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Assemblymember Rob Bonta Introduces Community College Fair Accreditation Bill

(3/14/2014) On Wednesday, February 19, Assemblymember Rob Bonta (Oakland) introduced AB 1942, the Fair Accreditation Practices for Community Colleges Act, before an appreciative audience of faculty and students in Sacramento. The bill, co-sponsored by CFT and the City Attorney of San Francisco, will allow community colleges to choose their own accrediting entity; currently the rogue Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges holds a monopoly on accreditation of the state’s community colleges.

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Prescription Problems?

(11/22/13) - Contact Dean Mancina at cfemancina@yahoo.com if you have had a recent issue with new or refill prescriptions via mail order or at a retail pharmacy and you are in the PPO plan.  Some members have reported problems obtaining the quantity of pills your doctor prescribed, or getting the specific prescription drug your doctor prescribed.  Some have been told the reason why is that our prescription plan changed.  That's not true.  Medco was bought out last year by Express Scripts, and we are starting to wonder if the company change is the root of the problem.  We want to fix

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Pension Reform Initiative - Here we go again!

(10/19/13)  San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and leaders of four other California cities struggling with soaring retirement costs announced Tuesday they will seek to get a pension reform initiative on the November 2014 state ballot.

San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris, Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait and Pacific Grove Mayor Bill Kampe joined Reed in submitting the ballot initiative to the state Attorney General.

“It will allow public employers to unilaterally cut the retirement benefits promised to current teachers, firefighters, police officers and school bus drivers," said Dave Low, chairman of Californians for Retirement Security, which represents some 1.6 million current and retired public employees.

Once the Attorney General provides the official title and summary, proponents would have 150 days to collect at least 807,615 valid signatures, representing eight percent of the votes cast in last gubernatorial election.

STRS and other organizations are exploring the legality of changing the retirement promises made to current public employees.

Guest Speaker Summarizes Accreditation Concerns

Wednesday Lunch Meeting – October 9, 2013

Quotes from Carl Friedlander’s Presentation

 “There is nowhere in else in this country where there is as much conflict in accreditation as there is in California.”

“This is the only region in the US where there is a separate accrediting body for community colleges.”

“There are more sanctions issued by ACCJC to the California community colleges than the total sanctions for all types of institutions across the entire country.”

“The required pre-funding of GASB 45, which consumes millions of district dollars each year, comes from ACCJC.  No other accrediting agency requires this.  Some ACCJC commissioners are or were on the Board of the JPA Savings account for GASB 45 dollars that the CCLC (Community College League of California) set up.”

Online Instruction Doesn't Lower Cost to Students or Colleges

(10/16/13)  Today, the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education (CFHE) released a report that exposes the false promises online education providers are making about costs savings for students and higher education institutions.  Click here for a summary and a link to the full article.

The Campaign for the Future of Higher Education was launched to guarantee that affordable quality higher education is accessible to all sectors of our society in the coming decades; and to include the voices of the faculty, staff, students and our communities—not just administrators, politicians, foundations and think tanks—in the process of making change. The campaign seeks to ensure that the emphasis, curriculum, pricing, and structure of our nation’s higher education systems are good for our students and the quality of education they receive.

CFT Responds to Govenor SIgning AB 955 into Law

(10/14/13)  Our state affiliate, CFT, the California Federation of Teachers, issued a press announcement after Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 955 into law.  This misguided law is designed to help increase access for California citizens to community college classes, but instead creates a two-tiered system where the wealthy can more quickly achieve their educational goals while the middle class and poor are left behind.  This legislation was opposed by nearly all faculty groups throughout the state as well as the State Chancellor’s Office.

The law provides that during summer and winter intersession, classes may be provided that charge the full-cost of offering the class section.  No state apportionment will be granted to the college for providing such courses.  The goal is that such classes be self-sufficient but not money-makers for the college. 

The good news is that lobbying by CFT and other educational groups, reduced this law to an experiment that is likely to only happen at Long Beach City College, so the pros and cons of this idea can be evaluated before spreading it to all of our colleges.

Download the attached press release from CFT. CFT Press Release - AB 955

WEDNESDAY LUNCH MEETINGS AT GWC & OCC - Fall 2013

(updated 9/17/13) - We have 6 meetings scheduled this semester at GWC and OCC.  (We also met with CCC faculty at a special meeting on Sept. 6.)  All CFE Faculty are encouraged to attend each of these meetings.  Call 714.432.5037 for more info.  Light lunch is provided free, first-come, first-served.  OCC, Park in Lot D off Merrimac.  GWC, Park in the Goldenwest Street lot near the large Learning Resources building.  Click here for times, dates, and locations.

Information about current ACCJC controversy

(August 26, 2013)  Former CFT President Marty Hittelman has kept a running journal of ACCJC issues at the following website:  http://accreditationwatch.com

From his website, download his report "ACCJC Gone Wild."  From his site you can also learn how to file a 3rd party comment if you feel too much of your time is spent on SLOs and other ACCJC-promoted activities that may distract you from the time you spend teaching your students.

Update! DISTRICT ATTACK ON FACULTY OVERLOAD PAY

NOTE: article updated June 24, 2013

If you disagree with the new way your compensation is being calculated, when you sign your new load sheet, write "under protest" right next to your name.

Background: In November 2012, District announced a pay cut for faculty who teach overload in a lab setting, beginning Spring 2013.  This was NOT negotiated between the District and CFE as is required.

Update:  CFE filed an Unfair Practice Charge against the Coast District with the Public Employment Relations Board on behalf of all 176 affected faculty.  Later this summer, CFE will be able to make the content of the complaint public.  Watch for another update next month!

For More Info:  Log in to this website at left, then go to the MEMBERS ONLY section of the MEMBERSHIP tab above for more information about this matter. 

Negotiations Update - October 23, 2012

CFE negotiated all day with the District on Friday, October 5 and 19.  The primary discussion both days was Class Size. We divided the discussion into two parts:

      Classes of 54 or fewer students

      Classes of 55 or more students

For both large and small classes, we have brainstormed, with management, a list of issues, mutual interests, and options.   We continue to receive information from members about class size issues, including both specific and general feedback.  If you have a class that you think has the incorrect or ineffective maximum class size, let us know immediately.

As we continue to explore and negotiate the Class Size issue, both teams will listen to live testimony from two faculty who teach to large classes (over 54 students) at our next session, November 2.  Contact Dean if you want to testify regarding the size of a small class (under 55 students).

Continuing and ensuing topics are the following sunshined items:

•  Due Process

•  Evaluations

•  Professional Development

•  Online Instruction Issues

•  Budget Gap

•  Faculty Workload and 175 duty days

 

Your team:

Dean Mancina, Chief Negotiator

Chris Hamilton, GWC

Ann Holliday, CCC

Marilyn Kennedy, OCC

Marcella Norling, OCC

Bob Fey, CFE Executive Director

Want to improve your working conditions and solve problems in a creative way?  The training will even effect leadership and communications at any level. Get trained on “Interest-Based Negotiations.”  You might even want to join our team!  Call us at x25037 for more information about an upcoming one-day training session. 

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