In a recent article for Academe, Anne Friedman writes about the growing trend of dual enrollment, which places high-school students in courses for college credit.  There are obvious concerns about the classroom environment when it includes children and adults discussing advanced topics together, but there are deeper issues as well, such as whether classroom faculty have a hand in determining what concepts are taught to which students, and whether our academic standards will be upheld.  Ms. Friedman cites the AAUP’s Statement on Dual Enrollment [PDF link] which clarifies the Association’s stance on these issues.

A select few administrators and full- and part-time faculty members are hosting a colloquium on these issues next Friday, October 25th.  Their “anticipated learning outcomes” are:

• Describe the current status of Dual Enrollment of NCC

• List the attributes of Dual Enrollment at NCC

• Identify your role in implementing a successful Dual Enrollment program at NCC

It is important to note that this cadre does not seem to anticipate learning about whether dual-enrollment helps our students, or whether the faculty is in favor of hosting such programs.

We strongly recommend that you discuss this issue with your colleagues in advance of next Friday’s colloquium.

John K. Wilson recently wrote an article for AAUP’s Academe blog celebrating the “tremendous victory for freedom of the press” that NCC’s Academic Senate and AAUP Advocacy Chapter achieved last week, when the Board of Trustees approved a newly-revised version of Policy 3100 “News Media Relations.” Mr. Wilson notes that before amendment, Policy 3100 “was a terrible infringement” on our rights as employees of the College, but that the present policy “is a great model for other colleges to follow.”

Dear Colleagues,

New York State’s Open Meetings Law serves an important purpose. It is designed to ensure that the public’s business be performed in an “open and public manner” so that the they may “retain control over those who are their public servants.” Public Officers Law, Article 7, section 100. This law applies to our Board and its meetings. Anyone who has attended an NCC Board of Trustees meeting is aware that the Board routinely goes into executive session leaving those who attend in the dark. Frequently, Trustee Cornachio objects to these closed, executive sessions as violations of the Open Meetings Law.

On November 16, 2015 Trustee Cornachio, along with two NCC faculty members, filed an Article 78 proceeding in New York State Supreme Court requesting the court to, among other things, require this Board to act in compliance with the Open Meetings Law and to declare certain actions taken by the Board to be in violation of that law. It is hoped that this action will usher in a new era of openness and accountability so that the Board’s actions may be fully vetted by the public. This will promote accountability.

For your information we have attached a copy of the Petition and supporting exhibits. We urge you to read these documents thoroughly and to pay particular attention to what it reveals about Board dynamics and deliberations.

Kind Regards- The NCC AAUP Executive Committee

Link to a .pdf file of the letter:
Article 78 OML