Disagreements arise over hiring proposals<\/p>\n
After years of budget-related cuts in staff, the district\u2019s improved fiscal situation has led faculty to expect a wave of hiring. But that doesn\u2019t appear to be part of a redesign proposal Chancellor Rita Cepeda is expected to deliver to the board of trustees as early as tonight. No full-time faculty positions are listed in the proposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis (the district) is like a wheel,\u201d said David Yancey, history professor and president of the Faculty Association, \u201cAt the center of the wheel is faculty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cepeda said faculty undergo a yearly hiring process that is unavailable to other types of staff, which is why the Redesign is focused solely on non-faculty positions.<\/p>\n
The Redesign will be implemented over the course of five years in three phases. Cepeda said, in this time, faculty will have undergone several rounds of another independent hiring process.<\/p>\n
But Yancey said almost 50 full-time faculty positions were lost in the last 12 years, with EVC losing 10 full-timers in the last 2 years.<\/p>\n
He said 10 years ago there were 272 full-time faculty teaching 70 percent of classes. Now there are 223 full-time faculty and 50 percent of the classes are taught by adjuncts whose numbers amount to about 500.<\/p>\n
Cepeda said the district meets its Faculty Obligation Number, a state-mandated number for the required number of full-time faculty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe FON is a floor, not a ceiling,\u201d Yancey said.<\/p>\n
Yancey said he believes the chancellor should be looking in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cResearch shows students do better when there is a full-time faculty member heading their department,\u201d Yancey said.<\/p>\n
They have more time to devote to students and to find extra opportunities, such as scholarships and conferences, that would enrich their students\u2019 academic experiences.<\/p>\n
The draft proposal would impact about 143 positions by either adding new positions or repurposing old ones. Most of the positions are classified; the rest are managers, such as deans, and supervisors, such as the overseer of IT staff.<\/p>\n
Repurposed means redefining a job position and its duties. For instance, combining an admissions and records and financial aid position, so students can see just one person when they enroll as opposed to two.<\/p>\n
The district\u2019s financial issues led to a reduction in staff that was felt mostly by classifieds. Support positions such as secretaries, technicians, custodians, instructional assistants and most of the district employees are considered classified employees.<\/p>\n
Yancey said many of the classified staff positions should be added, but faculty should also be considered since they are the most crucial part of student success.<\/p>\n
SJCC faculty also complained about not being included in the process. Yancey said he heard about the Redesign in passing during a conversation in July 2012, but no details were provided and faculty were not included in the process before August 2013.<\/p>\n
Vice Chancellor of Human Resources Kim Garcia said the Redesign is an ongoing process and revisions are being made as feedback is received.<\/p>\n
In July 2012, Garcia said each department looked at data — program reviews, staff input, student comments, facilities — to suggest positions to be added or repurposed.<\/p>\n
In August 2013, the district office and the two college campuses shared the information they compiled to see if there were any discrepancies that needed to be addressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were some revisions based on that and then we started sharing on the campus level,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n
Cepeda is presenting a new draft of the Redesign to the board of trustees either tonight at the District Office at 6 p.m. or the next board meeting in early February.<\/p>\n
The new draft will show faculty hiring alongside the impacted classified, supervisor and management positions. Cepeda said she hopes this will clear up any confusion about the proposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chancellor made a mistake by not including faculty,\u201d Yancey said, \u201cbut I believe she is sincere and look forward to working with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Disagreements arise over hiring proposals After years of budget-related cuts in staff, the district\u2019s improved fiscal situation has led faculty to expect a wave of hiring. But that doesn\u2019t appear to be part of a redesign proposal Chancellor Rita Cepeda is expected to deliver to the board of trustees as early as tonight. No full-time…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":88908,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"staff_name":[627],"class_list":["post-9111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-life","staff_name-sonia-waraich"],"yoast_head":"\n