• Should we do an end-of-semester union event?
• Part-timers office hours and office space
• Professional files and other files
• Creating a ‘reasonable charities’ list for potential future donations from our chapter
• Proposed System for Evaluation of Management – update from state level
• What type of statewide union events do we support?
• Other items?

• Bill #4028 requires alignment of common (High School) core standards with college-level programs at Connecticut institutions of higher education.
• Bill #4030 calls for seamless student transfer from Community Colleges to the State University System and UConn, via a general education core of courses of at least 30 academic credits.
• Bill #42 calls for a Faculty Advisory Committee to the Board of Regents for Higher Education. The Committee would still consist of three representatives of the Community Colleges, three representatives of the State University System and one representative from Charter Oak, but modifies the current eligibility criteria to limit membership to teaching faculty ONLY and also changes the selection process for these committee members.
• Bill #40 would allow a student to elect to take college level courses regardless of his/her placement testing recommendations.

4C’s Political Director Bob Fernandez and 4C’s President Steven E. Cohen testified on February 14 regarding Bill #4030 concerning a core curriculum. They pointed out that new Pell Grant regulations will limit students to six years of aid, that we already have articulation agreements with Eastern and Western Connecticut State Universities allowing for the seamless transfer of our courses from certain Community Colleges to those institutions, and that professionals certainly can work to make sure a common core allowing seamless transfer is a reality across all BOR institutions IF we have the will to do so and IF we maintain our focus on student need. Throughout the session, the 4C’s will reiterate the importance of having the professional staffs of the BOR institutions working to create a seamless transfer system for our students.

On February 16, President Cohen testified about Bill #42 concerning the Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC). He reminded committee members that we have a history of inclusive governance at the Community Colleges, and so all professional staff should remain eligible to serve on the FAC. Bob Fernandez and Steve Cohen have directly spoken with the Senate Co-Chair Beth Bye, and alerted her of the need to have all Community College professionals eligible to serve on the FAC.

President Cohen also testified about Bill #40 concerning remedial courses. As a Community College developmental educator since 1988, he discussed the issue of student placement in developmental/remedial courses with the committee, alerting them to policy, practice and the potential pitfalls inherent in Bill #40.