ACC’s Commitment to High School Faculty
- ACC appreciates the efforts of our ISD and high school associates. We look forward to partnering with them to improve education in central Texas. To that end, we’ve committed to the following series of steps to facilitate the interview process for high school instructors who wish to teach dual credit with ACC:
- ACC will provide a checklist/document (contained below) that ISDs give interested HS faculty members BEFORE they apply to ACC that clearly explains job expectations and responsibilities and prepares faculty for interviews/teaching demonstrations.
- The ISDs will provide ACC with a roster of faculty interested in adjunct faculty assignments to teach dual credit courses. The roster should include candidates’ unofficial transcripts as well as resumes of work experience.
- ACC departments will conduct an initial review to determine whether the HS faculty member meet SACS standards, and if not, explain what specific next steps the faculty applicant could take.
- For those HS faculty found to be SACS qualified, they would complete an official ACC application as an adjunct faculty member.
- Within 60 days of application submission, the appropriate department will schedule an interview and teaching demonstration for the applicant and notify them of acceptance or non-acceptance. If the latter decision is made, an explanation will be offered with suggestions for next steps.
- Once accepted for hire, the HS faculty member will complete a half day training made up of two sections: (1) a general introduction to community colleges and specifically to ACC, and (2) an orientation and introduction to the specific requirements of the academic department in which the HS faculty member would teach.
- HS faculty who teach dual credit courses for ACC will be compensated with a $500 stipend per course.
Interviewing
Each department determines its own interview format. Some will use a committee, some will interview one-on-one. Many will require a teaching demonstration. It would be prudent to learn about the departmental expectations for preferred teaching style before scheduling your interview. You may be able to schedule an observation of a current ACC faculty member’s class; contact department chair if you are interested.
During the interview, be prepared to discuss:
- your perceptions of the differences between high school and college course instruction/expectations
- the best book you’ve read in your field in the last 6 months
- how you would handle being contacted by a parent about student work
- see additional possible questions on the HR website:
Checklist for Prospective Dual Credit Instructors
High school faculty who are interested in teaching dual credit courses on their high school campus for Austin Community College need to be aware of expectations from both their high school and the community college. This checklist will help acquaint instructors with the similarities and differences in requirements for teaching across both school levels. Where there are differences between the requirements listed below, an asterisk indicates which rules apply when dual credit courses are being taught. In some cases, the college rules will apply, in some cases, faculty will have to adhere to both the college and high school requirements.
Basic Qualifications
SACSCOC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges) is the accrediting body for Austin Community College. Every prospective dual credit instructor at ACC must meet these minimum requirements. The requirements are below, and more detailed credentialing requirements by course can be found here.
| To teach: | Faculty must have: |
|---|---|
| Academic courses toward AA or AS degrees | Master’s degree in the teaching discipline or Master’s plus 18 graduate hours in the teaching discipline |
| Workforce courses toward AAS degree | Bachelor’s degree or higher in the discipline or Associate’s degree in the discipline plus three years of documented work experience in the field |
| Courses toward certificate only | High school diploma plus three years of documented work experience in the field plus proof of specialized training in the field, e.g., license, certificate, non-credit coursework in the discipline |
| Developmental courses | Bachelor’s degree in the discipline or a related discipline plus either one year of high school teaching experience in the discipline or one graduate course in teaching under-prepared students |
| EDUC 1300: Effective Learning | Master’s degree in Psychology, Educational Psychology, or Education. Additional qualifying degrees are provided in the Faculty Qualifications Table. |
Mission and Values
Community Colleges – General
The mission of community colleges is to support student access to and success in higher education. You can learn more about the goals of community colleges in general by visiting the website for the American Association of Community Colleges.
Austin Community College – Mission and Values
Austin Community College has a clear focus on student success. Our goal is to provide central Texans with high-quality educational opportunities that prepare students for transfer or employment and increase equity for all. You can learn more about our mission, values, and goals here.
Accreditation and Governing Bodies
ACC’s policies are guided by the work of several groups. To help you understand some of the abbreviations in the checklist below, you may be interested in learning more about these groups.
ACC’s accrediting body is SACSCOC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges). ACC must adhere to the requirements set forth by this agency. You can learn more about SACSCOC, including its mission and values here.
THECB (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board) guides the efforts of public colleges and universities in Texas. You can learn more about this organization here.
ACC has a service area designated by the State Legislature consisting of most of six counties in Central Texas and 26 public school districts. Within the service area, ACC has a taxing district that is comprised of Austin, Round Rock, Leander, Hays, Elgin, Del Valle and Manor school districts as well as the parts of other districts that are in the City of Austin. Residents vote themselves into the taxing district. As tax-paying residents, students who attend ACC pay lower tuition and fees than residents from out-of-district areas. Tuition and fee rates, as all ACC policies, are approved by the elected ACC Board of Trustees.
