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Chancellor's clarification
Editor:
Mr. Hogan's article about the recent "Special SAC Faculty Senate meeting" was well constructed and thorough in its range and detail. There were many complex issues discussed and a broad exchange of ideas ensued. Mr. Hogan effectively captured the discussion and essence of the concepts and questions presented to me along with my responses. His directness in portraying the "design" utilized by the faculty leadership in withholding their questions until just prior to the meeting described the politics that often make communications and a fair exchange of ideas difficult. Despite this, I felt welcomed by the SAC faculty present and enjoyed the opportunity for a wide-ranging discussion of a number of crucial matters that are important to the Alamo Community College family, but more importantly to our community and students - as our decisions and actions ultimately will impact the quality of the education our students receive.
There is one matter that should be clarified. In paragraph eleven, Mr. Hogan states that "His (Chancellor Leslie's) focus is not to change the identity of the individual college or seek a single accreditation, 'which would violate Texas Education Code Chapter 130, Junior College Districts.'" Although my intent is accurate, there is no Texas Code that requires a specific form of accreditation, that decision is left to the board of trustees of each college district. What I attempted to say was that everyone must separate the legal authority assigned to the board and chancellor in Chapters 130 and 11 of the Education Code, from the policies of accreditation defined by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The first describes the board and chancellor's legal responsibility for the operational management of the entire district and its colleges, including all academic and student matters. The other describes the quality standards required of accreditation. I further indicated that our complex and somewhat frustrating efforts to achieve accreditation of Northeast Lakeview College should be evidence enough of the board's and my commitment to obtain NLC accreditation. Such individual college accreditation does not obviate the critical need to achieve a high academic standard for each of our programs among all of our colleges and much greater efficiencies in our operations. I was able to share with those assembled that we spend the least of our operating budget on administration, a factor that has been further reduced from 25% to 17% over the past two years. We spend greater than 7%, or $19 million, more on instruction compared to our Texas peer community colleges. We are obviously making strong investments in teaching and learning but need to improve the outcomes of this investment.
Overall, Mr. Hogan captured the essence of our wide-ranging engagement and is to be commended for his attentiveness to these crucial and sensitive matters.
Dr. Bruce Leslie Chancellor
Bicyclists of the world, unite!
Editor:
I wanted to comment on our incredibly low amount of bicycle lanes in the city of San Antonio. There are staggering groups of bicyclists in our city, yet the numbers keep climbing of pickups and SUVs that swerve into our way because they think we're taking over their roads. Every day there are more and more bicyclists being struck by vehicles because of our city's lack of bicycle lanes. Currently in Portland, Ore., there are more than 100 miles of bicycle lanes, and the ever-growing amount of bicyclists in San Antonio is pedaling for some change.
Angelica Sanchez Journalism Freshman
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