Part-Time Faculty in the California
Community Colleges
Fall
1992
Martin
Hittelman, Principal Author
The
Issues: Academic
Quality and Equal Treatment
The
issues involved in the use of part-time faculty
are those of quality, equal treatment, and cost
effectiveness. The use of part-time faculty has
been addressed several times in recent years.
The following statements frame the issues as they
have been addressed in the past:
"The use of part-time faculty in community
colleges has been a major concern for more than
a decade in both California and elsewhere in the
country. Part-time faculty provide community colleges
hiring flexibility and, in some cases, needed
subject expertise -- at less cost than full-time
faculty. However, part-time faculty seldom advise
students, develop curriculum or participate in
college governance. Some part-time faculty are
seeking full-time employment and, it is argued,
are being exploited." Joshua
L. Smith, Chancellor, January 1987 (Study of Part-Time
Instruction, Chancellor's Office)
"The issue of the use of part-time faculty
-- specifically their impact on academic quality
and institutional budgeting -- is contentious
and has been discussed for many years, yet very
little data exists on the topic. Perceptions are
that part-time faculty are relatively poorly compensated,
have virtually no job security, often receive
little support from the institutions that employ
them, and are sometimes treated as second-class
citizens of the academic community. Yet for a
variety of reasons, institutions often choose
to employ them instead of full-time faculty.
Among the clear advantages of part-time faculty,
they often fill voids created by unanticipated
enrollment growth, provide expertise that regular
full-time faculty may not have, and can be used
to reduce institutional budgets, since they are
almost always paid less than their full-time counterparts.
At the same time, opponents of the use of part-time
faculty suggest that they are not part of the
regular academic community and thus do not have
an interest in the welfare of the institution;
they do not share in necessary academic responsibilities,
such as committee assignments, curriculum development,
and student advisement and counseling; and their
lack of participation in these areas may adversely
affect the quality of the academic program."
California Post-Secondary Education
Commission (CPEC) Agenda Item 6, March 5, 1990
Continued
High Ratio of Part-time Faculty
The use of part-time faculty has been going on
for some time as indicated in the following statement
from the League for Innovation:
"The employment of large numbers of part-time
faculty in America's community colleges was a
longstanding practice (Cohen & Brawer, 1982).
This practice continued to the point that in 1978,
part-time faculty outnumbered full-time faculty
in all states, and some states by a two-to-one
ratio (Haddad & Dickens)." A
League Report (League for Innovation in the Community
College (1986)
The number of part-time faculty was 30,843 and
the number of full-time faculty was 16,843 in
the Fall of 1990 according to the Report
on Staffing and Salaries (Chancellor's Office,
July 1991).
The ratio of full-time to part-time hours taught
has also not changed much over time. In 1987,
a Chancellor's Office study concluded that "Remarkably
little change has occurred in faculty assignments
over the past decade. Sewell, Brydon, and Plosser
(1976) reported that graded (credit) class hours
were distributed in the following ways in 1974-75:
regular
assignment 62%
regular assignment overtime 10%
part-time 28%"
Source:
Study of Part-Time Instruction
(Chancellor's Office, Jan. 1987)
By the Fall of 1988, the Total Weekly Faculty
Contact Hours Taught in California Community Colleges
were as follows:
Fall 1986 Fall 1987 Fall 1988
Full-Time
Faculty 235,462 230,330 229,829 58%
Overload
Faculty 23,764 24,951 25,877 7%
Part-Time
Faculty 129,659 133,459 139,484 35%
Source:
Prospectus for a Study of Part-Time
Faculty in California Public Postsecondary Education
(CPEC, March 5, 1990)
By the Fall of 1991, the WFCH numbers were
Fall 1989 Fall 1990 Fall 1991
Full-Time
Faculty 234,249 239,016 241,779 56%
Overload
Faculty 28,843 28,533 30,901 7%
Part-Time
Faculty 158,016 169,849 159,005 37%
Source:
CPEC Report May 31, 1992
The number of students served by community colleges
has been increasing over the last few years. Many
districts have sought to serve the increased number
at a reduced cost by hiring part-time faculty
in larger numbers. In Full-Time Equivalent Students
(FTES) the numbers are:
Fall 1986 Fall 1987 Fall 1988 Fall 1989 Fall 1990
Fall 1991
CPEC concluded in an October 28, 1991 report that
"Data in the Commission's 1990-91 Supplemental
Report on Academic Salaries showed that
although most community college districts have
increased their number of full-time faculty in
recent years, they continue to rely on large numbers
of part-timers to provide instruction. Thus, many
of these districts are having difficulty meeting
the goals articulated by Assembly Bill 1725 -
legislation that directed the community colleges
to limit their part-time faculty to no more than
25 percent of the instructional load. The Commission's
most recent report showed that, during the past
three years, the number of part-time faculty in
the community colleges has also increased at the
statewide level, and that these faculty have also
taken on an increasing share of the teaching load.
