After months of talking about a faculty-led evaluation of President Mark Rocha, the Academic Senate finally has the results. Now they’re trying to decide what to do with those results.
However, no matter what the results of the survey turn out to be, the Board of Trustees won’t bother considering them. Board President Anthony Fellow stated in a letter to the Senate earlier this month that the senate has no authority to evaluate the president and the board won’t acknowledge its survey results.
“[Board policy] does not recognize any purported evaluation of the Superintendent/President by the Academic Senate or any ad hoc committee formed for that purpose,” Fellow wrote on Mar. 4. “We decline to give any consideration to any evaluation or survey not conducted in accordance with the process set forth…”
Last October, the Board approved to extend President Rocha’s contract through June 30, 2017 after conducting their own close session evaluation process.
The Senate survey was approved in February and distributed to all full-time faculty. An email sent this week by Senator Stephanie Fleming to the faculty stated that some of the options being discussed include widely publishing the results, making the results public with President Rocha’s consent, or keeping the results between the senate, Rocha and the Board of Trustees.
“Releasing the survey would confirm or not the faculty’s opinion of the president,” said Academic Senate President Eduardo Cairo. “It is one thing to assume, but if you have a survey and you see that other people have the same feelings then there is a reaffirmation of your feelings.”
The administration’s initial response to the survey, back when it was first introduced, was that it was unnecessary. The survey was originally sent out in February after Senate members expressed concern about being left out of the formal evaluation process by the Board.
“Publication of the results of the evaluation of the president involves the basic right of the senate to speak freely on issues concerning the college,” said Senate Treasurer Dan Haley, in an email.
With the survey, and other issues still to be resolved, the Senate has voted to have a special meeting this coming Monday, even though the meetings are usually held bi-weekly.
“We have so much work that the senators graciously voted to add additional meeting to those already scheduled,” Cairo said.
Editor’s Note: A correction was made since the original posting of this article. An email was sent to the faculty, not the administration.
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The Senate will deliver the Faculty-coordinated evaluation to the Board!
Next meeting, Senate votes to make the information available.
Finally!
(After that Board removed PCC from the President’s evaluation process, and graded Rocha in a special closed-door evaluation, I did NOT contribute my time and energy to partake in another “secret” evaluation ! )
Finally, we’ll have open discussion, and a frank, thoughtful evaluation of his performance. As is right.
“An email sent this week by Senator Stephanie Fleming to the faculty stated that some of the options being discussed include widely publishing the results, making the results public with President Rocha’s consent, or keeping the results between the senate, Rocha and the Board of Trustees.”
– What email???? She didn’t send an email to the faculty! I didn’t get it if that’s the case.
Of course, the Board will say it won’t recognize the Evaluation. It’s their shame that they cooked up Rocha’s latest report card behind closed doors. What a mess will hit the fan: Senate Eval, Climate Survey 1, Climate Survey 2!
(How will they spin all this? Administration and BOT need some kind of event where Mark R. can perform a heroic deed, save the college from . . . . another rainstorm?)
The survey is not for the Board of Trustees. The survey fundamentally serves as information for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). The climate of fear instilled by the Rocha administration has caused all the problems past and present that the college faces. The 20% decrease in transfer again caused by the Rocha Administration. When our community deals with accreditation a very real conversation needs to arise over the leadership of our school and the damage it has caused the students, faculty, classified staff, and everyone else. The question will then arise what is Rocha doing that he keeps getting votes of no confidence and why does the Board of Trustees support him?
The BOT keeps supporting him because otherwise they’d have to admit that they made two huge mistakes in a row: first Perfumo, now Rocha. Because of the fiasco with the former, the latter is now bullet-proof.
hah! don’t bother students with that ridicules survey! do whatever you want, who cares!!!!!! we support Mr., Rocha,