Dec. 2018 Advocate: Questions and concerns about dual enrollment

DUAL ENROLLMENT

Questions and concerns about dual enrollment need to be addressed

Dual enrollment—when high school students take college courses while enrolled in high school—is growing in our District. Although it is a great benefit to dual enrollment students (credits earned may be applied in both systems), concerns are being raised about how these courses are being administered by our District and the high school districts who are participating in dual enrollment agreements with our colleges.

New dual enrollment agreements called College and Career Access Partnerships (CCAP) were approved by our Board last summer. CCAP agreements must comply with local collective bargaining agreements and Cañada College Business Professor Candice Nance recently brought numerous issues and questions about dual enrollment to the AFT, including:

  • How are the hiring process and minimum qualifications for these agreements supported and documented?
  • If a high school teacher is hired to teach a class at a high school, when does their local high school union represent them versus AFT 1493? Which contract do we use and when?
  • What happens when SMCCD’s calendar doesn’t align with the local high school’s calendar in terms of days in service, holidays, etc?
  • What is the impact on adjunct faculty, including load, seniority and rehire rights?
  • How are high school teachers, who are hired as college adjuncts, reviewed and how are their assessments handled?
  • Do our colleges’ Curriculum Committees have oversight over dual enrollment classes that may be taught at a high school but for which our colleges provide credit?

Task force needed

The AFT is planning to submit a request for information to the District regarding the various ways concurrent enrollment is being administered in our District. We would like to see a task force on these issues be set up that includes faculty representatives from AFT and Academic Senate as well as administration. Dual enrollment processes and procedures need to be clarified and well documented.