WHEREAS, in spring 2015 roughly 160 classes were cancelled, and
WHEREAS, classes cancelled at the last minute have both short-term and long-term negative effects on departments, faculty, and students, and
WHEREAS, in the short-term, part-time faculty in particular suffer as they lose part of their livelihood, and students suffer from losing a class they have counted on and need to try, if possible, to rearrange their schedule to fill the gap in order to avoid derailing their academic plan, and
WHEREAS, in the long-term, a high number of cancelled classes leads to problems attracting qualified part-time faculty and attracting and retaining students, both of whom may go elsewhere, and
WHEREAS, students may be derailed from the important goal of completing their educational plans in a timely manner, and
WHEREAS, Palomar College is committed to student success, and last-minute cancellation of classes works against that commitment, and
WHEREAS, two significant issues Palomar College faces are attracting and retaining excellent part-time instructors, and attracting and retaining students in a time of declining enrollment,
BE IT RESOLVED that comprehensive and consistent planning is essential to avoid this kind of situation in the future, and faculty need to be part of the planning from the onset, and
Be It Further RESOLVED, significant input from department chairs is needed before a class is cancelled, and there must be a commitment to, whenever possible, avoiding cancelling classes the week prior to classes starting, due to the short-term and long-term negative impacts on the college, faculty, and students.
The motion carried.
Resolution on Presidential Search • October 27, 2014
WHEREAS Palomar College is in the midst of preparing for our Accreditation visit in March, meaning the faculty, staff, and administrative leadership is
preoccupied with completing the work required for the accreditation visit and would not be able to devote the time and energy required to a presidential search; and
WHEREAS the Faculty wants to have a deliberative process and not be rushed into making a decision; and
WHEREAS the search procedure is more than simply recruitment, paper screening, and interviews, it requires time to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the current administration and the direction the remaining employees would like for the future of the College; and
WHEREAS the Faculty, Staff, and Administration who will be working with the new President for years to come should have significant influence over the selection process; and
WHEREAS in order to promote diversity, we need a comprehensive and deliberate process;
BE IT RESOLVED that:
• _the Faculty request a search committee is formed in a timely manner and that the search committee then recommend the timeline for a Presidential search.
• _the Faculty request the District to hire an outside Interim President effective 7/1/15.
• _those faculty, staff, and administrators who are retiring in 2015 refrain from the participation in the search process.

The motion carried.