Title: Against the Tide, Valencia Hires 17 Full-Timers. Subject(s): VALENCIA Community College (Orlando, Fla.) -- Faculty; COLLEGE teachers -- Employment; COLLEGE teachers, Part-time -- Florida Source: Community College Week, 08/21/2000, Vol. 13 Issue 1, p12, 1/2p, 2bw

Author(s): Conciatore, Jacqueline

Abstract: Reports that the Valencia Community College in Florida has approved full-time faculty positions in a move to lessen its reliance on part-time faculty. Debate over the issue of part-time faculty employment in colleges and universities; Disadvantage of hiring part-time faculty; Benefits brought about by part-time faculty to the classroom.

AN: 3511444

ISSN: 1041-5726 Community College Week, August 21, 2000

AGAINST THE TIDE, VALENCIA HIRES 17 FULL-TIMERS

Bucking a widely prevalent trend, in higher education, Valencia Community College in central Florida has moved to lessen its reliance on adjunct faculty. The college's Board of Trustees has approved 17 new full-time tenure-track faculty positions, which the college said will cost $923,486. Valencia President Sanford Shugart has said he would like full-time faculty to teach more than 60 percent of courses, compared to the 50 percent they teach now. The money to cut against the grain is coming from a tuition increase, a jump in enrollment and a $2.5-million budget hike from the state. Colleges' and universities' increasing use of adjunct faculty has been a topic of much debate in recent years. Critics say the increasing reliance on part-time staff risks lowering educational quality and, because adjuncts are paid so little, is exploitative of faculty who can't find other college-level teaching jobs. But despite these concerns, few colleges have taken steps similar to Valencia's. "The average community college is delivering between 50 and 60 percent of their total offerings with adjuncts, and some are doing more," said Dr. John Roueche, who holds the Sid Richardson Chair in Community College Leadership at the University of Texas, Austin. The former community college president is also co-author of Strangers in Their Own Land, a book about adjuncts at community colleges. According to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), in 1993, 64 percent of community college faculty appointments were part-time. At some colleges, three-quarters of faculty are adjuncts. With federal and state support to colleges and universities in a steady decline over the past several years, institutions simply don't have the resources to hire otherwise, Roueche said. "You can cover three, four times the number of classes with an adjunct," he said. "So an institution is making a major commitment to the value of full-time faculty by hiring them as opposed to covering more classes with adjuncts." AAUP, highly critical of the increased use of adjuncts, has termed the use of part-timers "irresistibly cost-effective." Among community colleges, where reliance on adjuncts in greatest, Austin Community College has also set a policy limiting use of part-time faculty. Three years ago when the college enacted a limit on the number of sections an adjunct could teach, its ratio of part-time to full-time faculty was about 80-20, said Dr. Elva Allie, executive vice president for instructional affairs. The teaching load adjuncts carried was not fair to the part-time or full-time staff; she said. Allie added that an adequate number of full-timers is needed to fulfill outside-the-classroom job requirements such as updating curriculum, evaluating programs and ironing out articulation agreements with other colleges and universities, Like Valencia, Austin Community College set a goal to have full-time faculty teaching at least 60 percent of classes. It has hired 60 additional full-timers and hopes to hire 20 more this year, she said. To meet the additional costs, the college had to make cuts elsewhere, she said. Among senior-level institutions, Georgia State University has also taken a stand on the issue. According to the September-October 1999 Academe, AAUP's journal, in May 1999 GSU announced 65 new full-time positions, though they were not tenure-track and had the lower-level classifications of "visiting lecturer" and "visiting instructor." At the time, some cash-strapped adjuncts at the school who couldn't make rent on the $2,000-per-class wages were reportedly living in their cars. The new jobs paid $24,000 and included health benefits. One of the primary concerns about hiring adjunct instructors relates to the fact that they're not as accessible to students. An AAUP study showed adjunct faculty report spending less time on class preparation and interacting with students outside the classroom than full-time faculty. At community colleges, they reported spending about one-quarter the time that full-time faculty did. But adjuncts do bring benefits to the classroom. Their real-world experience is valuable, especially in today's fast-moving technology fields. And many teach because they want to, as an extra activity outside a day job, and so bring enthusiasm and freshness to the classroom. "In our review of all the studies done, we found adjunct faculty are as well-regarded in terms of their teaching as full-time faculty," Roueche said. "The only negative adjuncts get from those evaluations is they are not around as much as you would like them to be around." Some schools are opting to contract with adjuncts at a higher rate in return for their being accessible to students outside of class, he said. But the part-time appointments aren't easy on career teachers, who say $2,000 per course--sometimes less--doesn't amount to a livable wage. Also, adjuncts often don't have offices, or access to campus equipment such as computers and photocopying machines. They also complain of being treated as second-class citizens by full-time colleagues.

PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Dr. Sanford Shugart

PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Dr. John Roueche ~~~~~~~~ By Jacqueline Conciatore Copyright of Community College Week is the property of Cox Matthews and Associates Inc and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. Source: Community College Week, 08/21/2000, Vol. 13 Issue 1, p12, 1/2p, 2bw. Item Number: 3511444Title: Against the Tide, Valencia Hires 17 Full-Timers. Subject(s): VALENCIA Community College (Orlando, Fla.) -- Faculty; COLLEGE teachers -- Employment; COLLEGE teachers, Part-time -- Florida Source: Community College Week, 08/21/2000, Vol. 13 Issue 1, p12, 1/2p, 2bw Author(s): Conciatore, Jacqueline Abstract: Reports that the Valencia Community College in Florida has approved full-time faculty positions in a move to lessen its reliance on part-time faculty. Debate over the issue of part-time faculty employment in colleges and universities; Disadvantage of hiring part-time faculty; Benefits brought about by part-time faculty to the classroom. AN: 3511444 ISSN: 1041-5726 Database: MasterFILE Premier Print: Click here to mark for print. [Go To Citation] Best Part Community College Week, August 21, 2000 AGAINST THE TIDE, VALENCIA HIRES 17 FULL-TIMERS Bucking a widely prevalent trend, in higher education, Valencia Community College in central Florida has moved to lessen its reliance on adjunct faculty. The college's Board of Trustees has approved 17 new full-time tenure-track faculty positions, which the college said will cost $923,486. Valencia President Sanford Shugart has said he would like full-time faculty to teach more than 60 percent of courses, compared to the 50 percent they teach now. The money to cut against the grain is coming from a tuition increase, a jump in enrollment and a $2.5-million budget hike from the state. Colleges' and universities' increasing use of adjunct faculty has been a topic of much debate in recent years. Critics say the increasing reliance on part-time staff risks lowering educational quality and, because adjuncts are paid so little, is exploitative of faculty who can't find other college-level teaching jobs. But despite these concerns, few colleges have taken steps similar to Valencia's. "The average community college is delivering between 50 and 60 percent of their total offerings with adjuncts, and some are doing more," said Dr. John Roueche, who holds the Sid Richardson Chair in Community College Leadership at the University of Texas, Austin. The former community college president is also co-author of Strangers in Their Own Land, a book about adjuncts at community colleges. According to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), in 1993, 64 percent of community college faculty appointments were part-time. At some colleges, three-quarters of faculty are adjuncts. With federal and state support to colleges and universities in a steady decline over the past several years, institutions simply don't have the resources to hire otherwise, Roueche said. "You can cover three, four times the number of classes with an adjunct," he said. "So an institution is making a major commitment to the value of full-time faculty by hiring them as opposed to covering more classes with adjuncts." AAUP, highly critical of the increased use of adjuncts, has termed the use of part-timers "irresistibly cost-effective." Among community colleges, where reliance on adjuncts in greatest, Austin Community College has also set a policy limiting use of part-time faculty. Three years ago when the college enacted a limit on the number of sections an adjunct could teach, its ratio of part-time to full-time faculty was about 80-20, said Dr. Elva Allie, executive vice president for instructional affairs. The teaching load adjuncts carried was not fair to the part-time or full-time staff; she said. Allie added that an adequate number of full-timers is needed to fulfill outside-the-classroom job requirements such as updating curriculum, evaluating programs and ironing out articulation agreements with other colleges and universities, Like Valencia, Austin Community College set a goal to have full-time faculty teaching at least 60 percent of classes. It has hired 60 additional full-timers and hopes to hire 20 more this year, she said. To meet the additional costs, the college had to make cuts elsewhere, she said. Among senior-level institutions, Georgia State University has also taken a stand on the issue. According to the September-October 1999 Academe, AAUP's journal, in May 1999 GSU announced 65 new full-time positions, though they were not tenure-track and had the lower-level classifications of "visiting lecturer" and "visiting instructor." At the time, some cash-strapped adjuncts at the school who couldn't make rent on the $2,000-per-class wages were reportedly living in their cars. The new jobs paid $24,000 and included health benefits. One of the primary concerns about hiring adjunct instructors relates to the fact that they're not as accessible to students. An AAUP study showed adjunct faculty report spending less time on class preparation and interacting with students outside the classroom than full-time faculty. At community colleges, they reported spending about one-quarter the time that full-time faculty did. But adjuncts do bring benefits to the classroom. Their real-world experience is valuable, especially in today's fast-moving technology fields. And many teach because they want to, as an extra activity outside a day job, and so bring enthusiasm and freshness to the classroom. "In our review of all the studies done, we found adjunct faculty are as well-regarded in terms of their teaching as full-time faculty," Roueche said. "The only negative adjuncts get from those evaluations is they are not around as much as you would like them to be around." Some schools are opting to contract with adjuncts at a higher rate in return for their being accessible to students outside of class, he said. But the part-time appointments aren't easy on career teachers, who say $2,000 per course--sometimes less--doesn't amount to a livable wage. Also, adjuncts often don't have offices, or access to campus equipment such as computers and photocopying machines. They also complain of being treated as second-class citizens by full-time colleagues. PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Dr. Sanford Shugart PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Dr. John Roueche ~~~~~~~~ By Jacqueline Conciatore Copyright of Community College Week is the property of Cox Matthews and Associates Inc and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. Source: Community College Week, 08/21/2000, Vol. 13 Issue 1, p12, 1/2p, 2bw