College Policies

COLLEGE POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Academic Freedom
(Board Policy 2018)

The CCCCD affirms its belief in the academic freedom of faculty, management and students to teach, study, conduct research, write and challenge viewpoints without undue restriction.

Members of the college faculty are citizens, members of a learned profession and representatives of an educational institution. When they speak or write as citizens, they should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but their special position in the community imposes special obligations.

As persons of learning with institutional affiliations, they should remember that the public might judge their profession and institution by their statements. Hence, at all times be accurate, exercise appropriate restraint, show respect for the opinions of others and make every effort to indicate that they are not expressing their institution’s views.

Academic Honesty Policy
Adopted by College Council February 9, 1994
Administrative Code of the state of California, Title V, Sections 41301, 41302, 41304
Education Code of the State of California, Sections 66017, 76030, 76031, 76032, 76033, 76037

Students at Contra Costa College are expected to perform honestly and ethically in completing homework and class assignments. Students who are dishonest in the performance of classwork will be subject to disciplinary action. Students accused of being dishonest have the right to request a hearing by contacting the college President Office.

Definitions
To assist students to understand what behavior is considered dishonest and unethical, the following definitions are provided.

Plagiarism: Although difficult to define, plagiarism consists of taking the words or specific substance of another and either copying or paraphrasing the work without giving credit to the source. The following examples are only some of the forms plagiarism may take.

	Submitting a term paper, examination or other work written by someone else. This is a flagrant instance of plagiarism.
	Failure to give credit in a footnote for ideas, statements of fact or conclusions derived by another.
	Failure to use quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it is a paragraph, a sentence or even a part thereof.
	Close and extended paraphrasing of another.

Cheating: Using unauthorized notes, study aids, or information from another student or student’s paper on an in-class examination; altering a graded work after it has been returned, then submitting the work for re-grading; and allowing another person to do one’s work and to submit the work under one’s own name.

Fabrication: Presenting data in a piece of work which were not gathered in accordance with guidelines defining the appropriate methods for collecting or generating data and failing to include a substantially accurate account of the method by which the data were generated or collected.

Aiding and abetting dishonesty: Providing material or information to another person with knowledge that these materials or information will be used improperly.

Forgery, alteration or misuse of campus documents, records, or identification or knowingly furnishing false or incomplete information to a campus: Altering documents affecting academic records; forging a signature of authorization or falsifying information on an official academic document, election form, grade report, letter of permission, petition, or any document designed to meet or exempt a student from an established College academic regulation.

Disciplinary Actions
If a student is found guilty of dishonest or unethical behavior in the completion of homework or class assignments, he or she is subject to disciplinary action. Disciplinary action may be mild or severe, ranging from a verbal or written reprimand, to probation, a grade of “F” or no credit in a course, to suspension, expulsion or dismissal from a course or from the College.

Hearing Procedures (Due Process)
A student who is disciplined because of dishonest behavior may request a hearing with the President and/or designees for a review of the facts of the matter and to present his or her perspective. The student must write the Contra Costa College President requesting a hearing within 10 days of notification of discipline.

College Letterhead
College letterhead should be used for all official college correspondence, including letters of recommendation and support. Request college letterhead from the Production Lab.

Do not use college letterhead for personal correspondence; do not give blank letterhead to students.

Drug-Free Workplace
As used in this policy "drug" refers to controlled substances as defined by State and Federal Law.

It is the policy of the district to maintain a drug-free workplace, through implementation of the following policy. This district seeks to ensure that all employees are free from the effects of drug use during work hours, and that these controlled substances are not permitted on District premises. A drug-free workplace is essential to maintain the safety and efficiency of college and district operations, and the health and safety of college and district operations, and the health and safety of employees, students, and the public.

In order to achieve the objective of a drug-free workplace, the governing board directs the chancellor or her/his designee to implement the following policy:

The chancellor or his/her designee shall post at each site and provide each employee with a notice that the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of controlled substances is prohibited in the workplace, this notice shall also:

Include a statement of possible disciplinary actions, up to and including discharge, for violation of the policy. The discipline shall be in accordance with board policies on discipline, the Education Code, and applicable collective bargaining agreements;

Inform employees that as a condition of employment, each employee must abide by the terms of this policy and notify the district within five days of any criminal drug statute conviction for a violation occurring in the workplace;

Notify employees of the district's policy of maintaining a drug-free workplace.

Inform employees of the dangers of drug abuse in the workplace, including, but not limited to, threats to the health and safety of employees, students, and the public.

The chancellor or his/her designee shall notify federal agencies with whom contracts are held or from whom grants are received within 10 days of receiving notice that an employee has been convicted of a criminal drug statute for a violation occurring in the workplace.

