputes or academic freedom, full time faculty may request—through the Faculty Council—legal counsel and possible representation for unresolved issues. Payment for these services will come from the DCCFA legal defense fund as specified by our Constitution.

When legal assistance is requested it begins with the Faculty Council’s review of the dispute to determine appropriate actions. If it is approved for further consideration, outside legal counsel will be asked to review the details and will probably want to schedule a visit with the faculty member. The attorney will recommend to the Council a course of action.

During the forty-year history of the DCCFA there have been numerous disputes and grievances-- which is not surprising for system as large as the DCCCD. Given the finite resources of the organization it is important that all pertinent information be considered in a given case. It is also important that each member requesting assistance understands both the Association’s philosophy on legal assistance and the manner in which individual cases are evaluated and processed. Most grievance cases can—and should—be resolved without resorting to formal legal action. The Faculty Council has long assisted in these efforts by serving as a detached, “third party” to resolve disputes and to assist all concerned in establishing the facts, clarifying legal principles, generally accepted practices, and offering informal advice regarding possible resolution of issues in conflict. The faculty member should realize, however, that many grievance cases involve issues, which may be seen as unfair or unreasonable, but are not unlawful. The Faculty Council will rely on legal counsel for recommendations for further action on these issues. 

The DCCFA has earned a reputation for fairness, discretion, and effectiveness in assisting its members in grievance matters. Consistent with the philosophy and procedures outlined above, the Association stands ready to provide its members with informed counsel and advice about their specific circumstances while maintaining needed discretion and helping to safeguard the integrity of the academic process.

The necessary forms needed to request legal assistance are found on the DCCFA site which willalso detail the procedures which will be followed.

New Task Forces Succeed DELT to Address Distance Learning

The pace and scope of change across all levels of the DCCCD has accelerated, even as we respond to events and circumstances that are outside of our control. Over the past few years, the District has increasingly taken a strategic approach to Distance Learning, as various stakeholders have negotiated differences in philosophy and practice. Among the positive changes has been Chancellor May and Chief Innovation Officer Tim Marshall developing a model where users – faculty and colleges – are empowered at the strategic level, and entities such as District IT and LeCroy Center evolve to support student learning regardless of modality. As part of this ongoing evolution, the Faculty Council engaged with instructional leaders from all seven colleges and with the LeCroy Center on a Quality Scorecard initiative, which identified areas of good practice as well as areas where improvement is needed, in distance learning.

Among the recommendations to arise from this ongoing conversation was the decision to sunset the Distance Education and Learning Technologies committee (DELT). Because of its composition and the fact that it had been commissioned by the Vice Presidents Council, DELT focused on a wide variety of issues related to technology and learning, but tended to focus its reporting upward, and often to LeCroy Center. Over time, DELT was not able to devote necessary attention to certain vital operational issues, and in those cases where solutions were developed, they were not sufficiently or equitably communicated to faculty at the colleges. In addition, strategic issues often were not addressed, and thus strategic decisions were made by LeCroy Center leadership without significant or broad faculty input. In short, the all-encompassing increase in Distance Learning, and the use of DL technologies in campus-based instruction, proved too massive for DELT alone comprehensively to address.

In response, the Quality Scorecard project recommended that a Quality Scorecard Steering Committee be constituted, to include representation from faculty, instructional leaders, student services, IT, and LeCroy leadership, specifically to address improvement in a wide variety of areas related to distance learning and the use of DL technologies for campus-based instruction, at the strategic level. Among the types of issues to be addressed by this group would be identifying and promulgating best practices in course navigation, online orientation, training, and success measures.

Meanwhile, to address the user-level issues, the Quality Scorecard project recommended, and the Faculty Council and Academic Vice Presidents also endorsed, creating the Information Technology Users Group (ITUC). This group has two charges:

1.       To advocate for the users of instructional technology;

2.       To reconcile the suggestions/needs of various stakeholders including instructional leadership (including faculty), technology leadership, and those helping to advance the outcomes of the Quality Scorecard project.

Among other stakeholders, ITUC will include a faculty member from each college. ITUC also will communicate consistent messages regarding learning technology to stakeholders, including and especially faculty, at each college. Among the types of issues for ITUC to address are how to use specific technologies to solve specific problems, such as when a feature in Blackboard isn’t working properly, or identifying building block solutions that might help numerous users.

Having played a role in the process that created both the Quality Scorecard Steering Team, and ITUC, the Faculty Council is hopeful that both groups will be of benefit to faculty as we continue to improve how we serve our students.