Subject: Resolutions adopted 10-9-12

 

ACADEMIC SENATE

QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE, CUNY

Resolutions adopted as College Policy October 9, 2012

 

I.          RESOLUTION IN AFFIRMATION OF QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE REMAINING A VIABLE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

Whereas, Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York is obliged to honor its legal obligations and the agreements it has undertaken,

 

And

Whereas, the College needs to satisfy criteria for accreditation of its degree programs, as per Title 8, Chapter 2, section 52.2 of the Rules and Regulations of the Commissioner of Education of the State of New York, (available at http://www.highered.nysed.gov/ocue/title_8_chapter_ii_regulations_o.htm), which indicates that “institutions shall possess the financial resources necessary to accomplish its mission and the purpose of each registered curriculum…”

 

And

Whereas, the College needs to satisfy liberal arts requirements, as per institutional accreditation requirements set by the New York State Board of Regents in Chapter 1, title 8, Section 3.47 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules, and Regulations of the State of New York,  (available at http://www.highered.nysed.gov/ocue/lrp/chapter_i_of_title_8_of_the_offi.htm)

 

And

Whereas, the College is obliged to honor its articulation agreements, and to meet its obligations to dual-join degree programs with other colleges in the City University of New York;

 

Therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that it shall be the official College policy of Queensborough Community College of the City university of New York that:

·         the College must offer in sufficient number courses required in its degree programs;

·         the College must not violate state law or regulation by failing to offer courses in sufficient number required for its degree programs;

·          the College must not jeopardize its accreditations by failing to offer courses in sufficient number required for its degree programs;

·          the College must not violate its agreements with Dual Joint Partners by failing to offer courses in sufficient number required for its degree programs;

·          the College must not violate its Articulation Agreements by failing to offer courses in sufficient number required for its degree programs;

 

And BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these obligations must be honored, irrespective of whether Queensborough’s course listings adhere to the specifications of the CUNY Common Required and Flexible Cores.

 

 

II.    RESOLUTION TO REJECT PATHWAYS, AFFIRM ACADEMIC FREEDOM, AND THE RIGHTS OF ENGLISH FACULTY AT QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Whereas, the Board of Trustees “Resolution on Transfer” was passed in June 2011 over the objections of Faculty across CUNY, expressed in numerous resolutions from Academic Departments, College Governance Bodies, and the University Faculty Senate, totaling over 100 in all (archived at http://cunyufs.org/A/<https://mail.qcc.cuny.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=cface175e3f74c86b86921e51ccaf55c&URL=http%3a%2f%2fcunyufs.org%2fA%2f>)

 

And

Whereas, notwithstanding the faculty’s continued misgivings about the insufficient curricular rigor of the Required and Flexible Core Curriculum created by a “Steering Committee” of fourteen invited CUNY faculty, this general education curriculum was approved by the CUNY Central Office by December, 2011;

 

And

Whereas, the passage of the June, 2011 resolution of the Board of Trustees represented a revocation of the agreement and promise recorded in the Minutes of the Board of Trustees for November 24, 1997, in the wake of the settlement of Polishook v. CUNY, which affirmed that “…the faculty, in accordance with CUNY Bylaws § 8.6. shall be responsible… for the formulation of policy relating to…curriculum…” (http://www.cunyufs.org/reports/Polishook-vs.-CUNY.html<https://mail.qcc.cuny.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=cface175e3f74c86b86921e51ccaf55c&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.cunyufs.org%2freports%2fPolishook-vs.-CUNY.html>)

 

And

Whereas, as this situation has developed at Queensborough Community College, faculty have been torn between anxiety for the future of their institution; the need to preserve degree attainment opportunities for students; and persistent reservations about the curricular value of the Required and Flexible Core Curriculum;

 

And,

Whereas, this ambivalence has, to date, been expressed in a dual “compromise” approach, of sustained criticism for the initiative, coupled with an attempt to process courses appropriate for the Required and Flexible core through Queensborough’s system of shared governance;

 

And

Whereas, in May, 2012, the CUNY Office of Academic Affairs freighted an already deeply flawed 30-credit General Education schema with an additional condition that all courses in the “Pathways” Required and Flexible Core be three credits and three hours, notwithstanding the need many students have for additional instructional support;

 

and

Whereas, this condition has particularly problematic implications for courses in the humanities, and especially English composition, where a fourth contact hour has played a critical role in enabling Queensborough’s faculty in English rhetoric, composition, language, and literature to fulfill Queensborough Community College’s mission to provide students with “a rich general education core aimed at enhancing students’ critical thinking and decision making skills,” by “utilizing effective learning strategies” and through “the use of innovative pedagogy;”

 

And

Whereas, on September 12, 2012, members of the Department of English, fearing for their ability to realize Queensborough’s institutional mission, rendered the academic judgment, consistent with their charge as members of the faculty of English, that a three-credit, three hour English course would not serve the educational interests of Queensborough’s students;

 

And

Whereas, in response to this vote, our Vice-Provost of Academic Affairs broke with Queensborough’s tradition of shared governance and constructive dialogue, and indicated, in an email, that English Composition courses that failed to conform to the Pathways requirements of being three hours and three credits would not be scheduled for offering in the coming academic year, and that students would be advised to satisfy English composition requirements at other institutions, with severe consequences for staffing, including the likely non-reappointment of adjunct, untenured, and tenured faculty;

 

and

Whereas, this email, although mitigated by an apology from Vice-President Steele submitted to the faculty on Monday, September 17, and sent, as the Steering Committee, the Faculty Executive Committee, and many members of the Faculty believe, only under financial and administrative pressure, is widely understood by faculty across CUNY to express a strong possibility that faculty and campuses failing to conform their curricula to the Pathways parameters may face severe consequences, resulting in job losses for full- and part-time faculty;

 

And

Whereas, this apprehension was not allayed by the message of the Chancellor, issued on September 19, 2012, affirming the authority of the CUNY Board of Trustees and the Chancellor in the implementation of the “Pathways Resolution;”

 

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Academic Senate and Faculty of Queensborough Community College strongly supports the academic freedom of our colleagues in the Department of English—and all Academic departments– to render their best academic judgments in the review of course configuration proposals to accommodate the Pathways curriculum;

 

And

BE IT RESOLVED THAT no further review of courses configured to meet the specifications of the Pathways initiative  can proceed at the level of the Academic Senate until and unless it is guaranteed that the academic judgment and academic freedom of the faculty will be upheld without reprisal, in a written document from the university administration and/or college administration

 

And

BE IT RESOLVED THAT no further review of courses configured to meet the specifications of the Pathways initiative  can proceed at the level of the Academic Senate until and unless Vice-President Steele’s email, outlining the consequences of the English Department vote, is formally retracted, in a written document from the university administration and/or college administration;

 

And

BE IT RESOLVED THAT no curriculum, adopted by the faculty under pressure and constraint, should ever be interpreted by Administrative personnel, either on this campus or at the CUNY Central Office, or any media organization, as denoting any degree of faculty support for the Pathways Initiative, which is overwhelmingly rejected by members of our faculty as harmful to our students and poor educational practice.