Thus, the use of part-timers and temporary faculty
at the community colleges continues to be an issue
that demands consideration."
Unequal
Pay for Part-Time Faculty
Mean dollars paid to Contract and Regular Faculty
per WFCH (No overload and adjusted to reflect
additional responsibilities of regular and contract
faculty such as counseling, advising, committee
work, office hours, and community service) and
for Part-Time Faculty per WFCH in Fall 1988 were:
Part-Time Faculty $28.39
Full-Time Faculty $53.36
Source:
CPEC Agenda Item 6, March 5,
1990
Academic
Senate Resolutions
The Academic Senate for the California Community
Colleges has passed a number of resolutions concerning
part-time faculty. Among those passed are the
following:
(Fall
1974): SUPPORT any legislative or state board
proposal for modification in statutes governing
employment of certificated personnel in community
colleges which will assure that students attending
classes taught by part-time instructors receive
educational opportunities, privileges, and advantages
equal to those of students attending classes taught
by full-time instructors.
(Fall
1974) ENCOURAGE local Senates to involve part-time
instructors actively in Senate affairs.
(Spring
1974) SUPPORT legislation to ensure that part-time,
substitute, and temporary teachers are granted
the benefits of due process and equitable pro-rata
remuneration that are provided for contract and
regular teachers; request that AB 2965 (Cory/Rodda)
be so written.
(Fall
1976) RECOMMEND to accrediting institutions and
visiting accreditation teams that should the accreditation
teams consider that the number of part-time faculty
in a college is excessive they should seek the
rationale for such a situation and if not satisfied,
accreditation should be suspended.
(Fall
1976) RECOMMEND that part-time faculty be subject
to screening, hiring, and evaluation procedures
equal to that of full-time faculty and that part-time
faculty be equally provided opportunities for
in-service training.
(Fall
1976) OPPOSE the use of part-time teachers in
lieu of full-time contract teachers when the prime
consideration is financial savings to the district
instead of the delivery of quality educational
services.
(Fall
1980) REQUEST the Board of Governors to strongly
encourage local boards of trustees to employ full-time
faculty when full-time positions are available
and further be is resolved that the Senate URGE
local Senates to encourage boards of trustees
to adopt a policy of employing full-time faculty.
(Spring
1981) SUPPORT the inclusion of a statement in
the finance legislation which would require that
community college districts not decrease the ratio
of full-time to part-time instructors in the district.
Furthermore support any local and statewide efforts
which would increase substantially the ratio of
full-time to part-time instructors.
(Spring
1981): ADOPT the following section of the position
paper "Legislation for the 1981 Session":
The Academic Senate has a continuing concern for
the integrity of the community college system
as it relates to academic standards. The current
practice of replacing full-time teaching positions
with multiple part-time positions and the forced
turn-over for financial reasons of specific individuals
employed has a negative impact on the quality
of the educational program. Lack of facilities
for part-time instructors and the fact that they
are paid only for classroom time prevents them
from performing normal professional functions
expected of full-time faculty: committee assignments;
articulation within and among the several college
communities; the development, evaluation, and
revision of curriculum; advisement of students
concerning transfer, career goals, and the general
college program. The Senate will urge that these
concerns be addressed in the legislatively mandated
study on the employment of part-time instructors.
