Authority and Role
The Faculty Council of Community Colleges (FCCC or Faculty Council) operates within the State University of New York (SUNY) as the official statewide faculty governance body representing the faculty of SUNY's 30 community colleges, pursuant to 8 NYCRR § 606.
In furtherance of this role, the Faculty Council carries out the following core responsibilities:
For more than 50 years, the Faculty Council has served as the recognized voice of community college faculty in matters relating to academic policy, shared governance, and the educational mission of SUNY's community colleges.
The Faculty Council is grounded in and guided by the distinctive mission of SUNY's community colleges and by the central role of faculty in the academic life of those institutions. As set forth in 8 NYCRR § 605.1, "The faculty shall participate in the formulation of the policy relating to student health, scholarship, standards of admission, attendance and discharge of students, curriculum and other study programs, the granting of degrees, student activities, extra-curricular activities and student discipline. The faculty shall also present recommendations to the president regarding (a) the instructional budget, and (b) appointments, reappointments, tenure, special salary increments, promotions and leaves of absence of members of the instructional staff."
As open-access institutions, SUNY's community colleges play a vital role in advancing educational opportunity, economic mobility, workforce development, and civic participation across New York State. Consistent with that mission, the Faculty Council promotes academic quality, academic integrity, academic freedom, and sound shared governance. In carrying out this role, it works to ensure that faculty expertise appropriately informs decisions concerning curriculum, instruction, academic standards, and the broader student learning environment.
Composition and Representation
Pursuant to SUNY's regulations governing the Faculty Council, the voting membership includes one faculty delegate from each community college. The Faculty Council works closely with the governance bodies on all thirty community colleges through the campus governance leaders.
The Faculty Council Executive Committee is composed of the Faculty Council's elected officers, President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary, together with the immediate Past President, the Chairs of the Standing Committees, the Convener of Campus Governance Leaders, the Information Officer (ex officio) and the Press Officer (ex officio).
The Executive Committee meets regularly to address matters of importance to the Faculty Council and to the community college sector more broadly. Its responsibilities include setting organizational priorities, planning plenary and committee meetings, reviewing budget matters, advancing Faculty Council initiatives, and responding to issues raised by the membership. In this capacity, the Executive Committee provides ongoing leadership, coordination, and operational stewardship for the work of the Faculty Council.
System and Sector Engagement
The Faculty Council maintains active engagement with multiple offices within SUNY System Administration, including, but not limited to, the Chancellor's Office, the SUNY Office of Academic Affairs, and the SUNY Office of Student Success. It also collaborates with key partners across the community college sector, including community college presidents through the New York State Community College Association of Presidents (NYCCAP), Community College Chief Academic Officers, and the Community College Business Officers Association (CCBOA), as well as with shared governance partners such as the SUNY University Faculty Senate (UFS) and the SUNY Student Assembly.
Meetings
The Faculty Council convenes two plenary meetings each year, one in the fall and one in the spring, each hosted by a SUNY community college. In addition, the Council provides annual training for campus governance leaders and sponsors regional meetings focused on shared governance best practices, often in partnership with the SUNY University Faculty Senate.
As the statewide faculty governance body, the Faculty Council's priorities are guided by principles of academic excellence, academic freedom, and sound shared governance Faculty Council resources are available to support this work.
The Faculty Council of Community Colleges was conceived by Dr. Sebastian Martarana, the University Dean for Two-Year Colleges. In the Spring of 1966, the University Council of Presidents of the Public Community Colleges passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a Faculty Council. The University Faculty Senate passed a similar resolution recommending that a Community College Faculty Council be formed.
The following Fall, faculty representatives from twenty of the 24 community colleges met to create the Community College Faculty Council Articles of Organization. In the Spring 1967, the SUNY Board of Trustees approved the creation of the Faculty Council of Community Colleges and the FCCC Articles of Organization (Part 606) were included in New York State Education Law.
The first regular meeting of the Faculty Council of Community Colleges (FCCC) was held on May 12, 1967, in Albany, New York, where the first officers were elected. Topics discussed at this first meeting included: Problems confronting community colleges, teaching loads, academic freedom, and expenses of the Council.
Developed as a parallel structure to the SUNY Faculty Senate, the FCCC included all of the community colleges of New York State. When legislation was passed in 1975 to separate the City University of New York (CUNY) from SUNY, the FCCC no longer included the CUNY Community Colleges in its membership. Today, the FCCC membership is comprised of representatives from the 30 SUNY community colleges.
In July 2011, the President of the Faculty Council of Community Colleges became a non-voting member of the SUNY Board of Trustees, providing a voice for the community colleges in the governance of the University.