Approved Recommendations

The following recommendations have been approved by the EAC and the district president.
 

Approved by the EAC, 5/20/09
PCC Honors Program Taskforce Recommendation

Approved by the EAC, 2/18/09
Transfer Credit Standards

PCC will only articulate courses from other institutions that are completed with a grade of A, B, C, or P (when P is a C or better). Grades earned in courses that are articulated from other institutions will not be used in a student’s GPA calculation at PCC.

Approved by the EAC, 1/21/09
1. AAOT Degree Revision Recommendations
PCC adopt the structure of the revised AAOT for the 09-10 academic year with the recommendation that we develop a three-year work plan to integrate Statewide outcomes into our internal processes for course review.

PCC maintains a triennial review process for AAOT categories. This allows for changes in statewide outcomes and PCC outcomes and assessment processes to inform course eligibility requirements. Triennial review process time line

a. 09-10 work for 10-11 catalog: Cultural Literacy and Informational Literacy
b. 10-11 work for 11-12 catalog: Foundational Areas; Discipline Studies - General Education List

2. P/NP Credits for certificates
A maximum of 8 credits of Pass/No Pass grades will apply to any (less than one year) certificate. Specific certificates that deviate from this maximum will state their P/NP maximum in the requirements for that specific certificate.

A maximum of 12 credits of Pass/No Pass grades will apply to any one-year certificate. Specific one-year certificates that deviate from this maximum will state their P/NP maximum in the requirements for that specific one-year certificate.

A maximum of 24 credits of Pass/No Pass grades will apply to any two-year certificate. Specific two-year certificates that deviate from this maximum will state their P/NP maximum in the requirements for that specific two-year certificate.

Approved by the EAC, 12/10/08
Modification to remove the words “program prerequisites or” from the AAS General Education requirements statement: The new statement will read “the AAS General Education Requirements currently state 16 credits of general education coursework, of which 1 course needs to be from each of the distribution areas. No more than two courses may come from courses required by specific programs.”

Approved by the EAC, 11/19/08
Clarifying the Timeline for Graduation Petition:  Students must apply for graduation within one year of completing coursework at PCC. If it has been longer than one year, students must petition for an exception to this policy. The petition must be approved by the Registrar’s Office. If the student completed a CTE program, the CTE department chair must also approve the petition.

Pass/No Pass Credit Maximums (add to the Comprehensive Degree Requirements): A maximum of 24 credits of Pass/No Pass grades will apply to any degree. Specific AAS degrees that deviate from this maximum will state the degree maximum in the degree requirements for the specific AAS degree.

Approved by the EAC, 9/24/08
Credit for Prior Learning Recommendations

The EAC’s Task Force on Credit for Prior Learning presented a proposal to further investigate the issue of how PCC acknowledges and awards credit for prior learning. After discussion the EAC approved the following recommendation:

1. To conduct an exploratory inquiry that determines which departments use credit for prior learning
2. Recommend an institutional review process with criteria that is measurable
3. Recommend criteria guidelines for building portfolios for CPL and that all of the above meets accreditation standards

Approved by the EAC, 9/26/07
Approved Smoking Recommendations

The EAC recommends that “the administration adopt a strategy which would allow efficient enforcement of the current policy regarding smoking or revising the policy.”

The EAC recommends that “PCC provide a smoking cessation/education campaign for the benefit of its students and employees”.

The EAC recommends that “the problems related to tobacco use be discussed at the individual campus level.”

Approved Textbook Recommendations from the EAC Textbook Costs Task Force:

  • To sell for personal profit complimentary and examination books or other materials provided by publishers to any PCC employee, department or division is unprofessional and will not be allowed. ( Rec. #8, approved by EAC, 5/23/07)
  • Ban all solicitations of sales by book buyers to any PCC employee at any site, leased, or otherwise used by Portland Community College. (Rec. #9, approved by the EAC, 5/23/07)
  • Reduce the bookstore contribution to the General Fund by 25% each year beginning in 2007-08, so that the 2011-2012 budget will include no General Fund contribution from the Bookstore. Concurrently, direct the Bookstore to reduce its markup (of about 23% currently) on Textbook sales, reflecting the reduction in Bookstore contribution to the General Fund. While it is preferred that the loss of revenue to the General Fund resulting from the reduction in the bookstore contribution be replaced by New Initiative funding, if such funding is not available that loss of revenue should be covered by other means. (Rec. #4, approved by the EAC, 12/13/06)

Related motion regarding the EAC’s budgeting priorities for the following:

    • 1. Pre-req implementation – Restoring funding and positions
    • 2. Copyright office - $100,000 placeholder
    • 3. 100,000 reduction of the general fund so that the bookstores costs can be reduced for students. This would go to Financial services for consideration so this does not need prioritizing.
  • The EAC voted to affirm that pre-req implementation is the number one priority. (Approved by the EAC, 12/13/06)
  • The EAC recommends the establishment of a copyright office as a potential method for saving costs to students, and further recommends a $100,000 copyright office placeholder in new initiatives for the financial year 2008. (Rec. #6, approved by the EAC, 11/29/06)

  • The EAC recommendations that the administration institute the following changes to help reduce costs for students (Textbook Task Force “Recommendations for PCC as an institution,” 1-5, approved 6/14/06)

    1. Institute a standard Textbook Order Form, which makes use of an entirely online submission process including a default mechanism that will not accept the order form unless it is filled out completely.

    2. Affirm the PCC practice of allowing any student with financial aid from any source to charge purchases at the Bookstore at least two weeks before a new academic term begins.

    3. Ensure all financial aid awards administered through the PCC Financial Aid Office are disbursed to students as early as possible.

    4.  Evaluate the Bookstore’s mandated contribution to the General Fund with the intention of reducing the Bookstore markup on textbooks, while opposing any movement towards privatization of PCC Bookstore operations.

    5. Improve support for the PCC Bookstore both directly and indirectly, including more PCC  Foundation Book-Buying Scholarships.

EAC Final Membership By-Law Changes

Textbook Recommendations 7 and 10

#7: In order to reduce costs associated with textbooks and other instructional materials required for purchase at Portland Community College, all faculty must be aware that they are public employees who are expected to avoid even the appearance of impropriety while interacting with publishers or other vendors. It is the responsibility of each faculty person to understand and follow college policy and state law regarding personal gain as it relates to employment with the college.

It is considered unprofessional for any PCC employee to accept financial compensation, gifts, or services from publishers or other vendors as an incentive for adoption and purchase of textbooks or other instructional materials. Formal agreements involving acceptable compensation, gifts, or services must reflect reasonable payment for faculty labor, provide opportunities for professional development, or add significant value to the goals of the institution. (Approved, 10/17/07)

#10: While communicating with state and federal policymakers, students, faculty, and other representatives of Portland Community College should seek to:

a) protect and improve funding for student educational needs, noting the increased costs of textbooks as one of many factors contributing to increased need;

b) provide a tax credit for textbook and other student costs directly related to educational expenses;

c) prevent publishers from restricting markets, thus allowing bookstores and others to purchase textbooks from outside the United States (Congressman Wu’s former HR 3567);

d) create a capital fund which public universities and community colleges may use to set up textbook rental systems; and

e) place limits upon royalties charged by publishers for use of copyrighted materials. (Approved, 10/17/07)