(Spring
1982): SPONSOR legislation to require those districts
having a percent of part-time teachers greater
than the 28% standard be given incentives to reduce
that percentage.
(Spring
1982) SUPPORT legislation which states that: part-time
instructors providing instruction in a class offered
by a community college district who have been
evaluated as having performed satisfactorily in
that class be afforded the first opportunity to
provide instruction in that class if it is subsequently
offered by the district within a period of one
year and if it is the decision of the governing
board tat this class shall be taught by a temporary
employee.
(Spring
1982) SPONSOR legislation to require those districts
having a percent of part-time teachers greater
than the 28% standard be given incentives to reduce
that percentage.
(Spring
1984) SEEK legislation to require that retiring
full-time faculty be replaced by full-time instructors
in areas where there is sufficient demand for
courses, and be it further resolved that the Senate
REQUEST local Senates to work with their local
boards to assure that full-time faculty who retire
or leave be replaced by new full-time hires or
by retrained full-time faculty.
(Spring
1985) RECOMMEND that a [community college faculty]
vacancy be filled by full-time faculty wherever
feasible.
(Spring
1985) REAFFIRM its position that local senates
be encouraged to explore means of providing adequate
representation of part-time faculty in academic
and professional matters.
Attempted
Solutions
Attempts by the legislature and the Board of Governors
have been largely unsuccessful in effectively
decreasing the proportional use of part-time faculty.
Statutory Limits
"Statutory limits on the use of part-time
faculty in California community colleges were
first enacted in 1981 and extended through 1987
to restrict districts form using part-time faculty
to teach more than 30% of a district's workload
or the average workload employed between 1980
and 1983. Districts determine if they are out
of compliance and, if so, submit corrective plans
to the Board of Governors for approval. In 1985,
five districts that did not comply with this statute
submitted corrective plans to the Board of Governors
for approval. However, there are no sanctions
for not complying with this law and the Board
of Governors' role is partial at best. Also, there
are no statewide limits on the amount of part-time
overload teaching that may be assigned to full-time
faculty in addition to their regular load, although
some local collective bargaining contracts address
this issue." Study of
Part-Time Instruction (Chancellor's Office, January
1987)
AB 1725
AB 1725 contained several statements of legislative
intent that the community colleges have a "strong
core of full-time faculty with long-term commitments
to their colleges" (Section 4).
Section 4 of AB 1725 made a legislative finding
that "(a)(1) There must be guarantees that
the full-time positions which become open because
of the retirement of these faculty members not
be divided into part-time positions that are less
expensive to fill than the full-time positions.
The division of full-time positions that become
vacant into part-time positions is currently occurring
all too frequently. The maintenance of a fully
staffed, full-time faculty is an essential element
of a coherent program."
Section 4 continues:
"(b) If the community colleges are to respond
creatively to the challenges of the coming decades,
they must have a strong and stable core of full-time
faculty with long-term commitments to their colleges.
There is proper concern about the effect of an
over reliance upon part-time faculty, particularly
in the core transfer curricula. Under current
conditions, part-time faculty, no matter how talented
as teachers, rarely participate in college programs,
design departmental curricula, or advise and counsel
students. Even if they were invited to do so by
their colleagues, it may be impossible if they
are simultaneously teaching at other colleges
in order to make a decent living.
(c) However, in many areas the employment of part-time
temporary faculty is both appropriate and necessary,
especially in vocational programs where part-time
faculty members may be practicing professionals
in the field.
(d) Decisions regarding the appropriateness of
part-time faculty should be made on the basis
of academic and program needs, however, and not
for financial savings. The Legislature's concern
about abuses in this regard led to the establishment
of the current statutory cap on part-time employment.
(e) There is widespread concern about the current
tendency to fill "retiring" full-time
positions with multiple part-time positions, and
that there is a financial incentive to do so.
Under current formulae, part-time faculty receive
less money than do full-time faculty, and do not
receive benefits. Thus, proposals concerning the
status and conditions of part-time faculty will
depend upon changes in the pay structure as well
as the overall financing of the colleges."
AB 1725 went beyond legislative intent language.
It called for the expenditure of program improvement
monies toward the hiring of full-time faculty.
