Part-Time Faculty Loads

Did you know that the new contract between PFF and the District has revised the language regarding part-time faculty loads?

The old contract has this article (on p. 4 of this linked file):

4.1.9 A part-time faculty member’s assignment may include day, evening and/or weekend work, and work at more than one (1) location. The assignment is determined by the Dean, or first level educational administrator to whom the faculty member reports, in consultation with the Department Chair and with reasonable input by the faculty member. There shall be no rule or arbitrary practice that prevents any part-time faculty from receiving an average of a sixty percent (60%) load. In no instance will a part-time faculty member be allowed to exceed sixty percent (60%) of a full-time teaching load during a single academic year.

The new contact, on the other hand, has Article 4.1.11, which is on p. 3 and p. 4 of this linked file. The revised language contains these critical changes:

1. No load can exceed 67% in any single semester.
   
2. Any single-semester load exceeding 60% requires a one-year temporary contract.
   
3. A load exceeding 60% in a single semester must load-average to be no more than 60% for the academic year.
   
4. Over 3 academic years, only 2 semesters can exceed 60%.

As dept. chair, I have been instructed to examine part-time faculty loads that fall into these categories and make adjustments now.

The implementation of our new contract in this regard may cause problems for both the impacted faculty and the departments that have adjunct faculty who regularly teach above 60% one semester and below 60% the next to average out at 60% for the year.

One thing that remains unclear to me is whether or not the newly passed AB 591 state legislation would necessitate a renegotiation of Article 4.1.11 of our new contract. The new state law redefines a part-time community college instructor as teaching no more than 67%, as opposed to the existing 60% threshold.