Governance Bodies

COLLEGE COUNCIL

Purpose: The purpose of the College Council is to receive and review college policy recommendations from any and all college groups, obtain constituent opinions, advise the President as to policy recommendations, provide a venue for college-wide initiatives and provide a means of communication within the college community. The College Council is the forum in which all proposed broad-based College policy and procedural changes are discussed collegially before they are acted on or implemented by the College President.

Stacy Thompson, Chair

COLLEGE BUDGET COMMITTEE

Charge: (1) advise on the development of budgetary policies, processes and timelines; (2) receive and review budget proposals from departments and/or program areas; (3) review and recommend the overall College Budget with respect to Unrestricted General Funds (Funds 1 thru 10), Instructional Equipment, Partnership for Excellence, VTEA (Fund 16),   Instructional Supplies (Fund 17), Discretionary Funds, Facilities Revenues and other cash receipts, and funding available for vacant faculty and classified positions; (4) recommend funding priorities (except as noted below in #’s 5 & 6) for overall college budget; (5) review as “Information Item Only” Classified and Faculty Vacancy Prioritization; (6) review as “Information Item Only” Categorical Funding (i.e., DSPS, EOPS/CARE, MERRITTWorks, Matriculation); (7) sponsor budget orientation workshops for the College community;  and (8) engage in self-directed study, to meet its regulatory obligations under Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, and to maintain authority delegated by the State Chancellor’s Office.

COUNCIL OF DEPARTMENT CHAIRS AND PROGRAM DIRECTORS (CDCPD)

Charge: (1) review and make recommendations on all instructional matters, (including but not limited to faculty positions and priorities, scheduling, departmental and budget allocations); To periodically review assessment and placement criteria and make recommendations (in consultation with the Assessment Coordinator); (3) review and recommend changes in general education and graduation requirements; and (4) recommend procedures and policies affecting instruction.

 David Morales, Chair

 CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTIONAL COUNCIL (CIC)

Charge: (1)review and make recommendations on all curricular matters, including approval of new programs and courses, course revisions or deactivations, prerequisites and corequisites, and placement of courses within disciplines; (2) review and evaluate courses and programs periodically and make recommendations; (3) review and recommend changes in general education requirements and graduation requirements; (4) recommend procedures and policies affecting curriculum; and (5) engage in self-directed study, to meet its regulatory obligations under Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, and to maintain authority delegated by the State Chancellor’s Office.

Chair  Alexis Alexander, Vice Chair TBA

FACILITIES COMMITTEE

Charge: (1) advise on the development of facilities planning processes and timelines; (2) recommend funding priorities for Building Funds; (3) receive and review facilities proposals from departments, program areas and/or the District Physical Plant Office; (4) recommend representatives to serve on District facilities committees that impact Merritt facilities; (5) routinely review and monitor campus compliance with ADA and 504 and make recommendations to ensure compliance; (6) recommend procedures and policies affecting facilities and physical environment of the campus; (7) review the State’s Specialization Report and the Five year Master Plan for campus compliance and make recommendations to ensure compliance; (8) establish Subcommittees to assist with the planning for building renovations and remodels; and (9) sponsor facilities orientation workshops for the College community.

 TBA, Co-Chairs

INTEGRATED PLANNING COMMITTEE

Charge: The Integrated Planning Committee (IPC), a subcommittee of the College Council, serves as the planning body that identifies the strategies and processes the College will use to fulfill its mission AND that facilitates the integration of institutional planning and budgeting.  The role of the IPC is to conduct a situational analysis every five years, with annual updates as needed; recommend long term strategic directions for the College; recommend annual institutional priorities; and review, analyze & comment on UNIT Annual Action Plans.

TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

Charge: (1) assess how effectively current technology is being utilized at the College; (2) identify, prioritize and recommend areas for expansion of technology utilization for the enhancement of instructional programs, student services and the management of the College; (3) identify, prioritize and recommend both on-going and specialized training needs for maximum utilization of technological resources; (4) identify, prioritize and recommend staffing for technology; (5) develop an on-going comprehensive College Technology Plan for consideration by College Council; (6) recommend funding strategies and priorities for major technology spending; (7) advise the District Technology Committee about the information technology needs and concerns of Merritt College; (8) receive regular reports from the District Information Technology Committee, and review and respond as appropriate; and (9) establish (as needed) technology subcommittees.

