PIERCE COLLEGE
FACULTY POSITION PRIORITY POLICY

Approved by Academic Senate Oct. 23, 2000

PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to establish a procedure in which a wide range of factors is considered in the establishment of a prioritized list of faculty positions for hiring. The list shall be based on the needs of the students, the department/discipline and the college.

COMMITTEE

The Faculty Position Priority Committee (FPPC) will be composed of the following:
• 5 members selected by the Academic Senate.
• 5 members selected by the Academic Policy Committee.
• all deans supervising academic programs (non-voting)

The terms will be for two years. In order to develop continuity, initially the Academic Senate and the Academic Policy Committee will select two members to serve for two years and three members for three years. The appointments will remain for the duration of the term even if the individual is not or is no longer a member of the appointing body. The Vice President for Academic Affairs will appoint the representatives from Academic Affairs.

To maintain a broad based committee, the members from the Academic Senate and the Academic Policy Committee must have at least one representative from each of the three areas established by the Pierce College Curriculum Committee. No department may have more than one member. The committee will select its chairperson. The Vice President of Academic Policy will be an ex-officio member. S/he shall serve as a liaison to the Academic Senate and may also be selected to be a voting member of the committee.

PREPARATION FOR ANALYSIS OF APPLICATIONS

1. The FPPC will be convened no later than the fourth week of the fall semester.

2. The FPPC will access the needs in the following three areas:
• the college,
• the students,
• the discipline

3. The Office of Academic Affairs will provide all of the quantitative data required in the process. This will include:

• contact hour ratio of classes taught by regular vs. hourly FTE by discipline (i.e. State defined 75:25 goal)
• an analysis of student demand (as determined from enrollment and registration data)
• WSCH to FTE ratio by discipline using college, district and state comparisons
• balance between day and evening classes: day vs. evening assignments and day vs. evening WSCH
• ratio between day WSCH and evening WSCH
• average class size and average class size goal

4. In assessing the needs related to non-classroom disciplines such as Counseling and Library, program review documents, comparative-staffing data from other colleges and other relevant information will be considered. Similarly, for any discipline, State, Accreditation, or other externally mandated requirements will be considered.

5. The data used in the process for all departments will be made available to the Department Chairs

6. A Pierce Faculty Priority Position Application will be required for each regular faculty member request unless the positions are exactly identical.

7. Once the applications have been submitted, the FPPC will review and prioritize them. The FPPC may require the departments to provide additional information or clarification that could include a presentation. FPPC members from departments that have applications under consideration will be excluded from advocating and voting on those applications.

8. By the first Monday of November, the FPPC's recommendations will be forwarded to the Academic Senate, Department Council, the PCC, and the Vice President of Academic Affairs for review and comment. If any of these considers the recommendations deficient in some way, or thinks that additional information, concepts or priorities need to be taken into account, they will refer the details of their concerns, in writing, to the Academic Senate. By December 1, after due deliberation, the Academic Senate will forward its reconsidered recommendations along with the original written concerns of the other constituents to the College President.

9. At the end of each academic year the FPPC will evaluate the process and recommend any modifications necessary to improve the procedure.

ANALYSIS OF THE APPLICATIONS

The FPPC will evaluate all applications on the following criteria:

1. STUDENT NEEDS

A. Student Demand.
The Office of Academic Affairs will supply relevant information.

B. Certificate Programs
• What is the occupational/professional demand in the discipline?
• Is the discipline required for other majors or programs? If yes, list those majors or programs.
• Are the skills acquired in this discipline: prerequisites, corequisites, or recommendations (advisories) for courses in other disciplines?

C. Associate Degree and Transfer Programs
• Is the discipline required for other majors or programs? If yes, list which majors or programs.
• Is this discipline dependent on requirements from other institutions? If yes, explain with specific references.
• Is it the only discipline that meets specific graduation or transfer requirements? If no, list what other disciplines meet those requirements.
• Are the skills acquired in this discipline prerequisites, corequisites, or advisories in other disciplines? If yes, list those other disciplines.

2. COLLEGE NEEDS

A. Indicate which College Goals support your department’s request. (Refer to the College Goals printed in the College Catalog.)
B. Describe how hiring in this discipline is reflected in the college’s Educational Master Plan and/or your department’s Program Review.

3. DEPARTMENT/DISCIPLINE NEEDS

The chairs will provide the FPPC with any information or justification for the position.
Factors that could be discussed are an imbalance between regular and hourly FTE (i.e. deviation from State defined 75:25 goal), current and future changes in the discipline, the possible loss of program accreditation or the dropping of the discipline, the lack of available hourly instructors, and diversity goals.

DOWNLOAD the application

last modified 2/2/07

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