High School to College Comparisons
| Component | High School | College |
|---|---|---|
| Course Content | Content is determined by the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills). | Content is guided by THECB and the ACC department guidelines.Focus is on meeting learning outcomes through content that is chosen by the faculty member and approved by the department. The faculty member has high levels of control of the specific content that is covered.ACC supports the idea that across every level of education, expectations for student learning should increase. As such, courses taught at the College level should require students to meet even higher standards than those same courses taught in high school. See comparative expectations for various educational levels from the Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP). |
| Academic Freedom | Standards and expectations are guided by the TEKS. Faculty must meet all standards.Freedom is in how you teach content. | Standards are part of accreditation, but so is a high degree of academic freedom.There is more flexibility in what content is taught, and how it is taught in covering department and college-approved learning outcomes. |
| Grading Policies | Determined by campus and/or ISD policies.Policies may require reteach and retest.Consequences for attendance are determined by State law and district policies. | Guided by departmental requirements. Some departments have explicit requirements, others provide more flexibility in grading to the instructor.Faculty may choose to, but are not required to allow multiple attempts on assignments or exams.Consequences for attendance and adherence to course deadlines are determined by the instructor. |
| Learning Outcomes and Competencies | Must meet TEKS guidelines.Additional outcomes can be required by campus and/or district.See details here. | Must meet SACSCOC guidelines, THECB core curriculum requirements, ACC general education competencies, course SLOs (student learning outcomes), and PSLOs (program-level student learning outcomes).See more information here:General Education AssessmentsACGM Lower Division Academic Course Guide ManualAssessment of student achievement of learning outcomes at ACC is done through the framework of the Discipline Assessment Cycle (DAC). Every department develops its own assessment plan, which is communicated to faculty teaching courses in that discipline. Additional general information about the DAC can be found here. |
| Regulations of Privacy | Follow FERPA – parents and guardians have access to student information. | Follow FERPA – only student has access to information, regardless of their age. Students may choose to fill out paperwork to allow parents to have access.See further information here. |
| Disability Services | Follow ARD paperwork. All accommodations and modifications must be provided. | In the college setting, course and curriculum modifications are not required for students with disabilities. However, accommodations will be approved by college Student Accessibility Services (SAS) office on a course by course, case by case basis. Approved accommodations must be implemented by faculty.Students must provide a Notice of Approved Accommodations signed by an SAS Coordinator to faculty before any accommodations can be provided. Accommodations may not be provided before faculty receive a Notice of Approved Accommodations. The provision of accommodations is not retroactive.Learn more here:Student Accessibility Services & Assistive Technology (SAS) |
| Syllabus | Syllabus requirements are guided by district and/or campus procedures. Students may or may not be given a syllabus for each class. | All faculty are required to provide a syllabus on the first day of class, and to post the syllabus online (see details about online submission below under Administrative Requirements / Other Requirements – lighthouse).There are specific requirements for syllabus content guided by departments.Master syllabi for courses are available online. |
| Contact Hour Requirements | None for faculty. | SACSCOC and THECB have strict requirements for instructional time per course. Courses are scheduled to fulfill these requirements, so ACC does not allow faculty to end class early, or cancel class. |
| Calendar | Calendar is more flexible to account for student schedules and school activities. | Due to contact hour requirements, there is very little flexibility in the calendar.You may need to work with your ISD to adjust class meeting days to maintain required contact hours as necessary.The ACC calendar, including withdrawal deadlines and other important dates can be found here. |
| Evaluation Process | School district evaluation policies will be followed. | Evaluated by Department. Faculty must complete portfolios each year, and input forms each semester (FIF). Each department will share their process with faculty.Student evaluations must be completed every semester.See evaluation details here. |
| Attendance Certification | Daily attendance is required and must be posted for all courses. | Faculty are not required to take daily attendance, however course attendance certification is required by census date. See details here. |
| Grade Submission | Guided by district policy in HS only classes. | Grades are submitted online and deadlines are specified each semester by the academic calendar. |
| Required Training | Many required trainings, guided by district and/or campus. | ADA and Sexual Harassment (online – every two years)Dual Credit Adjunct Academy inclusive of Departmental Training as required (four hours in total); all new faculty must be assigned a mentor. |
| Professional Development | District and SBEC rules apply. | ACC requires 12 clock hours for Full-Time faculty and 4 clock hours for Adjunct faculty each fiscal year.Selections must be approved by your department chair. |
| Departmental Meetings | Mandatory as determined by campus procedures. | Departments determine meeting frequency. New high school adjuncts are expected to attend at least one generally at the beginning of the Fall or Spring semester. |
| Other Requirements | Varies by District. | Syllabus, Curriculum Vita (Resume), and office hours must be posted on Lighthouse.ACCmail (email) is the primary form of communication between the college and faculty members as well as between students and faculty members. All faculty are expected to access their ACCmail regularly. |
| Determined by campus and or district. | ACCeIDAll online resources at ACC are accessed through a secure system. You will need a login and password known as the ACCeID. | |
| Online Learning Management System | Determined by campus and or district. | Blackboard is the LMS. Training is available online through Teaching and Learning Excellence Division. |
| Contact person | High school liaison varies across each campus (i.e. Counselor, Administrator, Coordinator) | Dual Credit / Early College High School liaison.Mison Zuniga ( [email protected] ) – Dual CreditMelissa Biegert ( [email protected] ) – Early College High SchoolShasta Buchanan ( [email protected] ) – Executive Director, High School Relations |
Support for Students and Faculty
ACC provides many services to support students. Faculty should be aware of these, to ensure that students are given the assistance they need. Learn more about ACC support services here.
Students and faculty can both benefit from ACC Library Services. Learn more about resources here.
ACC also has employee associations to support faculty. If you are selected as an adjunct, you may wish to consider taking an active role in the Adjunct Faculty Association.
The Texas Community College Teachers Association is an organization devoted to all community college teachers. Here, you can learn about teacher’s issues and get legal support.
Additional Resources
This checklist is just the beginning. There is more to learn about becoming a part of the ACC faculty. We encourage you to explore more by reviewing the ACC Faculty Handbook.
You will also find helpful information on the ACC website for Faculty and Staff.
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