The chancellor or his/her designee shall, within 30 days of notification of the conviction of an employee for a criminal drug statute violation occurring in the workplace, take appropriate disciplinary action against the employee.

Evaluation of Full-Time, Part-Time and Emeritus Faculty
The District and the United Faculty recognize that the successful performance of professional duties include superior classroom instruction and of other responsibilities such as coaching, journalism, forensics, and the performing arts.

The District and United Faculty recognize that the professional responsibilities of counselors, librarians, learning disabilities specialists, and physical disability specialists are varied and complex and that individual counselors, librarians, learning disability specialists, and physical disability specialists may perform somewhat different functions in their work environments. However, the goals of the counselor, librarian, learning disabilities specialist, and physical disabilities specialist are to aid and support students as they learn and to support other faculty within their professional responsibility. The counselor, librarian, learning disabilities specialist, and physical disabilities specialist assigned as a classroom instructor shall be evaluated for both their teaching and other professional responsibilities.

	Each full-time faculty member shall be evaluated every six semesters.
	New tenure-track faculty are evaluated more frequently until tenured.
	Each part-time faculty member shall be evaluated during his/her first semester of employment and every six semesters of employment thereafter.
	Each faculty emeritus employee who has not been evaluated in the prior three years shall be evaluated in the first and fourth years of her/his faculty emeritus contract. For all others, evaluation will follow the regular cycle of the last evaluation as a regular faculty member.

For evaluation criteria and details about the evaluation process, refer to the printed Evaluation manual (from Department, Division or Vice-President's Office) and/or follow the links to the faculty contract at http://www.ufccccd.org/contract.htm.

Evacuation Plan:
A diagram should be posted inside the door of each classroom directing employees and students to an area designated for that part of the campus in case of an emergency evacuation. (SEE ALSO Shelter-in-Place Instructions on following pages.) The District Emergency Operations Guide is being revised and updated. It will provide guidelines for responding to many emergencies -- including fires, earthquakes, and chemical releases. The guide will be available on the CCCCD Police Department’s website at http://www.4cd.net/police_services/emergencypreparedness.asp.

FLEX Hours Obligation
The flexible calendar is part of the contractual agreement between the District and the United Faculty, designed to provide faculty with paid time to participate in professional development activities. The specific dates for Mandatory and Optional Flex activities are settled upon each year by the District in consultation with the United Faculty. These dates occur just before the start of instruction in August and January. Variable Flex activities may take place throughout the academic year.

Faculty have a contractual obligation to complete their Flex hours (i.e. Flex hours are "paid" hours). The number of hours required is based upon faculty load and contract type (adjunct, full-time regular faculty, or first year contract faculty). As per the contract, faculty members may earn a maximum of 8 flex credit hours per calendar day. Flex credit cannot be banked or "made up" from one academic year to the next. Workshop presenters earn double Flex credit.

Adjunct Faculty: The Flex obligation of adjunct faculty is based on the number of paid hours per week during the semester, the day of the week assigned classes are held, and the academic calendar and its scheduled holidays (there must be 175 duty days). Check the Staff Development website for the flex obligations of a specific semester. Adjunct faculty must complete any required flex hours during the semester in which they are employed.

Full-Time Faculty: All full-time members are required to be in campus August and January for "All-College Day". The contractually agreed number of Flex days is 6 days, or 30 hours (based on a day equal to 5 hours) for the academic year. The agreed number of Flex days for First-Year Contract Full-Time Faculty is the same as for regular full-time faculty plus an additional 20 hours of orientation via the Nexus Program (total of 50 hours). The Staff Development Office will inform these faculty of their commitments.

Non-Discrimination Policy
The District is committed to equal opportunity in educational programs, employment, and campus life. The District does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, marital status, national origin, parental status, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status in any access to and treatment in College programs, activities, and application for employment.

This policy is in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (race, color, and national origin); Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 (gender); the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, sections 503 & 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (disabilities); Executive Orders 11246 & 11375; the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1967; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (age); and non-discrimination laws and regulations of the State of California. See the College Procedure Manual for more information.

No-Smoking Policy
Contra Costa College has adopted a smoking policy that prohibits smoking in any building on campus at any time and within 25 feet of the entrance to any building. Smoking is permitted outdoors only in the designated area. See the full policy in the College Procedures Handbook.

Privacy Rights of Students
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (section 438, Public Law 93-380) requires educational institutions to provide students with access to official education records related to themselves, and provides students with an opportunity for a hearing to challenge such records on the grounds that they are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate.

In addition, the College must obtain written consent before releasing personally-identifiable information from records to other than a specified list of persons and agencies. These rights extend to current and former students.

