Volume 137, Issue 8
News
HIGH STANDARDS PUT COLLEGE ON PAR WITH FOUR-YEAR INSTITUTIONS: College Working on Hiring Reform
BY
ADAM BRODY
Editor
Faculty must possess a master’s degree to teach in any of the 63 academic disciplines
PHOTOS BY NATHAN WEYLAND / GUARDSMAN
By contrast, the minimum qualifications for hiring faculty and administrators at the college remain on par with some of the Bay area’s most notable institutions.
The California Community College system requires its teachers and administrators to earn their master’s degree before getting hired in any of the 63 major academic disciplines. There is a clause allowing professionals who have worked in their field for a certain length of time to teach without obtaining a master’s degree.
For the 142 disciplines the state generally classifies as specialized, trade or industrial fields, a bachelor’s degree is required to teach along with two years of experience in an appropriate field, or an associate’s degree with six years work experience.
The Board of Governors of California Comm-unity Colleges has adopted a list of minimum qualifications for faculty and administrators, which includes only the minimum state requirements, although individual institutions are allowed to establish higher achievement standards. Chemistry department Chair Raymond Fong said that while his department doesn’t mandate more than what the state requires, teaching experience is desirable. “Each district has their own policies on hiring faculty and staff,” said Tosh Shikasho, human resources specialist for the California Community Colleges’ Chancellor’s Office.
Chancellor Philip R. Day, Jr. stressed the importance of hiring experienced faculty.
“Even though it doesn’t take the same skills to teach Math E1 as it does to teach calculus, when the math department searches for new faculty they are generally going to look for someone who can teach across the spectrum,” Day said.
Ed Murray, president of the American Feder-ation of Teachers (AFT), Local 2121, suggests the state may be responsible for any lack of qualified personnel. “I don’t think too-stringent minimum qualifications are the real problem here,” he said. “Our state needs to do a much better job in funding our community colleges.”
Many departments are also requiring three years of work experience in addition to a master’s degree, according to Day.
Milton Marks III, Board of Trustees member, said using student evaluations during the initial hiring reviews could present an unfair bias against new teachers who do not yet have student evaluations.
Chris Hanzo, Executive Director of AFT, reaffirms Marks’ contention. “We have an open hiring policy and we feel it would set up an unfair process,” he said.
Student evaluations also factor into the decision for teachers up for tenure review, according to Fred Teti, president of the Academic Senate.
The California State University system also requires a master’s degree from nearly all its faculty and administration.
The University of San Francisco and most positions at the University of California schools require applicants to possess a doctorate along with accomplished professional experience. City College administrators will soon begin discussions on reforming the hiring process.
e-mail: abrody@theguardsman.com
BY
ANGELA HART
Staff Writer
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With the new $2.57 trillion budget released by the Bush Administration on Feb. 7, college students will face a proposal to cut monies given to student loans including the Stafford Loan, Perkins Loan, Federal Direct Loan Program, and the Federal Family Educational Loan Program.
“We are committed to maintaining student financial aid,” said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for California’s Department of Finances.
The Bush administration wants to reduce student loans to increase the Pell Grant amount an add-itional $100 each year.
“I am very concerned about the proposed increase in the Pell Grant, because the level of the Pell Grant has been used to justify fee increases for all community college students,” Dean of Governmental Relations Leslie Smith said.
According to The Associated Press, the Bush administration said it could save money mainly by reducing payments to lenders. Some student loans, like the Perkins Loan, will be eventually phased out and the Pell Grant increased to $19 billion over the next 10 years.
“I don’t know how I’m going to survive,” said City College student Monica Menchini.
e-mail: ahart@theguardsman.com
CONFUSION OVER POLICY: Administrators iron out grading fiasco
BY ELIZABETH PFEFFER
Staff Writer
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ELI MILCHMAN / GUARDSMANA change to the policy on repeating classes has City College administrators debating its legality and trying to sort out who was responsible for the change that appears in the 2004-2005 catalog.
On page 326, part of the section titled “Institutional Policies Governing Repetition of Course Work” warns that students repeating classes due to a previous failure will not have the new grade factored into their GPA.
The policy states in part: “If the student successfully completes the course with a passing grade, the passing grade cannot be used in recalculating the GPA.”