Chairs: Dr Eric Gravenberg, Alexis Alexander

ACCREDITATION COMMITTEE

Charge: (1) define characteristics of quality and excellence and present evidence (through the College’s self-study report) that such quality and excellence are being achieved; (2) monitor and examine the progress of recommendations made by the accreditation evaluation team. Twice annually, progress reports will be given to the College Council and reflected in the institutional planning process.

 Linda Berry-Camara, Convener

FINANCIAL AID PETITION COMMITTEE

Charge: review petitions from students who are not eligible to receive

Financial Aid based upon academic performance.

 Alice Freeman, Chair

GRADUATION COMMITTEE

Charge: plan and coordinate all aspects of the College’s annual graduation.

Anthony Powell,

HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE

Charge: (1) in coordination with District Risk Management, develop a disaster preparedness plan for Merritt; (2) facilitate disaster preparedness training; (3) identify health and safety issues for the campus and recommend solutions; (4) recommend health and safety policies, programs and protocols for the campus; (5) develop preventive health programs and training for the campus. The Health and Safety Committee makes recommendations to the College Council.

MATRICULATION

Charge: The Matriculation Committee is responsible for overseeing the full implementation of the Matriculation process. Major campus policy decisions related to the Matriculation process will be recommended by this Committee and forwarded to the Vice President of Student Services. When appropriate, recommendations with District-wide implications will be forwarded to the District-wide Matriculation Committee for final approval. The Matriculation Committee makes reports to College Council once per semester.

SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS COMMITTEE

Charge:  (1) review and evaluate applicants for the Peralta CommunityCollege District’s Chancellor’s Trophy Award, the Valedictorian and Salutatorian and forwards those named as recommendations to the Vice President of Student Services; (2) review, evaluate and select the recipients for the annual Associated Students of Merritt College Scholarship Awards.  

SHARED GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

Charge: (1) monitor College’s Shared Governance System; (2) serve as resource and support to College Council, Governance Committees and Standing Committees regarding the shared governance process; (3) facilitate orientation and training for Governance Committees and Standing Committees (including training on Parliamentary Procedures for committee chairpersons); (4) upon request, formulate Bylaws for new Governance Committees; (5) upon request, formulate charges, membership and governing guidelines for Standing Committees. Recommendations from the Shared Governance Committee go to the College President through the College Council.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Charge: (1) plan, develop, coordinate, review and evaluate all of the professional development activities that take place at the College; (2) plan Flex Day activities for scheduled Districtwide days as well as campus on-going professional development activities; (3) establish priorities and procedures and make advisory recommendations in each of the following areas: collaborative/special projects, institutional subscriptions and memberships, individual travel and conferences, tuition reimbursement, and unique staff development needs of counselors and librarians; (4) issue twice yearly report to the College Community and the District Officer of Staff Development: on expenditures, funding priorities, procedures, deadlines, activities, schedules of meetings, attainment of goals, needs assessments, etc.; and (5) supervise the sabbatical leave process—conduct workshops, evaluate and approve applications with recommendations to the College President.

Jennifer Shanowski, Chair

STUDENT DUE PROCESS COMMITTEE

Charge: hear student appeals of disciplinary decisions rendered by the Vice President and/or Dean of Student Services. (See College Catalog for complete description, policies and procedures.)  

 Chair-TBA

STUDENT GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE

Charge:  (1) addresses complaints by a student involving the interpretation, application or alleged violation of District policies and procedures; and (2) address student grievances alleging mistake, fraud, bad faith or incompetence in the academic evaluations of student performance. (See College Catalog for complete description, policies and procedures.)

 Linda Berry-Camara, Chair

STUDENT OUTREACH COMMITTEE

Charge: (1) network with Oakland Unified School District and provide college access and information to high school seniors and students interested in the high school concurrent enrollment program; and (2) provide access and information to potential students originating from community-based organizations.

 Anthony Powell, Chair