Professional Ethics
A more formal statement of professional standards is available from the National Education Association. For purposes of brevity, only the “Commitment to the student” under the Code of Ethics of the Education Profession is presented here.

The educator strives to help each student reach his or her potential as a worthy and effective member of society. The educator therefore works to stimulate the spirit of inquiry, the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, and the thoughtful formulation of worthy goals.

In fulfillment of the obligation to the student, the educator:

Shall not unreasonably restrain the student from independent action in the pursuit of learning.

Shall not unreasonably deny the student’s access to varying points of view.

Shall not deliberately suppress or distort subject matter relevant to the student’s progress.

Shall make reasonable effort to protect the student from conditions harmful to learning or to health and safety.

Shall not intentionally expose the student to embarrassment or disparagement.

Shall not on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, marital status, political or religious beliefs, family, social or cultural background, or sexual orientation, unfairly:

	Exclude any student from participation in any program.
	Deny benefits to any student.
	Grant any advantage to any student.

Shall not use professional relationships with students for private advantage.

Shall not disclose information about students obtained in the course of professional service unless disclosure serves a compelling professional purpose or is required by law (NEA, 1975).

Shelter-in-Place Instructions
These instructions are to be followed in the event there is an emergency of any kind that affects the air quality on the campus. These guidelines are based on those provided by Contra Costa County Health Services.

When you hear the safety sirens, please go inside immediately.

	Close and lock all doors and windows.
	Turn off all heaters, air conditioners and fans.
	Close or cover any vents to outside air.
	Encourage / keep all students inside the classroom
	DO NOT call 911 unless you have a life-threatening emergency.
	Tune a radio to KCBS 740 AM for further information and instructions.

Note: The sirens are tested the first Wednesday of each month at 11:00 a.m.

Student Complaints about Instructor
Students are told that if they have a complaint about an instructor, the first step is to try to resolve the problem with the instructor. If the complaint is not resolved, the student may go to the department chairperson, then to the division chair, and finally, to the Vice President of Academic & Student Services. See the full Student Grievance Process (including Grade Grievance Committee information) in the college catalog.

Student Disruption
A Student Disruption could be an altercation or an accident in classroom.

Call Police Services 510-235-7800 x4207 in the case of Student Disruption in the classroom or elsewhere on campus. They will complete a report that will be sent to the Vice President and the Senior Dean of Student Services. The student(s) involved will meet with these managers and the appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.

Process for Dealing with Disruptive Students
When an altercation is observed, call Police Services immediately.

The rule is that staff persons, including managers, should NOT involve themselves. If the police need additional help, they will call for such back up themselves.
The Police will inform the appropriate managers of such occurrences in a timely manner so notification of the President or the Vice President of the College is not necessary.
If at any time, managers or other staff feel threatened by a student or some other individual and the police are unable to respond to your request for assistance, call the administrator in charge to request assistance.

Many faculty members, particularly part-time, are unaware that they can, with “good cause,” suspend a student from the classroom:

The adopted rules of student conduct authorizes an instructor to remove a student from his or her class for the day of the removal and the next class meeting. The instructor shall immediately report the removal to the chief administrative officer for appropriate action.
(Education Code 76032)

“Good cause” includes, but is not limited to, the following offenses:

	Continued willful disobedience, habitual profanity or vulgarity;
	Open and persistent defiance of the authority of, or persistent abuse of, college personnel;
	Assault, battery or any threat of force or violence upon a student or college personnel;
	Willful misconduct with results in injury or death to a college student or personnel, or which results in cutting, defacing or other injury to any real or personal property owned by the district;
	Use, sale or possession on campus of, or the presence on campus under the influence of narcotics, other hallucinogenic drugs or substance or any poison classified as such by Schedule D in Section 4160 of the Business and Professions Code;
	Willful or persistent smoking in any area where smoking has been prohibited by the law or by regulation of the Governing Board; and
	Persistent, serious misconduct where other means of correction have failed to bring about proper conduct. (Education Code 76034)

In the event that an instructor suspends a student from the classroom, the following procedures should dictate the actions:

Immediately -- in writing -- notify the Senior Dean of Student Services the circumstances of the situation that led to the suspension. If the Dean is not available, the Vice-President of the College should be notified. If the Vice-President is not available, then the administrator in charge should be notified.
A discipline meeting will be held with the student prior to allowing the student to return to class.
If the student continues disruptive behavior, notify the appropriate administrator for further disciplinary action.

