Copyright© 2000 by School Services of California, Inc.

December 8, 2000

BOG Approves "Interdistrict Faculty Pilot"

The California Community College Board of Governors (BOG) held a special meeting in the State Capitol on December 4, 2000 to discuss legislative issues. Among the issues discussed was a proposal by the Part-Time Task Force to establish a pilot project for a selected number of districts to provide full-time employment status for part-time faculty who are teaching an equivalent full-time academic workload among multiple districts.

This "Interdistrict Faculty Pilot" is the result of efforts to address concerns expressed by BOG member Amy Dean, who was critical of a concept paper on the subject of interdistrict faculty hires that had been developed by the Chancellor's Office. Board member Dean singled out the efforts of the statewide Academic Senate in putting together a proposal more in line with the board's thinking. Chancellor Nussbaum clarified that the proposal was not the work of the Academic Senate, but rather the efforts of the Part-Time Task Force.

The BOG approved the "Interdistrict Faculty Pilot" based on the following conditions:

• A small number of colleges will be selected for the pilot
  
• Home colleges will be expected to:
  • Communicate and cooperate with colleges in neighboring districts that may share part-time faculty
    
  • Identify the methodology and rationale by which positions were identified for the pilot
    
  • Agree to build in a research and evaluation component
    
  • Certify that the positions created for the pilot are in addition to those that would be converted from part-time to full-time in the normal hiring processes of the district

• To be eligible, a college must agree to ensure that the interdistrict faculty are to be hired in full conformity to existing statutes and regulations governing faculty hiring and affirmative action and policies agreed upon by the district governing board and the academic senate.
  
• The college must develop a procedure for determining positions to be filled by interdistrict faculty (i.e., part-time faculty carrying load across multiple districts). Those positions will be made whole at the home college over, or at the end of, a specified period of years. As such a procedure is part of the college's planning and budget processes, it is subject to collegial consultation between the governing board and the academic senate. The process must also be in accord with any relevant contract language and processes involving the bargaining agent.
  
• The home college must agree to provide the interdistrict faculty member the same faculty development opportunities as all other contract faculty members, and preferable include them in a mentoring program for new contract faculty. Participating districts are encouraged to have in place a mentoring program for new contract faculty, as outlined in Title V regulations. The home college will be encouraged to provide opportunities for the interdistrict faculty members to pursue additional study or preparation that would expand the minimum qualifications to enable them to enlarge the range of assignments they can fulfil.
  
• In the event that the contract faculty member meets all the requirements for tenure, and the need for a full-time position in the department does not materialize as originally anticipated, the home college will sponsor training for the now tenured faculty member such that he/she can carry a full load across disciplines at the home college.

Funding

The Chancellor's Office will request a budget augmentation of $2 million to fund the pilot for 2001-02. It is anticipated that this amount of funds will fund the components of the pilot and encourage districts to participate.

Up to five faculty positions per college will be funded at approximately 6 home colleges. It is anticipated that each faculty position will be funded at approximately $50,000. Additional costs are anticipated for research and evaluation, faculty development, administration, and other expenses associated with interdistrict travel and collaboration. Home colleges are assured that funds appropriated for these purposes will be in their base.

Editor's Note

Two comments¾will any college voluntarily step forward to be a home college? Obviously, there will be significant political pressure to establish the pilots, particularly if funding is provided by the state. Which leads to the second comment, or maybe more of a concern¾will Governor Davis support an additional $2 million augmentation request, especially if he supports the system's $75 million request for part-time faculty compensation? The Governor would likely indicate that if the pilot is a priority for the system, it should be funded out of whatever resources are provided for part-time faculty compensation.

Stay tuned--the Governor's January 2001 State Budget will provide us with an indication of his thinking on this subject.

--Arnold Bray