Points of Unity

Our overall vision is for City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and all public education institutions to remain public and be fully funded and free.  Decision making bodies must prioritize the belief stated in The California Master Plan for Higher Education in the Seventies and Beyond that “well-educated citizenry [is] the best guarantee for a free and healthy society.”[1]  We support an education and political campaign against corporatization and privatization of all public education institutions.

1. We advocate for CCSF to be an accessible and democratic community college.  Keep CCSF diverse. Support student equity.  

2. The focus of the education offered should be on the quality of the student experience. It should not prioritize the quantity of students enrolled in classes and the achievement of degrees or certificates over the quality of the knowledge students attain. This goal is achieved through smaller classes and more diverse educational offerings.

3. Reverse cuts to classes and the dismantling of programs students want with a goal of expanding what CCSF offers the community. Restore numerous classes including those in Non-Credit, Foreign Languages, Diversity Studies, Art, Music, and the Older Adult Program.

4. There should be no reduction in the number of classes. The class schedule should be viewed as a contract with the community. No classes are to be cut due to low enrollment until the end of the second week of a term. At that point, no class should be cancelled that has enrolled at least 15 students. The decision to cut a class with an enrollment above 10 students shall be made by the department chair in consultation with and the approval of the assigned instructor. If the enrollment is below 10 students, the chair shall decide whether the class will continue.

5. The online computer registration system must be made as reliable and student-friendly as other California community college systems. Bigger efforts need to be made to prevent it from going down.  Changes concerning the registration system should be made by meaningfully consulting with faculty, staff and students.

Additionally, the printed class schedule must be available and be widely distributed throughout San Francisco and elsewhere two weeks before registration begins.

Restrictions or problems hindering student registration shall result in a publicized additional two weeks after the issue is resolved and the term has begun, whichever is later, to allow affected classes to build enrollment before subject to being cut.

6. Use all voter-approved funds as promised and other money received for the good of the college and its students. The administration needs to demonstrate that it is acting to get more money for the college from the state, the city and elsewhere. 

7. We demand that all decisions adhere to democratic principles and include complete transparency of all CCSF budgets, governing policies, and procedures of the administration and the board of trustees.  We demand an end to distorted claims about the budget used as an excuse to impose austerity. We demand full accountability through adherence to the requirements of the Brown Act and the college’s Sunshine Policy and expect widespread notification of meetings and their agenda so the public is fully informed in a timely manner.[2]

8. We call for four seats on the CCSF Board of Trustees with full voting rights be reserved for two student members, one staff and one faculty member. This will result in:

A. Five as opposed to seven trustees elected by the voters of San Francisco.

B. Two student trustees elected by students.

C. One trustee elected by CCSF staff.

D. One trustee elected by CCSF faculty.

All College committees shall reserve the same number of seats for student representation as the number for other constituent groups.  

9a. No anti-union policies that include unilaterally imposed pay cuts and layoffs.

9b. Rescind staff and faculty layoffs.

10.  End the faculty two-tier contract by providing all part-timers with the same benefits, rights, job security and pay per class received by full-timers. To save and protect the jobs of part-timers and to generally better serve students, no full-time faculty member shall teach more than a full-time schedule (overloads) unless no part-timer is available to teach such a class.[3]

The teaching of labs should be paid at the same rate as other teaching assignments.

11. The pay of student workers should be at least $20/hour with annual inflation adjustments with no layoffs. Student workers are not to be retaliated against, harassed or deprived of money as a result of ANY activism.[4]

12. Departments should have the final say over scheduling, the number of classes to be put online and over any reductions in classes scheduled that have historically enrolled 15 or more students.

13. The PUC section of the Balboa Reservoir which is public property should be turned over to CCSF for its use.[5]

14. The Performing Arts Education Center, as promised to the voters, must be the first new building to be built ASAP.

15. The college needs to put “students first” by prioritizing their voices and ensuring their equal participation in shared governance. 

16. Restore the Associated Student Council to its full capacity of one council at each    CCSF campus/center to guarantee adequate representation.  The Councils are to be solely governed by the students with minimal interference from support administration, faculty, staff and outsiders, to ensure the Councils’ autonomy.  Students and their supporters shall be free from retaliation.

17.  Administration should be held accountable by allowing for regular performance reviews by students, faculty and staff. The results should be transparent and accessible to the public.  

18. What is here can be achieved by increasing taxes on the rich and corporations, by curbing prison spending and expenditures on the military.

[1] From the California Master Plan for Higher Education in the Seventies and Beyond  pgs. X and XI

At  https://www.ucop.edu/acadinit/mastplan/MPSelectCmte1172.pdf

Under Subtitle: “Goals of California Higher Education”

California's goal in providing and maintaining public higher education is to encourage the development of well-educated citizenry as the best guarantee for a free and healthy society, one that is capable of intelligent adjustment to changing life conditions and that strives for improvement in the quality of life.

This broad goal includes a public commitment to develop human resources as the State's greatest asset, to encourage the intellectual and personal development of each citizen over his lifetime to the fullest extent of his ability and application. This goal requires preparing the individual for productive participation in society by the development of abilities, attitudes, and skills in the application of self and knowledge for the constructive operation and improvement of society.

More specific goals of public higher education are to provide to all of the State's citizens the widest opportunity and diversity of higher education and an unexcelled quality of instruction, research, and public service by which graduates and other participants may develop and acquire abilities and experiences in independent thought, critical analysis, and decision making that are beneficial to the whole of society and to the individual.

[2] College’s sunshine policy located at http://www.ccsf.edu/Policy/Manuals/1/pmSunshine.doc

[3] Read up on the Vancouver model of equality, example https://www.chronicle.com/article/A-Canadian-College-Where/123629

[4] Discussion: Former chancellor Rocha says we are a college that puts students first.  Let's call for policies that really put students first.  

From where would the money come for higher pay for student employees? There should be a progressive reduction in the salaries of top administrators that would indicate they truly want to put students first.  At the top is the Chancellor's salary that could be reduced something on the order of $100,000.  For those making less, the reduction would be a smaller percent.

FYI: According to the state chancellor's data mart, in the fall of 2017, CCSF had 47 educational administrators.  In 2018, CCSF had 56 who were making on average $172,620 which was more than $25,000 over the state average with 28 of them making more than $175,000, see: http://employeedata.cccco.edu/avg_salary_17.pdf  and http://employeedata.cccco.edu/avg_salary_18.pdf

The total of their salaries comes to over $9.6 million compared to $7.85 million in 2017. This figure does not include their benefits, the employer CALSTRS match, their expense accounts and the presumed costs of more assistants.

While receiving large salary packages, the administration is doing an incompetent job running the college and at maximizing enrollment as indicated by the ongoing problems with the Banner system, the irrational class cuts, and the poor job promoting what the college offers (for example, not making the printed class schedule widely available in a timely manner.)

[5] see AFT 2121 resolution at:  http://www.aft2121.org/about-us-2/delegate-assembly/delegate-assembly-resolutions-endorsed/   and http://www.aft2121.org/wp-content/uploads/BalboaReservoir-Reso-AFT2121.pdf