WOODLAND HILLS : Panel Delays Vote on Cutting Programs

The Pierce College Council on Tuesday postponed a vote on a plan to eliminate four industrial arts programs until more faculty members have had a chance to study the matter.

But college President Mary Lee, who favors the plan and has final say, warned she may make her decision without input from the council, which will take up the matter again April 18.

The college, Lee said, has had numerous public meetings on the proposal, which has been in the works for two years.

“If that sounds autocratic, I’m sorry, but I believe the shared governance process has to move on,” she said.

Patricia Siever, a history teacher, said it would be “politically unwise” for Lee to make a decision without faculty input. And many faculty members, Siever said, know little about the plan.

“The rest of the faculty has not talked about this,” Siever said. “They only know what they read in the papers, and what they get from memos. They are upset.”

Last week, a college advisory committee voted to recommend elimination of the woodworking, welding, machine shop and metallurgy programs. That drew protests from teachers and students who say the programs provide badly needed job training.

Supporters of the plan say the programs have low enrollment and are out of step with Pierce College’s academic mission. They said that students in the programs--most of whom take no academic courses--would be better served at schools that deal strictly with vocational training.

Opponents say that Pierce is the only school in the area that offers quality industrial arts programs. Opponents also dispute the school’s claim that job opportunities are limited in the four program areas.

School administrators, who generally favor the plan, have promised to help teachers in the programs find other teaching jobs, and to phase out the programs so students already enrolled would be able to finish.

However, some academic faculty members are not convinced that the programs should be eliminated.

“A community college should offer a balanced program of academic and vocational” courses, said Sidney H. Elman, a political science teacher. “We’re splitting the academic from the vocational. I hate that split.”