SUBJECT: Proposed Policy on Principles for the Use of Adjunct Faculty
PROPOSED ACTION
That the Board further discuss, in a work-session format, the
proposed policy.
RELATED BOARD POLICY OR RESOLUTION
This topic was identified as a major Board policy-development
priority at Board vote in November 1997.
RATIONALE
The "comprehensive" draft incorporates the current versions
of all alternatives proposed so far by any Trustee. Sections with
alternatives are labeled 2A, 2B, etc., with the shortest alternatives
first. There are many shared or currently-uncontested provisions
(shown in italics below) among the alternatives; contested
provisions are in bold. This draft will be updated after
each meeting to reflect the current thinking of the various authors
and any new alternatives proposed by other Trustees. The target
for final adoption of a policy is October 5.
BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The budgetary impact of the policy will depend on its final provisions.
Cost estimates will be made of any financially-significant changes
prior to final Board votes on the provisions of the policy.
RESOURCE PERSONNEL
Richard Fonte, President
Hunter Ellinger, Trustee
John Worley, Trustee
ATTACHMENTS
Comprehensive Draft Policy [7-15-98]
Proposed Policy [6-30-98 draft]
Proposed Policy [Initial draft]
SACS Criterion 4.8.3, Part-Time Faculty
Summary
- April 17-18, 1998 Board Retreat
Policy D-3, Faculty Workloads
Policy F-5, Faculty Placement/Advancement
Comments by John Worley, Trustee*
Comments by Hunter Ellinger, Trustee*
*Not available electronically. Please contact Pat Stubbs, ACC, Office of the Board of Trustees, at 223-7613 if you wish to obtain a copy.
While faculty whom the College employs on a multi-year basis and who have additional mandatory non-instructional duties (referred to in this policy as full-time faculty) have the central role in organizing and delivering its instruction, adjunct faculty also provide essential services in most instructional areas. Among other benefits, use of adjunct faculty permits the College to schedule flexibly, to provide students direct access to working professionals in the fields they wish to enter, to refresh the instructional dialog with new perspectives, and to achieve for each area an appropriate balance of overall faculty effort between direct instruction and other needed faculty work.
However, care is required for the best use of adjunct faculty. The President shall maintain systems which ensure that use of adjunct faculty by the College meets community standards for responsible employment and that it does not result in diminished or uneven instructional effectiveness or violation of accreditation criteria.
Accordingly:
[1] priority of instructional quality: The foremost consideration in hiring and scheduling all faculty shall be to ensure that instruction systematically meets high standards for effectiveness both in imparting needed skills and in successful student completion of programs.
[2] evaluation: Evaluation systems for adjunct faculty shall ensure that the course syllabus and the skill level covered by tests match the standards established for the course. Results of quality-oriented evaluations based on published criteria and conducted by teachers in their field shall be the primary consideration used in the scheduling process and in determining adjunct-faculty workload, and shall be used to develop plans for improvement of performance where needed. Adjunct faculty shall be promptly and fully informed of the results of their evaluations.
[3] appropriate balance of adjunct and full-time faculty: The President shall develop and implement plans, subject to Board approval, to hire the number of full-time faculty required to ensure quality, provide needed academic support activities throughout each area, and meet accreditation standards. [Optional additional sentence:] The usage of adjunct faculty should not significantly exceed generally-accepted practices among comparable community colleges.
[4] faculty work assignments: The College shall maintain a clear delineation of duties for adjunct and full-time faculty. Standard adjunct-faculty duties relate to areas of direct instruction and the associated section-specific student consultation. The College shall generally rely on full-time faculty for further required faculty work, such as subject-area advising, instructional planning, curriculum innovation, program and personnel evaluation, supervision of adjunct faculty, and shared-governance responsibilities. When there are not enough full-time faculty in an area to accomplish such work, their efforts shall be augmented in appropriate areas by adjunct faculty hired at compensation rates reflecting their professional expertise for these tasks.
[5A -- original version] workload priorities: The President shall establish rules by which adjunct faculty members are regularly validated by a faculty review process as eligible teachers for specific courses; this process shall also specify a maximum workload. These rules may also provide for different priority groups, which must be based primarily on assessments of teaching effectiveness. Available sections should, in general, be uniformly distributed among the eligible teachers within each priority group, up to their workload limits.
[5B -- alternate version based on John Worley's draft] workload priorities: Annual contracts covering up to half the adjunct sections in an instructional area may be offered to adjunct faculty who demonstrate (1) consistent teaching excellence, (2) ability to teach a full range of courses in the area and willingness to serve where and when most needed, and (3) significant other professional accomplishments relevant to their subject area. Scheduling shall be done so as to ensure that such faculty are offered the course load their contract specifies. The remaining adjunct sections should be distributed among all other applicants deemed well-qualified for the particular courses; to the extent feasible, this should be done so as to offer similar workloads to all such adjuncts within an instructional area. However, teachers may be given lower loads if on probation or during their first two years at the College, and courses with only a few adjunct sections may be handled specially to ensure continuity. The administration may, with written justification, make exceptions to these workload guidelines as needed in the interests of instructional quality.
[6] professional compensation: Adjunct faculty shall be compensated at professional rates for all work expected of them. Appropriate allowances should be made for courses with unusually-high workloads, for difficult-to-staff courses, and for relevant experience both at the College and elsewhere. [additional provision if 5B is adopted:] Adjunct faculty under contract to teach 15 LEH or more a year shall be provided health-insurance benefits by the College.
[7] long-term relationship: While adjunct employment intrinsically lacks binding mutual long-term commitments, [optionally delete the preceding clause] the College shall develop and maintain professional relationships with its adjunct faculty by encouraging appropriate professional development, by scheduling early enough that adjunct-faculty names are generally available to students by the beginning of registration, and by accommodating individual adjunct-faculty preferences as to the location and time of work as much as is consistent with College and student needs. Professional development may be mandated for adjunct faculty and be an element in the adjunct-faculty compensation scales.
[8] new faculty: Special systems for effective orientation, mentoring, and supervision of new faculty shall be maintained. These shall include immediate course evaluations whenever a faculty member has not previously taught a particular course at the College. People working as adjunct faculty shall be frankly informed that adjunct teaching, even if fully successful, is unlikely to lead to full-time employment at this college.
[9] access to instructors: The College shall provide operational support, including voice and electronic mail, sufficient to ensure good student access to adjunct faculty as well as good communication between adjunct faculty and their supervisors.
[10] integration into the College: Each adjunct faculty member shall be provided a contact person in the full-time teaching faculty in his or her discipline to provide needed consultation and assistance. Adjunct faculty shall also be informed in writing of who has primary responsibility for their evaluation, to whom they should refer students who have unresolved complaints about their class, to whom they should direct requests and questions about their scheduling, and how they should handle the provision of a substitute if they are unable to meet a class session due to illness or other causes.
[11] community/industry connection: The College shall use the connections of adjunct faculty with their other employers and/or community activities to enrich and improve services to students.