Value Statement
The Austin Community College District will ensure all faculty meet the educational and/or experience requirements of the position; credentials are reviewed and verified in accordance with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS) and other accreditation requirements; and faculty members are appointed in accordance with all ACC policies and state and federal regulations. The employment of faculty will be conducted consistently and fairly according to the process outlined in ACC’s Hiring Guidelines for Adjunct and Full-Time Faculty. https://www.austincc.edu/employment-at-acc/full-time-and-adjunct-faculty-position-information/minimum-credential-qualification-requirements
Definitions
“Full-time faculty” refers to all full-time staffing table teaching faculty, librarians, and counselors who are paid on the full-time faculty pay scale.
“Adjunct faculty” refers to those non-staffing table faculty appointed on a part-time basis for a specified period of time.
“Skills instructor” refers to those instructors appointed on a course-by-course basis who have knowledge and experience in specific course content and work under the supervision of a SACS qualified faculty member.
“Faculty hired by justification” refers to faculty who have qualifications other than normally expected academic credentials such as: outstanding professional experience, appropriate licenses, honors and awards, or other demonstrated competencies or achievements that further the instructional goals and objectives of the College.
Administrative Rule
Full-time faculty, adjunct faculty, and skills instructors must meet the appropriate educational and/or experience requirements for their assigned courses, instructional modality, SACS, and other applicable accrediting and approval agencies. In addition, faculty members must be proficient in oral and written communication in the language in which assigned courses will be taught.
The College is committed to adhering to the SACS credential guidelines as found in The Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement (https://www.sacscoc.org/). The College will strive to have no more than two percent of its faculty hired by justification. Faculty members hired by justification will be encouraged to secure additional education and/or workforce experience needed to fully meet the qualifications guidelines.
The highest earned degree presented as the credential qualifying the faculty member to teach must be from either a regionally accredited institution or from an institution outside the United States that has been shown to be accredited and worthy of acceptance through an evaluation from a reputable recognized credential evaluation agency.
The appropriate Vice Presidents are responsible for ensuring institutional compliance with all hiring guidelines and appropriate documentation of all teaching credentials.
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