These monies became part of the base for future
years. Section 84755 included "Improving
instruction by increasing the hiring of full-time
instructors and limiting the practice of hiring
part-time instructors" as one of the uses
of the $140 million in program improvement funds
approved by the legislature.
Education Code Section 87482.6 stated that 75
percent of the credit hours taught should be taught
by full-timers. In particular, Section 87482.6
(a) states that "Until the provisions of
Section 84750 regarding program based funding
are implemented by a standard adopted by the board
of governors that establishes the appropriate
percentage of hours of credit instruction that
should be taught by full-time instructors, the
Legislature wishes to recognize and make efforts
to address longstanding policy of the board of
governors that at least 75 percent of the hours
of credit in the California Community Colleges,
as a system, should be taught by full-time instructors.
To this end, community college districts which
have less than 75 percent of their hours of credit
instruction taught by full-time instructors shall
apply a portion of the program improvement allocation
received pursuant to Section 84755 ..".
Section 84755 then sets out the conditions for
the use of the $140 million in program improvement
funds. Districts with less than 75% of their credit
hours taught by full-timers were required to apply
a portion of their program improvement monies
to hire full-time faculty.
Districts in the 67%-75% range were required to
spend 33% of their Program Improvement monies
to hire new full-time faculty. Districts with
less than 67% were required to spend 40% of their
Program Improvement Funds on the hiring of new
full-time faculty.
"In computing the percentage of hours of
credit instruction taught by full-time instructors,
the hours of overload teaching by full-time instructors
shall be excluded from both the total hours of
credit instruction taught by full-time and part-time
instructors and the total hours of instruction
taught by full-time instructors" (87482.6(a)(1)).
87482.6 also defined "full-time instructor"
and "replacement cost" as follows
"(2) A full-time instructor shall be defined
as any regular and contract faculty member teaching
credit instruction."
(3) states that the computation shall be made
by dividing the applicable portion of the program
improvement revenue by the statewide average "replacement
cost" ( a figure which represents the statewide
average faculty salary plus benefits, minus the
statewide average hourly rate of compensation
for part-time instructors times the statewide
average full-time teaching load).
The legislation also imposed a penalty for districts
that were not in compliance. It required that
"(4) On or before December 31, 1991, the
chancellor shall determine the extent to which
each district, by September 30, 1991, has hired
the number of FTF determined pursuant to paragraph
(3) for the 1989-90 and 1990-91 fiscal years.
To the extent that the cumulative number of FTF
have not been retained, the chancellor shall reduce
the district's base budget for 1991-92 and subsequent
fiscal years by an amount equivalent to the average
replacement cost times the deficiency in the number
of FTF."
According to the formulas above, 1,155 additional
hires were required by September 1991. Final numbers
on compliance by districts have not yet been released
but preliminary study seems to indicated that
the 1,155 number may be reached. The actual ratio
of full-time to part-time has not changed much
due to the large number of part-timers that were
hired over the same period of time. No district
to date has had it's base budget for 1991-92 reduced.
Program Based Funding Regulations of the Board
of Governors
The Board of Governors has passed regulations
concerning the use of Part-Time faculty under
program based funding.
Title 5 Regulations 51025 states that: "(a)
Community College districts which have less than
75 percent of their hours of credit instruction
taught by full-time instructors, in the prior
fiscal year, shall apply the growth revenues received
related to increases in credit FTES in accordance
with Section 58774 of this division and a portion
of the program improvement allocation received
in accordance with Section 58775 of this division
.. ."
The Board regulations require districts which
are at less than 75% to increase the number of
full-time faculty in proportion to their funded
growth. In particular 51025(a)(1) states that
"Of the growth revenues received related
to increases in credit FTES pursuant to Section
58774 of this division, the districts shall increase
the number of full-time instructors, by September
30 of the succeeding fiscal year, by the product
of their base number of full-time faculty multiplied
by the percentage change in funded credit FTES,
rounded down to the nearest whole number."
