G-6-3 Academic Affairs Committee (AAC)

CHARGE: The Central Oregon Community College Academic Affairs Committee advocates for instruction at COCC. This committee develops and recommends academic policy, facilitates and streamlines decision-making on academic issues, and facilitates communication across the campus community on academic issues.

Academic Affairs makes decisions within the parameters of the policy governance articulated by the COCC Board of Directors.

Primary Functions of Academic Affairs:

1. Coordinate long-range planning in curriculum and academic policy;
2. Set academic priorities that help shape budget decisions and allocations;
3. Act as the main clearinghouse/review committee for all instructional policy and procedure issues; specifically those outlined in the academic policies and academic procedures sections of the GPM;
4. Keep informed on the Curriculum Committee and Learning Outcomes and Assessment Committee through reading minutes and/ or periodic updates, as appropriate for each committee;
5. Assure that curricular decisions, academic priorities, and instructional policies are held accountable to the mission of the College; and
6. Communicate decisions made by Academic Affairs to other campus groups.

Membership, Voting Status and Terms 

Faculty Senate representative (1)	Appointed by the Faculty Senate	Voting	Two years
Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA)	Automatic	Voting	Standing
Department Chairs Representative**	Appointed by Chairmoot	Non- Voting	One year
Registrar	Automatic	Non- Voting	Standing
Director of Curriculum and Assessment	Automatic	Non- Voting	Standing
Committee Specialist	Appointed	Non- Voting	Standing
Classified	Selected by CACOCC President or designee	Voting	Two Years
Faculty (4)*	Elected by the Faculty Senate	Voting	Two years
Faculty Forum Executive Team member**	Automatic	Non-Voting	One year
CTE Council Representative**	Appointed by CTE Council	Non- Voting	One year
Faculty Member-at-Large	Elected by the Faculty Senate	Voting	Two years

* Four faculty members (at least three of whom are tenured) elected by the faculty senate, serve staggered two- year terms, with the option to stay for an additional year if serving as Chair in the third year. Faculty membership should represent a balance, with no more than one faculty member from any one department, with two from Transfer and two from Career and Technical Education. (CTE)

** If another Academic Affairs member already holds one of these positions, that person can serve in both roles.

Voting members will recuse themselves from voting on decisions in which they believe they may have a conflict of interest, including over-representation by any one department on pertinent issues.

The President of the College may appoint non-voting administrative liaisons to sub-committees or task forces.

Chair Election: The committee shall elect a new Chair by its mid-April meeting.

Presentations to Academic Affairs:

Academic Affairs encourages presentation of all instructional issues by all campus constituents. Examples of relevant instructional issues include but are not limited to:

• Instructional policies impacting admissions, advising, curriculum, Banner, students.
• Instructional policies impacting faculty, such as academic calendars, campus-wide outcomes, block scheduling, grading policies, final exam schedules.

Committee Process:

1. Presentation Checklist Form: All presenters will need to complete a presentation checklist form (Form #1: Presentations to Academic Affairs Checklist), and e-mail it to the Academic Affairs Chair by their specified deadline. Please consult the Instructions for Academic Affairs Presentation Checklist Form, as a reference for completing Form #1.
2. Information Items: Presenters may simply want advisory input or to notify the committee of campus discussions. These presentations do not require a decision by the committee. In these situations, the Committee may advise and/or approve support but no first or second reading is required. These situations will be noted in the Minutes. If presentations include issues not relevant to Academic Affairs, presenters will be referred to appropriate campus resources, including other committees.
3. Action Items: Presentations including an Action Item are required to complete and submit the following form (Form #1: Presentations to Academic Affairs Checklist) prior to being scheduled. 

   a.  Action Items may receive any of the following options:

   1. Approve the proposal as submitted
   2. Approve an amended proposal
   3. Vote against a proposal
   4. Create a task force to address any issues arising as they relate to the needs and goals of the instruction at COCC.
   5. Appoint additional individuals to a task force to broaden the range of interests and/or deepen the levels of expertise.
   6. Modify the task given to a task force.
   7. Refer the issue to the Vice President for Instruction/Instructional Deans and/or other appropriate College Committees (such as College Affairs, Student Affairs, Chairmoot, CTE Council, Institutional Support Committee, Faculty Senate) for broader review and consideration.
4. Approval and Communications: Final approval and communication of Actions and Recommendations of the Academic Affairs Committee shall be subject to the policies defined in G-6-1.3 and G-6-1.4.
5. Implementation: Recommendations made by Academic Affairs and approved by the President should be implemented by responsible parties. In addition to those presenting proposals to Academic Affairs, other parties may be involved in implementation and communications regarding action items. The table below describes individuals or groups potentially included in communication and implementation of recommendations.

Recommendations for Implementation of and Communications about Approved Proposals:

Recommendations	Parties included in communication/implementation
Program Level	Program Director, VPI, Dean, and/or Faculty Senate Chair
Instructional policies that impact admissions, advising, curriculum, banner, and students	VPI, other appropriate administrator, Dean and/or Faculty Senate Chair
Instructional policies that impact faculty	VPI Faculty Senate Chair, and/or Faculty Forum President
Policies that impact the larger campus	VPI, Faculty Senate,  Faculty Forum President, College Affairs and/or President

College Communication:

In order to facilitate communication between faculty and administration, the Chair of Academic Affairs may communicate directly with the Vice President for Instruction and/or Academic Deans and the President of the College.