December 2017

Governance at a Glance

In this issue:


Educational Master Plan (EMP) Steering Committee

As a result of many individuals who dedicated countless hours in dialogue, reviewing educational literature and research, writing, and editing, the college is proud to announce the 2018-23 DVC Educational Master Plan (EMP) has been approved through the governance process and is scheduled for approval by the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board at its December meeting.

This document includes our goals for students, the college and our community. The student experience goals focus on the four stages of their DVC experience. The college goals are designed to support the student goals by concentrating on the conditions that create the ideal student and employee experience. And lastly, the community goals are aimed at meeting the diverse community needs for post-secondary education, skilled workforce and civic engagement.

Read the 2018-23 DVC Educational Master Plan on the DVC website.


Governance Committee and Council Reports

Governance meetings are open to all members of the campus community and all are encouraged to attend. For up-to-date information on governance and the various documents, please visit our governance website.

Bookmark our governance meeting calendar to always keep up with what is going on in college governance.


College Council (CC)

CC has been busy this semester, and has accomplished the following:

  • Endorsed the self-assessment that will be used by the GPS Team to assess ongoing effectiveness
  • Endorsed the final version of the Educational Master Plan (EMP)
  • Endorsed the RPEC evaluation form and crosswalk for use in all college-wide committees
  • Endorsed the new Integrated Plan, which combines Basic Skills, Student Equity, and Student Success and Support (3SP) programs all into one integrated plan for 2017-2019
  • Voted to move forward with the Food Insecurity Proposal, which will create an on-campus food pantry and provide lunches through the cafeteria for students who demonstrate need
  • Voted to move forward with new Wayfinder signage throughout the campus and parking lots

CC is in the process of finalizing a new resource allocation procedure, and will be reviewing the college mission statement process in the spring.

For more information, please visit the College Council website

Current Chairs: John Freytag (faculty) and Jessica Martin (classified)


Research, Planning and Evaluation Committee (RPEC)

RPEC is in the early stages of preparing a close-out report of the 2013-17 DVC Strategic Plan. The close-out report will review and assess the colleges efforts to fulfill the strategic plan directive which is “Diablo Valley College will increase student success,” and also review and assess the four goals that were also contained in the 2013-17 plan. This closeout report will include recommendations for the next strategic plan. RPEC anticipates the report will be presented to College Council in spring 2018.

For more information, please visit the Research, Planning and Evaluation Committee website.

Current Chairs: Laurie Lema (management), Catherine Machalinski (faculty)


Program Review Committee (PRC)

Training for writers and validators on Program Review planned for the semester were completed with faculty from across campus attending. The comprehensive program reviews for instructional units were due just before Thanksgiving and with college validation day is December 8.

For more information, please visit the Program Review Committee website.

Current co-chairs: Raymond Martin (classified), Obed Vazquez (management)


Budget Committee (BC)

After meeting with the district CFO to discuss the history of budgeted reserves for DVC, LMC, CCC and the district combined, BC recommended to the college president for DVC to maintain the same budget reserve level as last year.

The committee continues to discuss the college budget allocation process while also continuing to review potential cost savings/operational efficiency ideas.

For more information, please visit the Budget Committee Website.

Current co-chairs: John Nahlen (management); Laura Burns (faculty)


Academic Senate Council (ASC)

ASC was very pleased to have the new Veterans Certificate presented to senate by John Anderson and Charlie Shi, as well as the new Social Justice AA-T degree presented by Sangha Niyogi and Albert Ponce.

In addition:

  • ASC approved the final draft of the new Educational Master Plan,
  • ASC reviewed work done to date on the Measure E projects and endorsed the concept of accelerating the timeline for construction of the LA/FO complex,
  • Rachel Westlake presented the work done so far with the Classroom Design Standards group,
  • Becky Opsata presented the self-assessment that will be sent to the state in order to qualify for Guided Pathways funding.

The ASC sent a formal resolution to State Plenary, in regards to the college being asked to certify work from an unaccredited home/high school, and it passed unanimously. Thanks to Dolores Davison, Secretary, Academic Senate of California Community Colleges and John Freytag, DVC Academic Senate Vice President for their work to craft the resolution and take it to the state level.

Finally, the ASC presented a resolution to Interim President Ted Wieden, thanking him for his service to DVC.

For more information, please visit the Academic Senate Website.

Current leadership: Beth McBrien, president; John Freytag, vice-president


Classified Senate (CS)

CS meets on the first Wednesday of the month from 11:30 am - 1 pm, and is actively recruiting new council members. The council currently has a vacancy for secretary and is looking for a fill-in for the remainder of the school year. Every officer position will be up for election in the 2018-2020 term. CS will be looking for an election committee after the break, to begin the process in February. The council would like to see new faces with fresh ideas!

For more information, please visit the Classified Senate website.

Current leadership: Marisa Greenberg, president; Jessica Martin, vice president


For the charges and functions of the above committees, please visit the links to each committee above.

All DVC constituencies, including our students, can access our governance committee minutes and agendas through the public website.