Assembly Bill 1725 is comprehensive California community college reform legislation passed in 1988 that covers community college mission, governance, finance, employment, accountability, staff diversity and staff development. This bill established the Academic Senate’s role as the college’s primary voice of the faculty in providing recommendations to the governing board on academic and professional matters. Assembly Bill 1725 is operationalized in Title 5.

Title 5 § 53203 of the California Code of Regulations requires the governing board (Board of Trustees) to “consult collegially” with the Academic Senate (i.e., rely primarily upon the advice and judgement of the Academic Senate or reach mutual agreement between the governing board/designee and representatives of the academic senate) on academic and professional matters.

Title 5 § 53203 defines “academic and professional matters” as follows and they are known as the “10+1”:

1. Curriculum, including establishing prerequisites and placing courses within disciplines
2. Degree and certificate requirements
3. Grading policies
4. Educational program development
5. Standards or policies regarding student preparation and success
6. District and college governance structures, as related to faculty roles
7. Faculty roles and involvement in accreditation processes, including self-study and annual reports
8. Policies for faculty professional development activities
9. Processes for program review
10. Processes for institutional planning and budget development
11. Other academic and professional matters as are mutually agreed upon between the governing board and the academic senate. This agreement means that faculty undertake these duties to consult collegially on the 10+1 as a part of their faculty obligation.

At Long Beach City College (LBCC), the Board of Trustees rely primarily on the advice and judgment of the Academic Senate for items 1, 2, 3, 5 and 8. For those academic and professional matters where the Board of Trustees or its designees have agreed to rely primarily on the advice and judgment of the Academic Senate, recommendations of the Academic Senate will normally be accepted, and only in exceptional circumstances and for compelling reasons will the recommendations not be accepted. In alignment with Title 5 Regulations, Section 53203(d)(1), if an Academic Senate recommendation is not accepted by the Board of Trustees, the Board of Trustees or the Superintendent-President or designee shall promptly communicate the reasons in writing to the Academic Senate upon request.

For Items 1, 2, 3 and 5, the Academic Senate has delegated authority to the Committee on Curriculum and Instruction. Thus, curricular proposals and policies and regulations related to these items that are approved by the Committee on Curriculum and Instruction go directly to the Board of Trustees for approval without further review by the Academic Senate.