“Somebody jumped the gun,” said Lindy McKnight, continuing students counseling department chair. “The policy has been for many years that students are allowed to repeat a class for a passing grade on their transcript GPA.”
The Department of Instruction, Curriculum and Tenure Review is responsible for putting out the catalog. “Those pages are currently being disputed and the language is in dispute,” department Dean Brian E. Ellison said.
“Somehow it didn’t go through shared governance policy and the proper channels,” McKnight said, responding to how the change ended up in the catalog.
Ellison contended he was not responsible for the change. “Those pages were authored by Robert Balestreri, dean of admissions and records.”
“I am responsible for making sure the repeat policies are implemented,” Balestreri said, although he also claimed not to have authored the page. “Repeat policies are a function of the office of instruction,” he said.
McKnight said the change was discovered when a counselor brought it to her attention. After taking it before her department, McKnight brought it to the attention of the department chairs. “The whole community agreed that the decision needed to be discussed,” she said. “An ‘E’ will replace the previous non-passing grades and the passing grade will be the only one counted in the transcript.”
Currently students may repeat courses as many times as they wish, with permission from the department chair. McKnight indicated legal counsel from the district is now reviewing the opinion.
e-mail: epfeffer@theguardsman.com
BY DAN POWELL
Staff Writer
The City College Board of Trustees decided at their Feb. 10 meeting to postpone making revisions to the school’s faculty hiring procedures until all documentation from previous procedures has been located.
“I would ask that our hiring documents are amended because they are sorely out of date and do not reflect reality,” Board Vice President Natalie Berg said.
The other significant issue at the meeting was Dean of Re-search, Planning and Grants Robert Gabriner’s presentation of City College’s Student Equity Plan, which all California community colleges must submit as a minimum requirement for state funding.
The executive summary of the plan states: “Each plan is to ensure equal educational opportunity and success to all students regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or economic status.”
Examiners observe the progress of students belonging to specific race, age and gender groups through their graduation, to ensure that the ratio of a particular student demographic is equal to that in the local population.
Also examined are the rates of degree and certificate completion, and the number of students successfully transferring to four-year universities.
Members of the board requested that the surveys be as detailed as possible so the state government can obtain a clear picture of how City College differs from other schools in the nation.
e-mail: dpowell@theguardsman.com
LIBRARY THEFT CONTINUE: Thieves check out students' personal belongings
BY ANGELA HART
Staff Writer
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Andrew Burns leaves his bag unattended while using the computer.Students who leave personal items unattended while checking out a book or printing a document in Rosenberg Library may become victims of an increasing number of thefts.
Items frequently stolen include cell phones, books, wallets and clothing.
“Thefts are usually crimes of opportunity, when students, faculty and staff leave property unattended,” Police Chief Carl S. Koehler said.
Circulation Coordinator David Gallerani said textbooks are frequently taken due to their resale value. He also mentioned women’s backpacks as another target for thieves. “More women than men carry wallets in backpacks instead of pockets,” Gallerani explained.
The Rosenberg Library staff and campus police have been trying to prevent more thefts.
Library staff members regularly walk through study areas looking for unattended backpacks or other property and they make regular announcements over the intercom to advise students to secure valuables.
There are warning signs about theft posted on study desks and computer stations throughout the library. “After someone’s screensaver comes on after 20 minutes and we see they have left their stuff, we log them out, file their student IDs, and take their possessions to the lost and found,” lab aide Leanne Davis said.
There are also security cameras located on every floor of the library as well as two cameras viewing the back parking lot, according to Bonnie Lindauer, coordinator of Library Instructional Services.
Yet thefts continue despite efforts taken to stop them — and may result from students’ carelessness.
“Students must be vigilant and be observant of their surroundings,” Gallerani said.
Students should report any theft of personal property to campus police as well as notify the library staff.
e-mail: epfeffer@theguardsman.com
This city has a history of nurturing weird cultural trends long before Ben & Jerry’s started selling ice cream on the corner of Haight & Ashbury. Think hippies, tie-dye and weed.
Hippies have given way to hipsters, with their too-long-in-the-dryer clothes, star-studded belts and experimental hair styles, prowling the Mission in search of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
The weed is still there though.