The Board regulations also requires districts
at less than 75% to use a proportion of their
program improvement allocation toward the hiring
of full-time faculty. Districts which, in the
prior fiscal year, had 67 percent or greater,
but less than 75 percent of their hours of credit
instruction taught by full-time instructors must
apply up to 33 percent of their program improvement
allocation toward the hiring of full-time faculty.
Districts which, in the prior fiscal year, had
less than 67 percent of their hours of credit
instruction taught by full-time instructors must
apply up to 40 percent of their program improvement
allocation toward the hiring of full-time faculty.
District must increase the number of full-time
instructors, by September of the succeeding fiscal
year, by the quotient of the applicable program
improvement funds divided by the statewide average
replacement cost, rounded down to the nearest
whole number. If the number of full-time faculty
result in the district exceeding the 75 percent
standard, the Chancellor shall reduce the number
to a whole number that leaves the district as
close as possible to, but in excess of, the 75
percent standard.
The Statewide average replacement cost is the
statewide average faculty salary plus benefits,
minus the product of the statewide average hourly
rate of compensation for part-time instructors
times the statewide average full-time teaching
load.
Again, the penalty for not complying is the reduction
of the district's revenue. Section 51025(c) states
that "On or before December 31 of each year,
the Chancellor shall determine the extent to which
each district, by September 30, of that year,
has hired the number of additional full-time instructors
determined pursuant to subdivision (a) for the
prior fiscal year. To the extent that the number
of additional full-time instructors have not been
retained, the Chancellor shall reduce the district's
revenue for the current fiscal year by an amount
equivalent to the average replacement cost for
the prior fiscal year times the deficiency in
the number of full-time faculty. To the extent
a district hires the additional full-time instructors
in subsequent fiscal years the reductions made
to the district's revenue shall be restored."
"51025(d) All revenues available due to reductions
made pursuant to subdivision (c), shall be available
on a one-time basis for that fiscal year, for
the purposes of faculty and staff diversity pursuant
to Education Code Section 87107."
The Board of Governors included provisions in
the regulations for years in which there was no
COLA or no program improvement funds. 51025 (e)
allows for the Board of Governors, by January
20th of each fiscal year, to "determine whether
adequate growth funds and adequate cost-of-living
funds have been provided to allow full or partial
implementation of the provisions of subparagraph
(a)(1)."
Board of Governors Action: "Insufficient
Funding"
At the November 14-15, 1991 Board of Governors
meeting the Board stated that there was insufficient
funding to require the hiring of full-time faculty
proportionate to growth dollars received from
the state. The Board item stated that:
"The intent of Section 51025 of the California
Code of Regulations was to require the
Community College Districts to devote growth funds
toward securing sufficient full-time faculty (subject
to adequate funding of COLA and workload growth)
to increase the number of full-time faculty for
the next year by the percent increase in growth
funding.
This provision was the subject of much discussion
in Consultation. The central issue was the degree
to which Districts would have to comply if there
was no full funding for the adjustments for cost-of-living
and growth in workload. The compromise decision
was for the Board of Governors to make a determination
by January 20 as to whether Districts would have
to comply with the provision based on adequacy
of funding.
The 1991 State Budget Act provided no cost-of-living
adjustment funding for any state-funded program
but did provide funding for approximately 2.08
percent growth in workload. ..
Staff recommends that the Board of Governors determine
that there is insufficient funding for cost-of-living
to require full or partial implementation of the
provisions of subparagraph (a)(1) of Section 51025."
Legislative
Action (1991): Minimum Standards
In the legislative session of 1991, SB 9 was passed
and signed by the governor. Among the items in
SB 9 was the following addition to the Education
Code:
"Education Code 87482.7. (a) The board of
governors shall, pursuant to paragraph (6) of
subdivision (b) of Section 70901, adopt regulations
that establish minimum standards regarding the
percentage of hours of credit instruction that
shall be taught by full-time instructors.
(b) Upon notice by the board of governors, the
Department of Finance shall transfer any money
deducted from district apportionments pursuant
to the regulations adopted under this section.
This money shall be transferred to the Faculty
and staff Diversity Fund pursuant to Section 87107.
