Two years ago faculty were horrified by the verdict of the HLC: probation for COD. It was a dark time and we are relieved probation has been lifted. Faculty did not cause the problems that lead to that determination; instead, we watched as the Board at that time played politics with our school.

Faculty are pleased and relieved that the efforts of the past months have resulted in a positive outcome and we are off probation.

Tonight it seems worth pointing out that the HLC response team was a very multidisciplinary group of education professionals. It included faculty and adminstrators; they used multiple methods and drew many people into the process to research facts and collaborate around their report and their decision. It was, in fact, a good model of collaboration between faculty and administration, and one we should look to as we are moving forward in taking on new challenges at COD, in the sense that while we continue to respond to HLC challenges, we have also spent time this semester exploring a Pathways theory for COD.

The Faculty Senate hopes to move forward with Pathways in partnership and collaboration with administration and staff at COD. We hope that leadership for this effort will emerge organically from the process of researching the needs of our students. The aim of the Pathways Theory is to create structures within which students find their way and thrive on the road to reaching their own goals.

With that value in mind, we do well to celebrate that COD is a comprehensive community college and we offer a comprehensive transfer-focused and transfer-driven curriculum that is side by side with our excellent offerings in vocational, technical, and career areas, and our size and scope is part of what makes COD a special place for students to go to school. That collaboration between the administration, staff and the faculty has to be based on understanding the equal importance of transfer curriculum alongside career and technical programs.

It is clear we all have a lot to learn and discuss.