Faculty Association Minutes
Friday, August 16, 2019
Dr. Karen Kaiser called the meeting to order at 1:30pm
Dr. Schindler, Vice President of Instruction, was invited by Dr. Kaiser, Faculty Association President, to discuss agenda items and answer questions faculty have regarding the new schedule and expectations of administration.
Item 1: Fridays
The four day instructional schedule has been adopted for ease of scheduling, to align with the Strategic Plan, and to promote student success. It is not a day off, but a part of the Student Success Initiative and considered part of faculty workload. Dr. Schindler laid out a tentative agenda for Fridays for meetings and committees: 1st Friday – guest speakers/workshops, 2nd Friday – Pathways meetings, 3rd Friday – Division meetings, and 4th Fridays – Committee meetings and work.
Several questions were raised regarding faculty workload. What is the expected time breakdown? How are Fridays handled if that workload is met Monday-Thursday? According to Dr. Schindler, faculty workload expectations are 15 hours teaching classes, 15 hours preparation and grading, and 10 hours of office and Learning Lab. Most important was to be available to students according to your posted schedule. This time breakdown raised the issue of full-time faculty with no office space – where should they meet with students? How will high schools handle office hours? A solution was not readily offered, but office-less faculty members were asked to make themselves available to students as much as possible.
Item 2: Pathways
Degree programs are created by the college and filed with the state. FOS programs are state-level mandated for transfer to a 4-year institution. These programs, when aligned with Pathways, will aid in catching the majority of students and assist them with filing degree plans as mandated by the state and with choosing classes to fit those degree plans.
Faculty were encouraged to draft a proclamation of support for pathways. This falls in line with administration and Student Services at HC, creates more alignment with 4-year institutions, and aids in doing what is best for the students and the degree/FOS program.
Item 3: Salary
Hill College is ranked at number 45 on the pay scale for full-time faculty. Dr. Schindler discussed how more efficient scheduling (4 day instruction week) can result in full-time faculty teaching fewer courses for the same compensation. This efficient scheduling and enrolling of students can reduce the need for overloads and additional adjunct faculty, which saves money that could theoretically be applied to faculty base salaries.
Adjunct instructors have had a $10 per hour increase every year for the past few years.
Several questions were asked here regarding course loads, overloads, and how 8 week classes count in loads and compensation. Faculty load guidelines are currently 5 classes and 2 overloads MAX per semester. This is not evenly enforced or compensated across the board.
8 week class compensation – how does the load for the semester break down? Will 2 1st 8 week classes and 3 2nd 8 week classes count as an instructor’s load for the semester? How do overloads work for 2nd 8 week classes if an instructor is teaching 5 + 2 overload for 16 weeks? After much discussion there were not definite answers. However, loads in 16 and 8 week classes need to be looked at closely by deans, faculty, and administration as SACS will investigate faculty loads and faculty requirements.
The majority of faculty and Dr. Schindler agreed that work needs to be done on raising base pay and either enforcing or amending faculty load guidelines. Also, faculty and Dr. Schindler mostly agreed that enrollments need to balance for instructors from fall to spring semester, which looped back to more efficient, year-long schedules available for advisors and students. Ideally this would keep new sections from being opened and more evenly spread enrollments across core and specialty classes.
Dr. Schindler left the meeting after this Q & A session, with the thanks of Dr. Kaiser.
HB 2504 – information located in the Secure Area of the HC website, including the CV template, syllabus template, office schedule template, and updated ADA/Title IX/EEO statements. Syllabi and CVs must be posted by the first class day according to HB 2504.
The proposal created by the Faculty Association regarding faculty titles was approved by the President’s committee. Faculty were asked to fill out and submit the “Titles” form and return it to Dr. Kaiser. For faculty who have taught as an adjunct at an institution other than Hill College, please include that information under “Additional Work Experience.”
Faculty received a ballot for a Pathways declaration and a Free Speech Statement. The Pathways declaration would be a faculty statement issued in support of the pathways initiative. The Free Speech statement would align with state law and would show faculty support for the law and the administration by formally supporting free speech on campus. Faculty were asked to nominate individuals for these committees to draft the statements.
The majority of the agenda had to be tabled in the interests of time and will be addressed and revisited on a Friday Faculty Association meeting (date, time, and location TBA).
Faculty Association meeting was adjourned by Dr. Kaiser at 2:30pm.
ADDENDUM:
Item 4: Office space as a topic was discussed. Faculty expressed frustration with the continued shortage of office space. Concerns were mentioned regarding the perception of professionalism that is portrayed to students and other constituents when an office is in an alternate or makeshift location, and the concerns about privacy and FERPA when meetings must take place in open spaces. Dr. Schindler acknowledged these concerns and asked for a show of hands from those who are without an office. Of those present, an estimated 10-15 raised their hand (did anyone get an exact count?). Tied to this issue, particularly in light of the greater emphasis on being “P.R.E.S.E.N.T.,” concerns were raised about how feasible it is in actual practice to increase presence on campus. Also, what are the expectations for those who spend all or a good part of their day on a high school campus or who teach a significant chunk of online courses? Practices to date have facilitated the substitution of “virtual” office time for on-campus office time to free up shared office space and negate the need for drive time and mileage charges from off-site to campus. In addition, officing on campus during the day is out of step in some ways with the practices of web-based students, who are often active nights and weekends. Dr. Schindler acknowledged there would be some exceptions, but viewed it as a matter of professionalism to make every effort to be on campus to office if possible rather than at home. This would improve communications within the college and facilitate building professional relationships. Dr. Schindler agreed obtaining office space is a priority but noted the continued shortage of resources to create office space for faculty.