Formed in 1970, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) is a 501(c) 6 nonprofit organization. Created for the promotion and advancement of public community college education in California, its general purposes are:
- To strengthen local academic senates and councils of community colleges;
- To serve as the voice of the faculty of the community colleges in matters of statewide concern;
- To develop policies and promote the implementation of policies on matters of statewide issues;
- To make recommendations on statewide matters affecting the community colleges.
The Academic Senate gets its authority to strengthen local senates on California community colleges statewide from the California Code of Regulations Title 5 Section 53206, which says: (a) An Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges has been established through ratification by local academic senates or faculty councils so that the community college faculty of California may have a formal and effective procedure for participating in the formation of state policies on academic and professional matters.(b) The Board of Governors (BOG) recognizes the Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges as the representative of community college academic senates or faculty councils before the Board of Governors and Chancellor's Office.
The Orange Coast College local Academic Senate serves as the official voice of the OCC faculty in academic and professional matters. Under Title 5, Section 53200, the Academic Senate is a faculty organization whose primary function is to make recommendations to the Board of Trustees on 10+1 academic and professional matters. Each local Academic Senate works with its Board of Trustees to establish policy determining which of the 10 + 1 responsibilities the Board with rely primarily upon the advice of the Senate and which of those 10 + 1 responsibilities the Board will reach mutual agreement with the Senate.