Seems like everyone has a style or a message. Everyone wants to represent.
City College logos emblazon everything from sweatshirts to beanies. Unusual for a “commuter college,” the students here actually seem keen on representing.
Other forms of representing are flourishing like the tail feathers of a peacock.
Yellow “LIVESTRONG” armbands, those little yellow hand halos, are on everyone’s wrist now — even my grandmother sports one.
Body jewelry has become a kind of 21st century chain mail. I have a friend who has a lip ring. She recently took it out when she had a cold, because it was bugging her. She said she felt naked without it.
Living dangerously (or faking it) has remained a representation of cool, as bicycle commuters who have opted for brakeless fixed gear (or “track”) bikes can attest to.
These bikes, borrowed from the messenger set (who in turn borrowed them from track racers) can be lethal in the hands of non-veterans, but they just ooze representability.
Messenger insanity in general seems to have leeched into the non-cycling population. Timbuk2 messenger bags have become so popular that cheap knockoffs are now available on campus.
Then there are the immovable rocks of style, awash in the sea of trends.
Check out Diamond Dave, with his grizzled facial hair, Indiana Jones fedora and denim jacket. He’s an anachronism; a relic from the days when Jerry was leader of the Grateful Dead and Ben was the dead man whose face graced the $100 bills in his pocket.
City College at Large
Call or e-mail Adam Brody with campus wide news at
(415) 239-3446 or associatenews@theguardsman.com
Evans Campus
The Evans campus continues its Economic Gardening for Small Businesses program in the Geographic Information System Education Center and is prepared for the Economic and Workforce Development Program to exhibit at the 5th annual Young Women’s Health Conference.
Mission Campus
The Mission campus – which moved from 106 Bartlett St. on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28 – was up and running at their new temporary campus at 375 Alabama St. on Jan. 18. “It was a lot of work but we have such an incredible team,” Mission campus Dean Carlota Del Portillo said. “We did it.” Development of the new permanent Mission campus is proceeding as planned.
Southeast Campus
The Southeast campus is making preparations for events to be held next month, which have yet to be announced. “We are working on our Women’s History program for March,” Dean Veronica Hunnicutt said.
John Adams Campus
The John Adams campus is offering a series of free hearing screening tests for students who want to get their hearing checked. Students should call 452-5481 to schedule an appointment or see a Disabled Students’ Programs and Services counselor at their campus. The screenings will be held in Room 154 from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. on March 3, March 22, April 7 and April 19.
Scholarship Money Offered for Test Subjects
One or more $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to students who are hard of hearing. The scholarships are being offered by Self Help for Hard of Hearing People. The deadline to apply is April 8 and more information is available from the Disabled Students' Programs and Services office in room R323 in the Rosenberg Library, or from the Scholarship Office, Room L366 in Batmale Hall.
Short Cuts
Indebted Students
The average college student will have incurred $18,900 worth of debt in loans alone by the time they receive their bachelor’s degree, concluded a 2002 survey by student loan company Nellie Mae. That number is up 66 percent from 1997 findings.
Universities Require Health Insurance
An increasing number of public universities are requiring their students to have health insurance before at-tending. All schools in the University of California system now require health insurance, as do the University of Connecticut and Ohio State University. Old Dominion and Kent State University have both decided against requiring insurance, with the Uni-versity of Utah still on the fence.
The San Francisco regional Allstate Alumni 3 on 3 Classic Basketball Tourn-ament is being held Feb. 26 at the Cow Palace. Allstate Insurance Company, along with former Stanford basketball star Kris Weems, is sponsoring the tournament, with regional winners flying to St. Louis to compete for $10,000 in prize money for the winning school’s alumni association.
Vaccine Includes New Strain of Flu
A panel of influenza ex-perts at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva decided Feb. 10 to recommend that a new strain of flu be included in next season’s vaccine. Unofficially known as the “California strain,” the flu variation was first identified in Santa Clara County last September, said Dr. Carol Glaser, chief of the California Department of Health Services’ viral branch in Richmond. The strain is expected to become the next dominant strain circulating in the Northern Hemisphere, according to Dr. Klaus Stohr, coordinator of the World Health Organization’s global influenza program.