Noncredit Quality Standards

Fall
2006
Resolution Number
19.01
 
Contact
Category
Professional Standards
Status
Ongoing

Whereas, Full-time faculty are vital to the health and development of programs both credit and noncredit, providing the dedication and expertise needed for ongoing curriculum development, outreach, support for students, and collaboration with other departments and college areas and in college governance;

Whereas, The 2006-2007 budget has provided an infusion of $30 million dollars to augment the apportionment for noncredit courses related to career development and college preparation and efforts are under way to generate similar augmentations targeted to noncredit in coming years;

Whereas, An Academic Senate survey of noncredit programs in 2006 reveals that the current ratio of full- to part-time faculty in noncredit programs is 1:20, with six of the 25 colleges surveyed employing no full-time faculty for their noncredit programs; and

Whereas, This survey also reveals that the full-time load (or equivalent) for noncredit faculty reaches as high as 32 instructional hours per week at some colleges, leaving little time for the curriculum development, outreach, and collaboration with other department and college areas and in college governance associated with full-time faculty;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges call for the establishment of an expected ratio of full- to part-time faculty for noncredit instruction, parallel to that currently in place for credit instruction, with parallel processes for enforcement and progress;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges review existing minimum qualifications for faculty in noncredit instruction;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with its bargaining colleagues, CFT/CCC, CCA/CTA, and CCCI, to seek support for paid office hours for faculty in noncredit instruction and to encourage faculty to negotiate full-time loads for noncredit faculty that permit involvement in curriculum development, classroom preparation, outreach, and collaboration with other departments and college areas and in college governance; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, recognizing that additional funds are needed in order to address these quality standards, support system efforts for additional augmentations in funding for all noncredit areas. MSC Disposition: CFT/CCC, CCA/CTA, CCCI, System Office, Local Senates