2015 Decision Making Document

The Decision Making Document describes how decisions are made at the college. A task force was formed in the 2009-10 academic year to document how decisions are made and to make recommendations for improving the process of decision-making at the college. The document and decision-making process was evaluated a year later.

One need identified in subsequent years was how to keep the Decision Making Document updated as committees change and processes are improved. Many committees at Bakersfield College use the KCCD Committees website to document their work and make it more visible to the college community. Bakersfield College does a bulk of its decision-making in committees, so the committees glossary makes up most of the original 2010 Decision Making Document. Rather than duplicating all of the committee descriptions from the KCCD Committees website and requiring committee chairs or their designees to update two sites (their committee site and this Decision Making Document site) every time a change is made, this Decision Making Document website links to the individual committee websites. Eventually, the behind-the-scenes website engine will be upgraded so that this Decision Making Document website will be dynamically updated as changes are made so that the Decision Making Document truly becomes a "living, breathing document."

The sections of the Decision Making Document are briefly described below and are listed in the same order as given in the original 2010 Decision Making Document. Select the section link to go to that section.

Decision Making Document Sections

• Introduction includes the President's message; the Mission, Vision, and Values of Bakersfield College; the assumptions behind our decision-making policies and structure; and the Bakersfield College Participatory Governance Philosophy.
• Decision-Making Process includes the narrative of our decision-making process and a graphic flowchart of our process.
• Consultation Process includes the narrative of our consultation process, what laws and regulation guide our decisions, and a chart of the consultation process.
• Accreditation includes the purpose of accreditation, our accreditation process, and how our accrediting body (ACCJC) fits in the larger context of our region and nation.
• Committees includes brief descriptions of the committees and links to the individual committee websites where you can find their charges, membership, policies, etc.
• Evaluation & Recommendations includes how this Decision Making Document and our decision-making processes are to be evaluated and recommendations coming out of that evaluation.
• College Goals & Strategic Initiatives lists our annually-updated college goals and our three-year strategic initiatives.
• KCCD Decision Making includes the Kern Community College District Functional Organizational Chart.

Links to College Plans and Other Decision Making Resources

• Educational Master Plan
• Bakersfield College Organizational Chart is revised annually by College Council. To find the most recent Organizational Chart, go to Office of the President homepage and click the "Team" tab. You can also go to the College Council website, click the "All Meetings" button and do a search in the Supporting Documents sections of past meetings.
  • Bakersfield College Administration Organization Chart (version dated March 2018 showing just administrative structure)
  • Bakersfield College Organizational Chart (2014-15 version dated August 5, 2014 showing academic departments).
  • Bakersfield College Administration Organizational Chart (version dated December 16, 2014 showing just administrative structure)
• District’s Elements of Decision Making Document

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Recommendations from the 2010 Decision Making Document

Recommendation 1

Adopt the following process developed by the Task Force when making a decision or approaching problems and issues:

• Identify:
  • What is the issue/problem?
  • Who could be affected and should they be consulted?
• Solve:
  • What are some possible solutions?
  • How do the solutions support the mission and goals of the college?
• Communicate:
  • How will the decision be communicated?
  • With whom shall the decision be communicated?

Recommendation 2

All governance committees should develop a process for forwarding written input, suggestions and proposals to College Council to assist the president in the decision-making process. The Bakersfield College Academic Senate “Guide for Effective Senate Proposals for Change” (located in Public Folders under Academic Senate---select the link to download the Senate's change proposal Word document; you'll need to login to Outlook Web first) is one tool that could be used to generate a written proposal.

Recommendation 3

All governance committees should provide an update or annual report to College Council that may include recommendations generated throughout the year, explanations of the committee’s progress toward implementation, or a list of the work that should continue into the next academic year. Written annual reports will be placed on the College Council website, making them available for consultation purposes.

Recommendation 4

Based on review, analysis, and comparison of results of the surveys conducted in spring 2010 and subsequent years, College Council should re-evaluate all of the following:

1. the decision-making process
2. the utility of this document
3. related training and communication

Recommendation 5

College Council or the president should share examples of successes related to the decision-making process with the campus community in an appropriate venue.

Recommendation 6

Review and update governance committee charges, scope and authority in accordance with the college goals and values.