Governance & Committees

At MiraCosa, decisions are made collegially through a process of shared governance. The Board of Trustees and its designees develop policies.

College Council is a governance group comprised of 15 members representing interests across the district.

The Academic Senate and its subcommittees represents the faculty in collegial governance.

District Committees steward areas of mutual, institutional interest.

Advisory Committees guide college divisions and executive, administrative operations.

Additional Faculty assignments are designated to various committees either by appointment or election or by virtue of role.

Explore further: MCC's Governance Manual and Collegial Governance at MiraCosta College

According to Title 5, “the district governing board shall develop policies on academic and professional matters through either or both of the following: 1) Rely primarily upon the advice and judgment of the academic senate. OR 2) The governing board, or its designees, and the academic senate shall reach mutual agreement by written resolution, regulation, or policy of the governing board effectuating such recommendations.”

Senate Roles and 10+1 for SAC Senate Retreat Fall 2021.pdf

10+1 Areas of Primacy

As as a Senate, we our primary function is to make recommendations in 10 areas of academic and professional matters plus other areas as are mutually agreed upon between the governing board and the academic senate.

These 10+1 areas are worth exploration and a deep dive. Scroll through the ASCCC slide deck from the 2021 plenary and then head over to our 10+1 page for more.

MiraCosta's Academic Senate's Role in Collegial Governance is established in BP 2510: Collegial Governance

Rules, Bylaws, & Resolutions

Senate Bylaws include basic provisions of purpose, functions, and membership while Senate Rules offer more details about how the Senate and Senate members conduct business. These Bylaws and Rules applying to the Academic Senate:

list officers, terms of office, and procedures for election, recall, and resignation
establish duties of Academic Senate members
list fundamental basics for calling and conducting meetings, including ad hoc committees
set procedures for placing items on meeting agendas

Explore Further: Senate Bylaws, Rules, and Resolutions

The Brown Act

The Brown Act is law designed to protect the public’s right of access to decision-making processes of local agencies. Brown Act guidelines applying to the Academic Senate: