Delta College has approved removal of English 78 and English 79, as well as Math 92G, from curriculum.
The changes come from the Student Success Act of 2012.
“Pursuant to AB 705, a college shall not require students to enroll in remedial English or math coursework that lengthens their time to complete a degree unless placement research, that includes consideration of high school grade point average and coursework, shows that those students are highly unlikely to succeed in transfer-level coursework in English and mathematics,” said official communication from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s office regarding the changes from Assembly Bill 705.
The courses are currently listed and taught for the Spring 2019 semester.
Curriculum committee approved deactivation of English 78, English 79, and Math 92G on Feb. 12.
Not all changes, which have included elimination of assessment tools, are welcomed.
At the Feb. 20 Academic Senate meeting, tensions from the move to not offer certain developmental courses ran high, with faculty questioning who Delta College serves.
Senators began to ask questions about the courses removed from listings.
The courses remain active in curriculum.
Delta Counselor Becky Plaza expressed concern.
The Senate talked about deactivating these courses and then developing more appropriate courses.
Dr. Ginger Holden, Dean of Student Learning and Assessment, said in the meeting offering 92G and 92S brings confusion for some students. The recommendation was to deactivate 92G, which means students can then take Math 96, a new Pre-Statistics course. The course allows anyone to enroll as it has no advisories.
Students can then move on to Math 12, Introduction to Probability and Statistics.
Arguments went back and forth between senators and Holden, who made a comment about serving students “four levels below transfer.”
The comment drew an immediate reaction.
“We are a community college, Ginger,” said Plaza.
History Professor Evan Wade said the changes are coming abruptly.
“As we make adjustments we need to create a fail-safe system,” said Wade.
He said Delta’s mission is to serve students and anyone who wants to come will.
“Amen,” responded Plaza, with echoes from other senators.
The Board of Trustees voted on the final approval of the courses on Feb. 26 for Summer 2019.
The courses will no longer be offered at Delta College.
In the same consent agenda, the board also approved activation of Math 96.
The next Academic Senate meeting will be at 3:30 p.m. on March 6 in the Mustang Room, located inside Danner Hall near the bookstore entrance.
