Well, for starters, Education Council, or EdCo, is the one and ONLY governance committee at Camosun College that has MORE faculty than administrators on it. Well, that is, when all the elected seats are filled. When it comes to the Academic Matters of this institution, the Education Council are responsible for changes to student admissions, academic standards, and academic quality. They approve more than just new programs and course changes, they approve academic policy and have a vital role in the strategic leadership of our organization.
Honestly, how can we afford NOT to care about Academic Governance?
The erosion of faculty rights is constant and relentless don’t stand idly by and let our most powerful position be diminished. I hope you’ve seen my many pleas the past couple weeks urging Members to nominate and campaign for these important positions. Imagine what coordinated faculty involvement on EdCo could change… or what we could prevent from being changed!
The Education Council (commonly abbreviated as EdCo) is a legislated body established under the College and Institute Act. The purpose of EdCo is to provide leadership and decision-making for the college in the areas outlined in the College and Institute Act (Section 24). EdCo’s responsibilities include:
- Setting policies concerning examinations and evaluation of student performance
- Establishing criteria for academic standing, academic standards, and the grading system
- Approving curriculum content for courses and programs leading to certificates, diplomas, or degrees
EdCo also acts in an advisory role to the board as outlined in Section 23 of the Act and has joint approval with the board in the area of articulation as outlined in Section 25 of the Act.
By far the greatest area of focus for the EdCo is in the area of curriculum approval. EdCo has established curriculum standards and continually monitors that the standards are maintained to ensure Camosun upholds its reputation for designing, developing, and delivering quality curriculum. Education Council Bylaws | Educational Approvals (Yes, I totally copied this section from the College Website.)
Still need to know more?
Nomination Period: 9am, Wednesday, Sept. 21 – 3pm, Tuesday, Oct. 4 Not much time is left!
Election Voting: 9am, Monday, Oct. 24 – 11:30pm, Wednesday, Oct. 26.
There will be three (3) Education Council faculty positions open for nominations from the following areas (all other areas have achieved maximum representation):
- Health & Human Services
- CSEE
- Support Areas
- Trades & Technology
- Arts & Science
When do they meet? Mostly between 4-6 PM on the Third Wednesday of each month
How do I Join? Download the College Election Rules and Candidate Guidelines & fill out the Faculty Nomination Form
In addition, there will be three student vacancies on Education Council, so please encourage students to get involved, too!
Lynelle Yutani (she/they)
President, Camosun College Faculty Association
Lynelle is a queer, leftist rabble-rouser galvanized to guard the rights of union members and is on a crusade to convince you that you get out of your Union what you put into it. Lynelle serves on a number of Federation of Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE) Committees and FPSE affiliate committees in CAUT, the BC Fed, and the Canadian Labour Congress. Lynelle also serves as V.P. of her Strata Council & oversees a rooftop community garden which partners with Harvest & Share Food Aid Society to grow fresh produce for local foodbanks and community food security programs.
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[…] I’d love it if you’d share those with me, too! Hopefully, you remember my post about Why you should car about Academic Governance, it wasn’t all that long ago. This is another area where we so have sway, but only if you […]