Chaparral 2012-2013: Adjunct Junction

Adjunct Junction: "Change May Be Coming"

by Phyllis Eckler
Guild 2nd Vice President

Recently there have been several open Campus Executive and all-campus meetings regarding the administration’s plans to streamline the district budget and shrink (what Interim President Dr. Riggs describes as) an ongoing “structural deficit” in our district’s financial circumstances.

The President is promoting plans to merge certain instructional areas (such as credit and non-credit ESL), eliminate stand-alone courses or programs (those that do not lead to either a certificate, a major, or a transfer), reduce duplication in student services, and to begin to think of reducing Glendale College to a 3500 section institution from the 4200 course offerings it once boasted. This would entail eliminating some Basic Skills classes, compressing and accelerating certain Language Arts coursework, and eliminating non-essential services that do not meet the new streamlined mission of the college to produce AA graduates, certificate completion, and transfer-ready students.

Adjunct faculty believed that with the passage of Proposition 30 the college would be back on sound footing. However, the many years of educational cuts have taken a toll. Increases for step and column in the salaries of long-tenured contract faculty, the rising cost of health care premiums, and the on-going increases in the licensing fees that the district pays for certain services/technology have whittled away at our finances over the past few years. President Riggs feels that without shrinking the college, these financial commitments will not be met in the future.

The other change that the administration is asking for is a cut in the pay for full-time contract faculty who teach during an intersession. By equalizing the pay of full-time faculty during an intersession with that of part-time faculty during a semester, the district feels that it will have more flexibility to move class scheduling around from regular semesters to intersessions and vice versa. Where the savings from this pay cut goes is now being considered at the negotiating table by the guild and the district.

You can find discussion of these proposed changes under “Documents & Info” on the GCC Private Internal Links page (look for Special Campus Executive Meetings October 2012).

All these possible changes will obviously have a strong impact on adjunct faculty. For more information on the changes proposed and for a voice in these decisions, please read all the guild negotiation updates, let the guild know your opinion, participate in surveys, and vote for contract changes when you receive a ballot (only adjunct faculty who are guild members may vote. A no-cost membership form is available on the Guild website www.glendale.edu/guild ). Your future employment and financial health may depend on your getting involved.

Rehire/Re-Employment Rights List 2012-13

The Rehire Rights List for 2012-13 has been released to the Guild and to Division Chairs. Each adjunct faculty member who is on the list should have received an e-mail notification of that status. To be placed on the list, a part-timer needs to have received one “exceeds standards” evaluation and to have worked in the district for ten semester/intersessions. To see the full requirements please go to page 44 of the Contract (found in PDF form at http://www.glendale.edu/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=1186 ). If you believe that you are on this list and do not receive a notification of that status at your GCC e-mail address by December 3, 2012, please contact Human Resources or your Division Chair to check on your status by the deadline of January 13th 2013.

Applying for Unemployment Benefits

Adjunct faculty who are not employed or working less during winter may apply for unemployment benefits. The date to apply is the last date of final exams at GCC (unless still employed elsewhere). For more information on applying for unemployment benefits, please see the publications under “Adjunct Faculty” on the Guild website www.glendale.edu/guild

(For any comments or questions, Phyllis Eckler can be reached at peckler@glendale.edu or at extension 1122.)

Visit us on the web: www.glendale.edu/guild

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