1300 San Pedro Ave.
San Antonio, TX 78212
Dr. Rex Peebles
Assistant Commissioner, Workforce, Academic Affairs, and Research
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
1200 E. Anderson Ln.
Austin, TX 78752
February 26, 2014
Dear Dr. Peebles:
On behalf of the San Antonio College Faculty Senate, I am writing to express concerns over the
amendment Dr. Bruce Leslie, Chancellor of the Alamo Colleges, filed to the core curriculum for
2014-15. The Faculty Senate supports the position of Northwest Vista College, our sister
institution, concerning the lack of appropriate process followed in adding the learning framework
course, EDUC 1300, to the core to replace an additional humanities course as a local component
option.
The Alamo Colleges has an established process in place to ensure input from faculty whenever
new courses are added to the curriculum or when we offer new programs. Any changes generally
begin at the department level and go through disciplinary teams, college curriculum review
committees, college governing bodies, and a District-wide curriculum review committee. The
process allows faculty as curricular experts to design courses, create learning outcomes as a
team, ask questions, make connections between disciplines and courses, and ensure courses best
meet the needs of students. Dr. Leslie bypassed established processes of including not only
faculty but also business and industrial advisory boards for workforce programs in favor of a
piecemeal approach.
Dr. Rex Peebles
Page 2
As faculty, we recognize the value of the learning framework to our students; indeed, we have
data demonstrating how such a course contributes to student success at our own college. Our
issues are with the course’s replacement of an academic subject within the core, the lack of input
we had into the decision, the deviation from processes we have used to ensure course quality,
and the impact this decision may have on our students in both academic and workforce
programs.
Dr. Leslie responded to the concerns presented to you in Northwest Vista College’s with an 11page explanation, none of which addressed the concerns over deviation from process. The Alamo
Colleges Super Senate, a body representing faculty senates from all five of our colleges and our
council of chairpersons, unanimously endorsed a memorandum of opposition to Dr. Leslie’s
decision in response to his letter to Northwest Vista’s Faculty Senate. Faculty from across the
colleges supported our efforts. Dr. Leslie’s response to our memorandum again dismissed our
concerns about process, inclusion and encouraged us to move beyond process to embrace the
course and his decision. Super Senate met with Dr. Leslie on February 21st to continue the
dialogue. He indicated his decision was final pending approval of the Coordinating Board.
Because faculty members have not had the opportunity to participate fully in the process of
curriculum design and review and Dr. Leslie has unilaterally disregarded the procedures we have
in place to allow for us to best advocate for the needs of our students, we urge you to reject the
amendment to the core curriculum. We ask for the time sufficient to vet this course, ensure its
curriculum is of highest quality, and work with our administrative and faculty colleagues to
determine the optimal placement of the course in our programs.
Thank you for your consideration of our request. Should you have questions, you can reach me at
delmore6@alamo.edu or 210-486-0667.
Sincerely,
Dawn L. Elmore
Dawn L. Elmore, PhD
Faculty Senate President, San Antonio College
Enclosures:
Dr. Leslie’s response to Northwest Vista College’s letter to THECB
Alamo Colleges Super Senate’s memorandum to Dr. Leslie
Dr. Leslie’s response to Super Senate’s memorandum
Flow charts for approval of new courses and programs at Alamo Colleges