A Letter from the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges

Dear Faculty Colleagues:

We are proud and excited to introduce a new statewide program, the Basic Skills Initiative (BSI), a partnership of the Academic Senate, Chief Instructional Officers, Chief Student Services Officers, and the System Office. The BSI provides professional development for faculty and administrators with a goal of transforming the way we teach and how our programs are run across the curriculum to ensure that students possess the basic skills required for success in college and beyond.

Participation in the BSI is the best course of action for ensuring that we have the appropriate knowledge for this transformation. The BSI is organizing a series of free regional workshops to introduce the Initiative, the activities and the services offered through the Initiative. The workshops will delve into the comprehensive review of the literature on effective practices in basic skills. The workshops will also train participants in a self-assessment tool, based on the review of the literature, which colleges will use to develop college-wide plans for basic skills.

We encourage you to participate individually or as part of a team of faculty and administrators from your college who will learn about the research, the review of the literature, and self-assessment protocol, as well as train you to provide leadership on your campus.

We encourage all faculty in all disciplines to attend the workshops. Come and learn what the literature identifies as data supported effective practices. Come and learn what you can do in the classroom, what you can do to help initiate new programs and transform existing ones, and how you can become a change agent for your college.

Barbara Illowsky, Project Director
Basic Skills Initiative

Ian Walton, President
Academic Senate for California Community Colleges

“When more than 85% of all incoming students are under-prepared for college, we need to look to institution-wide efforts if we’re going to have a real impact on student preparation.”

Basic Skills Initiative Website

Co-Chairs:  Michael Roberts &  Rick Santos