Disciplinary Action for Willful Disruption Of Orderly Campus Operation
CCCCD Governing Board Policy 3012
California Educational Code, Sections 66017, 76030-76037
Penal Code Section 626.2 and 626.6

Students
Students may be suspended or expelled from class or the college for “good cause.” Section 76034 of the Education Code describes examples of “good cause.” A suspension for up to five days will be authorized by the college president or her designee upon the advice of other college staff as indicated in section 66017 of the Education code. The president must receive in writing a copy of the complaint prior to any suspension. No student shall be suspended or expelled unless conduct for which the student is disciplined is related to college activity or college attendance (section 76035 of Education Code). (For rules and regulations of student behavior for CCCC District, see Board Policy 3012.)

Only the Governing Board of the district is authorized to expel a student. Again, the college president will recommend to the Governing Board a student the college determines should be expelled, according to section 76034.

The suspension or expulsion of any student for “good cause” shall be accompanied by a hearing conducted pursuant to the requirements of section 66017 of the Education Code. Such hearings will be with the college president and the dean of student services within the time required (10 days).

Students who, after a hearing, have been suspended or dismissed from the college for disrupting the orderly operation of the campus or the facility of the campus, and as a condition of suspension or dismissal have been denied access to the campus, cannot willfully and knowingly enter the campus without the express written permission of the college president. To do so under circumstances, the student will be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as noted in the law (See Penal Code Section 626.2). Should the college president be contacted, the president will turn the matter over to the police.

Non-Students
A person who is not a student, who is not required by his or her employment to be on campus and who is determined by the college president or her designee to be committing any act likely “to interfere with peaceful conduct of the activities of the campus,” may be directed to leave the campus or be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished accordingly (Penal Code Section 626.6). In the president’s absence, the supervising officer should be notified as the president’s designee. A written report of such situations will be required of the president and the police and the police officer.

California Education Code
Section 76034
As used in this article, “good cause” includes but is not limited to the following offenses: continued willful disobedience, habitual profanity or vulgarity, open and persistent defiance of the authority of, or persistent abuse of, college personnel; assault, battery or any threat of force or violence upon a student or college personnel; willful misconduct which results in injury or death to a college or college personnel, or which results in cutting, defacing or other injury to any real personal property owned by the district; use, sale or possession on campus of, or the presence on campus under the influence of narcotics, other hallucinogenic drugs or substance or any poison classified as such by Schedule D in Section 4160 of the Business and Professions Code; willful or persistent smoking in any area where smoking has been prohibited by law or by regulation of the Governing Board; and persistent, serious misconduct where other means of correction have failed to bring about proper conduct.

Board Policy 3012
Rules and Regulations on Student Behavior
Each campus, under the direction of the college president or her designee, shall adopt specific rules and regulations governing student behavior and specify applicable penalties for violations.

Reasonable effort will be to communicate campus rules, regulations and the applicable penalties. This may be, but is not limited to such publications as the college catalog, class schedules or other official documents. Complete documents including rules, regulations and due process rights will be made available to specified campus offices upon request.

Suspension or lesser sanction of a student shall be by the board, the college president and her designee for good cause as defined in the Education Code Section 76033, or when the continuing presence of a student is causing continuous danger to the physical safety to the student and others. If the student is a minor, the parents or guardian shall be notified and invited to confer with the college official.

The Board is authorized to expel a student for good cause when other means of correction fail to bring about proper conduct or when the presence of the student causes continuous danger to the physical safety of the student or others.

Grounds for disciplinary action shall be anything identified in the State of California Education Code, Title V, Penal Code or any other applicable legislation.

No student shall be removed, suspended or expelled unless the conduct for which the student is related to college activity or attendance.

Serving Alcoholic Beverages at College/District Activities
Each college within the Contra Costa Community College District may establish a Culinary Arts program. Each college is supported by a foundation.

Authorization to acquire, possess, and serve wine and other alcoholic beverages is limited to a course requirement within an approved Culinary Arts program or a fundraising event, directly sponsored and administered by a college foundation.

For a Culinary Arts program, serving of wine and other alcoholic beverages is limited to activities where a course requirement within the approved program includes the possession and use or serving of wine and other alcoholic beverages. The activities where wine and other alcoholic beverages are served will only be permitted for scheduled events within the course curriculum. Event schedules will be prepared prior to the start of each term. The event calendar would normally include periodic lunch or dinner restaurant activity when the production of a “wine list” and serving is incorporated in the curriculum and special events scheduled for the term. The calendar of events for serving wine or other alcoholic beverages will be submitted for review and approval by the college president or designee prior to the start of each term. Additionally, other dates and occasions not known at the beginning of the term may be approved by the college president or designee based on demonstrated program need.

For foundation sponsored and administered activities, the foundation will prepare a schedule of events in which serving of wine or other alcoholic beverages is anticipated. The event schedule will be submitted for review and approval by the college president or designee prior to the event.

Last updated: 14 September 2008

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