The Academic Senate 10+1
Or, How to Not Trip Over Your Feet as a New Administrator
Okay, there are days that fall 24 hours after the previous day when it’s as though either you or your work team were abducted during the night and no one and nothing is as it was. In this surreal moment, administrators are smiling, and your faculty peers politely quiet their conversations in your presence. The words “we” and “they” quickly and permanently shift. Congratulations, you have been promoted to administration. This silent hazing is akin to other life rites of passage, like surviving sibling rivalry, thinking you’ll never be old enough to get into the pub with your friends, and braving infant-to-toddler parent separation anxiety.
Although a massive simplification, I offer new administrators a relevant and inaccurate statement of advice, “Faculty Own Curriculum.” This statement intends to create a pause in thinking, hopefully, long enough to remind how faculty and administrators engage and lead learning. When in doubt: 1) read, 2) think, and 3) speak. Always in that order.
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There are layers of regulation, local priorities, League guidance, and CCCCO oddities that, on a daily basis, inform college Instruction efforts; however, the Academic Senate 10+1 is and should be, embraced as clearly stated in Title 5.
Your transition into administration will be rewarding, and your contributions significant. Check your ego at the door. You have a lot to learn (later, you’ll look back and smile at this statement). Generous faculty will support your efforts, as long as you respect their academic freedom.
The key to thriving is pacing yourself in the transition to a 12-month contract, identifying who the doers are rather than the talkers, and remembering faculty do not report to you: they collaborate with you. You bring to the table respect for the 10+1 (in theory and practice), organized and timely meetings, and consistent leadership with curriculum, scheduling, program review, policy updates, and more. Your goal is trust and respect; total alignment is off the table.
The 10+1 guides your boundaries and informs all parties as to their areas of responsibility. This straightforward approach saves time, reputation, and frustration; vague regulations with multiple interpretations are what will trip you up. You and your college’s faculty members are professionals. Enter conversations as an administrator; do not continue sidebar conversations of the past with colleagues. Do not joke or roll eyes about the 10+1 with any administrator at any time. All faculty now receive your care and advocacy; the 10+1 guides your efforts.
