Purpose

This policy provides a means for periodic assessment of the employment of part-time faculty in accordance with the Pierce College mission and the Pierce College Board of Trustees five Expected outcomes Policies.

Policy

The district will employ part-time faculty who are qualified by academic background, degree(s), and/or professional experience to carry out teaching assignments and/or other prescribed duties and responsibilities within the parameters of the P.C.F.T. Negotiated Agreement, and will annually assess the mix of full-time faculty and part-time faculty based on expertise, program need, and available resources.

Responsibilities

Instructional Administrators will conduct an annual assessment of the mix of full-time and part-time faculty. Recommendations from the annual assessment will be forwarded to the Executive Team as part of the process to authorize full-time faculty hiring, and to the Part-Time Faculty Taskforce and the P.C.F.T to inform their work.

Considerations

The employment of part-time faculty include the following:

  • It is appropriate to seek part-time faculty for the purpose of teaching occasional courses requiring specialized knowledge or industry experience not present in full-time faculty.
  • It is appropriate to seek part-time faculty when student demand, budgetary constraints, or the type of instructional funds precludes the hiring of full time faculty.
  • It is appropriate to seek part-time faculty when the quarterly schedule includes additional class sections beyond full-time faculty load.
  • It is appropriate to seek part-time faculty for classes delivered in unique modes, locations, or schedules.
  • It is appropriate to use part-time faculty in accordance with partnership agreements between the college and other institutions or enterprises.

Pierce College will seek to recruit and retain a diverse part-time faculty.Pierce College follows formal, written hiring and evaluation processes for part-time faculty. Part-time faculty are evaluated using standardized processes that employ multiple indices.

Pierce College will offer an orientation for part-time faculty, including information regarding the institution, the work assignment, available resources, rights and responsibilities, and conditions of employment.

Pierce College will support professional development opportunities for part-time faculty.

The institution's achievement of the above practices will be regularly evaluated during the following processes:

  • The annual (fall quarter) determination of new full-time faculty positions, at which time Institutional Administrators consider data describing, among other program information, the full-time/part-time faculty mix and 2-5 year projection of faculty needs.
  • The yearly program vitality study, during which Instructional Administrators review the annual Instructional Status Report, which describes full-time/part-time faculty mix and data on student learning and success.
  • The ongoing review of the Instructional Strategic Plan developed by Instructional Administrators in collaboration with instructional program coordinators.

On an annual basis full-time/part time mix and data comparing use of part time faculty in previous years is presented to the Part-time Faculty Taskforce and the P.C.F.T to inform their work.

 

Approved 2009-04-08

Review and Revision History

Date Reviewed/Revised By Description of any revision, action taken
April, 2008 Instructional Administrators Developed.
March 2009 Part-time Faculty Taskforce Reviewed
March 2009 Executive Team Reviewed
March 2009 HR Reviewed
March 2009 Instructional Administrators Approved and forwarded to Cabinet
March 4 & 6, 2009 Instructional Divisions  
March 5, 2009 Cabinet 1st Reading
March 10, 2009 Part-time Faculty Taskforce  
March 11, 2009 Instructional Administrators Approved document with suggested changes from the Part-time Faculty Taskforce
April 2, 2009 Cabinet 2nd Reading, Approved as presented
April 8, 2009 Board of Trustees Approved- April 8, 2009