City College of San Francisco - California Competes

THEME III
The Student Governance Study Group’s recommendations resulted in a process for electing a student
trustee, clearly defined operating guidelines, funding for campus leadership scholarships, and funding
to compensate Associated Students officers and student members on Shared Governance committees.
These changes have resulted in increased participation in student government at most of the campuses.
However, at some campuses, such as the Alemany Campus, the formation of a student council and a
process for student elections are still in the developmental stage. To build support, the Associated Students
at the Ocean Avenue Campus have allocated some start-up funding to pay for field trips and cultural
events, but a regular allocation for student activities is needed.
Campus/Site Advisory Committees and CBO-Initiated Dialogs. The neighborhood campuses/sites each
have some type of discussion-communication structure to discuss and plan campus services and curriculum
needs and to update faculty, staff, and students about events and activities. For example, at the John
Adams (JAD) Campus and Mission Campus these monthly meetings (called a Site Council at the JAD
Campus and a Coordinating Committee at the Mission Campus) comprise all constituent groups, including
a Student Council representative. At the Chinatown/North Beach Campus, the Campus Dean meets
regularly with the on-campus coordinators for ESL, Business, Counseling, and the Admissions and
Enrollment Office. In this forum, issues around the enrollment process, student and community needs,
trends, and course offerings are discussed and resolved. Student input at the Chinatown/North Beach
Campus is also obtained from periodic focus groups and short surveys conducted in selected courses.
All of this information is then used for discussion at campus faculty meetings.
Dialogs about curriculum and student services are also initiated by community groups and individuals
at campuses where the community brings its needs directly to the attention of the campus dean and the
campus/site advisory committee. All campus deans concur about the importance of community input and
feedback to help them shape and design programs and curricula to serve community needs. Discussion
and debate primarily occur at the campuses within the advisory council structure, composed of CCSF
faculty/staff and representatives from community organizations; or in site councils, which are composed
of campus coordinators, deans, faculty, and student representatives. The following examples from several
neighborhood campuses reveal how campus/site advisory committees/councils and community-based
organizations (CBOs) shape these dialogs and help contribute to improvements and institutional change.
The Southeast Campus (SEC) has built many relationships with and sought input from the community,
as it has been a critical force in the economic development and job skills training for the residents in the
southeast corridor of San Francisco. This input typically begins with discussions with members of the
Southeast Advisory Board, the Southeast Associated Students, community-based organizations, churches,
and public and private organizations. Two examples of outcomes resulting from a series of meetings and
discussions with the various stakeholders are the Bridge to Biotech program, described in more detail in
the Theme V essay, and the Hekima program. The idea for the Bridge to Biotech program began during
regular meetings with the community and SEC students, when the SEC Dean realized that community
residents and students needed a bridge class, comparable to the College’s excellent Math Bridge program,
to access biotechnology courses. She shared this idea with administrators and the Board of Trustees,
where further discussions ensued. The Hekima program resulted from another series of dialogs at the
SEC Campus between the SEC Dean and some of the faculty and staff, high school and CCSF students,
members of the San Francisco Police Department, and mental and public health professionals to discuss
the need for an after-school, college preparatory program for young adults at risk of involvement in
the criminal justice system. As a result of these dialogs, the Hekima program was developed to address
this need.
288 CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO