Standard 2 – Institutional Integrity

The institution subscribes to, advocates, and demonstrates honesty and truthfulness in representations to its constituencies and the public; in pursuit of truth and the dissemination of knowledge; in its treatment of and respect for administration, faculty, staff, and students; in the management of its affairs and in relationships with its accreditation association and other external agencies.

Response to Visiting Team Recommendation for Standard 2:

No recommendations were made for this Standard.

Narrative Summary of Standard 2 Activities:

The College has established a timeline for the input and revision of information prior to the publication of the schedule of classes and the catalogue. This submission process is coordinated through the Office of Instruction and involves all faculty and area deans, student services personnel as well as the Office of the President/Superintendent, the Workforce and CommunityDevelopmentCenter, and the College Webmaster. Appropriate offices review all publications (such as department brochures, the College Catalogue, and the Schedule of Classes) for accuracy prior to dissemination to the public.

The Board of Trustees publishes its policies through the Office of the President/Superintendent.

The policies approved by the Governing Board are published in the Faculty Handbook, College Catalogue, and Schedule of Classes. They are made available on the College web site ( and disseminated by the college senates to their members. Said policies and obligations include clearly defined statements regarding academic freedom, also published in the Faculty Handbook. The college senates also develop position papers and proposed policies for consideration and approval.

The district’s Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook is being reviewed and revised by the Student Policy Review Committee. Additional student conduct policies (Board Policy 3100, Rules Governing Students) are in place and are available for examination by students in the Student Services Office. These and other policies regarding sexual harassment, working conditions, academic grievance procedures, student code of conduct description, and policy on cheating are updated and reviewed routinely. The Schedule of Classes notes that a copy of the Students Rights & Responsibilities (which includes the Grievance Procedures) is available upon request through the Student Services Office. Updates to all Governing Board Policies are distributed to faculty for inclusion in the existing Faculty Handbook.

While no formal assessment has been made to measure student awareness or understanding of academic honesty policies or the sanctions for violations, the Faculty Handbook states that instructors should make their standards clear to students in writing on the first day of class. Appropriate classroom decorum is a topic of discussion each term during Area/Department faculty meetings, New Instructor/Adjunct Orientation and Faculty Convocations and/or Flex Days. The Policy on Cheating is published in the Schedule of Classes and the College Catalogue each semester and is also available on the College website along with Student Grievance Procedures. In addition, hard copies of the full policy are available from the Student Services Office. Due process for students accused of improper conduct is in place and described in the curriculum of Counseling 21: Orientation to College, a mandatory admission requirement to HartnellCollege, under Student Rightsand Responsibilities. During the 2002-03 academic year, the Academic Senate reviewed several student policies under development and/or revision by the Student Services Policy Committee.

The College attempts to ensure that all members of the staff have an appropriate understanding of diversity issues. As part of an attempt to ascertain the campus climate and acceptance of diversity on campus, the Office of Institutional Research was directed to conduct a Climate Study of Campus Diversity (June 2002). One aspect of the survey involved assessment of attitudes and satisfaction of faculty, staff and students. Overall students and employees rated the campus climate as “Good” to “Very Good.”

The efforts of the College in heightening awareness of multicultural matters have been extraordinary. In the fall of 2000, the President/Superintendent called a mandatory meeting to discuss issues of diversity. A panel of faculty, students and staff presented views regarding the composition of the student body, classroom comfort and learning communities. Information was also presented about the ACCESS program, a program for traditionally underserved populations interested in careers in the biomedical sciences. Discussions involved ways of making a diverse student body comfortable in the College and strategies for student success in the classroom. Since then, an annual Diversity Conference has brought featured speakers to campus to speak on issues of diversity. This activity was recognized by the Chancellor’s Office in 2002. For the Spring Flex/Staff Development Activity 2002, Dr. William Piland gave a workshop on Multiculturalism Across the Curriculum, while Dr. Terrence Roberts led a series of presentations and working sessions with the faculty on diversity. As a result of the activities with Dr. Piland, forty-five faculty expressed an interest in learning how to include multiculturalism across the curriculum. Their interest resulted in the College working with Dr. Piland to obtain a grant from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office to implement a comprehensive faculty support program for infusing multiculturalism into the curriculum and providing a multicultural approach to pedagogical strategies used in the learning environment and in the assessment of student learning. The impact created by Dr. Roberts’s presentations resulted in his return to the campus during May 2003 to serve as the Keynote speaker for the third annual Diversity Conference, as well as provide professional development for all Hartnell administrators.

The Committee for International/Intercultural Education wrote its Statement of Mission and Goals (reviewed annually) during 2001. The Committee, in cooperation with Associated Students of Hartnell College, Food Service, community organizations and other educational institutions the committee has realized several cultural activities and events on-campus since its inception, such as: International Week, international dinners and United Nations Day presentations.

The SportsCounselingCenter is scheduled for its first Student Services Program Review in Fall 2003. The Athletic department met, identified future staffing needs and forwardedrecommendations to the Hiring Committee (Fall 2002). Currently, Hartnell College Athletic Programs are in compliance with Commission on Athletics Title IX regulations. Each fall, coaches attend mandatory department meetings to review the Athletic Code and Commission on Athletics and Conference Eligibility Guidelines prior to the start of the season. In addition, updated new information is posted on department bulletin boards. All student/athletes receive eligibility and academic information through Student Athlete Orientations (Counseling 21) and Counselor /Athletic Team meetings.

Conclusion:

The College believes it is making good progress in meeting the requirements of Standard 2 and in carrying out its planning agenda. During the next two years emphasis will be placed on revision of the Hartnell College Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook and development of instruments for evaluating the accuracy and effectiveness of publications.

Standard 2 – Narrative Page 1 of 3