"Appendix: Education
Code Sections dealing with the hiring of temporary
faculty
Education
Code 87482. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions
of Section 87480, the governing board of a community
college district may employ any qualified individual
as a temporary faculty member for a complete school
year but not less than a complete semester or
quarter during a school year. The employment of
those persons shall be based upon the need for
additional faculty during a particular semester
or quarter because of the higher enrollment of
students during that semester or quarter as compared
to the other semester or quarter in the academic
year, or because a faculty member has been granted
leave for a semester, quarter or year, or is experiencing
log-term illness, and shall be limited in number
of persons so employed, to that need, as determined
by the governing board.
Such employment may be pursuant to contract fixing
a salary for the entire semester or quarter.
(b) No person shall be so employed by any one
district under this section for more than two
semesters or three quarters within any period
of three consecutive years.
Education
Code 87482.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any person who is employed to
teach adult or community college classes for not
more than 60 percent of the hours per week considered
a full-time assignment for regular employees,
having comparable duties shall be classified as
a temporary employee and shall not become a contract
employee under Section 87604.
(b) Service as a substitute on a day-to-day basis
by persons employed under this section shall not
be used for purposes of calculating eligibility
for contract or regular status.
Education
Code 87478. Except as provided in Sections
87481 and 87482, governing boards of community
college districts shall classify faculty employed
to fill positions of regularly employed persons
absent from service as temporary employees.
After September 1 of any school year, the governing
board of a community college district may employ,
for the remainder of the school year, in temporary
status any otherwise qualified person who consents
to be so employed in a position for which no regular
employee is available, including persons retired
for service under the State Teachers' Retirement
System. Inability to acquire the services of a
qualified regular employee shall be demonstrated
to the board of governors.
Any person employed for one complete school year
as a temporary employee shall, if reemployed for
the following school year in a faculty position,
be classified by the governing board as a contract
employee and the previous year's employment as
a temporary employee shall be deemed a year of
employment as a contract employee for purposes
of acquiring regular status.
Education
Code 87481. Notwithstanding the provisions
of 87478 and 87480, the governing board of a community
college district may employ any qualified individual
as a temporary faculty member for a complete school
year, but not less than one semester or quarter
during a school year unless the date of rendering
first paid service begins during the second semester
or third quarter and prior to March 15th. The
employment of these persons shall be based upon
the need for additional faculty during a particular
semester, quarter, or year because a faculty member
has been granted leave for a semester, quarter,
or year, or is experiencing log-term illness,
and shall be limited, in number of persons so
employed, to that need, as determined by the governing
board.
Any person employed for one complete school year
as a temporary employee shall, if reemployed for
the following school year in a vacant faculty
position, be classified by the governing board
as a contract employee and the previous year's
employment as a temporary employee shall be deemed
a year of employment as a contract employee for
purposes of acquiring permanent status.
For purposes of this section "vacant position"
means a position in which the employee is qualified
to serve and which is not filled by a regular
or contract employee. It shall not include a position
which would be filled by a regular or contract
employee except for the fact that such employee
is on leave.
Education
Code 87470. The governing board of any
community college district may employ faculty
in programs and projects to perform services conducted
under contract with public or private agencies,
or other categorically funded projects of indeterminate
duration under terms and conditions mutually agreed
upon by the employee and the governing board.
The agreement shall be reduced to writing. Service
pursuant to this section shall not be included
in computing the service required as a prerequisite
to attainment of, or eligibility to, classification
as a regular employee of a community college district
unless
(1) the person has served pursuant to this section
for a least 75 percent of the number of days in
regular schools of the district by which he is
employed are maintained, and
(2) the person is subsequently employed as a contract
employee in a faculty position.
These
persons may be employed for periods which are
less than a full school year and may be terminated
at the expiration of the contract or specially
funded project without regard to other requirements
of this code respecting the termination of contract
or regular employees.
This section shall not be construed to apply to
any faculty member who has been employed in the
regular educational programs of the district as
a contract employee before being subsequently
assigned to any one of these programs nor shall
it apply to those employees employed in programs
operated pursuant to, or funded pursuant to Article
8 (commencing with Section 69640) or Chapter 2
of Part 42, or Section 78440, 78441, 78600, or
84850.
