Introduction
The West Valley-Mission Community College District has a unique
opportunity to increase revenues through economic development
and assist the state as we fulfill our educational and economic
development mission. There is no denying that California will
continue to face fiscal concerns for the remainder of the decade.
Without an increase in the economic base, the state's conditions
will continue to deteriorate. The Academic Senates believe that
the concepts contained in this position paper address the dealings
with business and industry and allow the District to increase
its economic base. Close relationships with industry will provide
opportunities for faculty to understand the needs of industry
and seek modifications within their programs that adapt to those
needs.
The District's Mission Related to Economic Development
The primary mission of the District is, "to be responsive
to the educational needs of an ever-changing community and to
provide higher education to all persons who can benefit from such
activity. The District recognizes its responsibility to maintain
academic excellence, nurture individual development and enrich
the community. In keeping with this mission, the District will
be sensitive to the needs of people and committed to action focused
on the future." The provision of community service courses
and programs is an authorized function of the District as long
as their provision is compatible with the District's ability to
meet its obligations to its primary mission.
The provision of contract education may assist the District in
meeting its primary mission areas.
1) Employee skill assessments and job skills analysis, instruction and
curriculum development for workplace programs offers faculty an
opportunity to remain current.
2) Contract Education courses offer an opportunity for the District to reach to non-traditional students who may never have considered a college education.
3) Contract Education classes bring returning students back into regular college programs.
4) Requests from employers for subjects not currently in our curriculu
and for non-traditional devliery systems or formats result in contract
education serving an R&D function for our programs and faculty.
5) Contacts with employers may result in equipment, facility, or personnel donations to the college.
6) Contract Education courses provide the work force with the opportunity to upgrade their skills and provide advancement oppotunities.
7) Contract Education enhances the image of the community college
as a training provider to the business community.
Problem Statement
The recent growth of contract education in community colleges
throughout the state has created a challenge to the community
college faculty and administration to maintain the integrity of
the educational offerings. Hiring of faculty and industry experts
to teach in contract education must include (1) articulation
with the relative disciplines and departments, (2) articulation
in the development of curriculum, and (3) proper hiring practices
to insure diversity of staff.
One of the important roles of the community colleges is to address
the educational and training needs of local employers. This should
be done, primarily through their existing using faculty-driven
curriculum development and approval processes. There may be times
(for example, in the offering of credit and non-credit courses
that have mandated hiring and curriculum approval processes) when
industry timelines require that the colleges consider developing
more expedient processes. When new processes are developed, the
District policies on contract education must assure the integrity
of the colleges' names and legal compliance with the intent of
the law. This is best accomplished by creating curriculum that
meets standards developed by the faculty and meets the needs
of industry.
Statewide, there has been an increase in the number of classes
offered as not-for-credit under community services regulations.
Care should be taken so that important hiring processes and the
consideration of the qualifications of those hired are considered.
Background
Three Fundamental Types of Contractual Programs
1. Contracts with Private Industry
These classes have been designed to provide short-term skill
training seminars or classes for company employees. These programs
have been funded entirely by private industry or jointly by private
industry and community colleges. A study conducted under the authorization
of AB 3938 (Farr. 1985) passed by the California Legislature found
that most of the courses were in the area of business and management.
These programs made up almost 43% of all contracts over the three
year period, but they accounted for only 8.2% of the dollars revenue
generated by contract education.
2. Contracts with Public Entities
Twenty-four percent of contract education programs fell into
this category and accounted for 6.6% of all funds generated by
contract education.
3. Contracts Supported by Public Training Funds
These were primarily conducted under the
Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and the California Employment
Training Panel (ETP). The programs were usually oriented towards
occupations and designed to train unemployed persons for new jobs,
or to retrain currently employed persons in new skills. Approximately
33% of contract education courses belonged in this category, yet
they accounted for 85.1% of all funds generated by contract education.
Under the current Congress, these programs will shift to block
grants to the State. The community colleges will have to position
themselves to adapt to the changing needs of its clients.
Contract Education Issues
Curriculum Development and Approval
For Contract Education to be successful in whatever form it is
offered, faculty must take an active role in curriculum development,
articulation, and approval. The position of the
Academic Senates for the West Valley-Mission Community College
District, is that the same curriculum procedures used for regular
courses should be used for contract education courses. These procedures
should be followed whether the course is credit or not-for-credit.
These procedures fall into two areas: the development of new courses
and their approval.
When time permits, a new credit course can be developed
in accordance with standard college curriculum guidelines. Such
a course may be appropriately numbered 99 and submitted
for information to the Curriculum Committee to be taught as an
experimental course for the first year. Within one year, during
which time the developers have the opportunity to hone the course,
the course is re-submitted to the Curriculum Review Committee
for approval as a credit course with a permanent course number.
The procedure for credit contract education courses is the same
as the procedure for other new credit courses at the college.
Procedures need to be developed to shorten the procedure for new
course development to meet the need for quick response to serve
the colleges clients.
Not-for-credit offerings are generally developed for an immediate,
specific industry need. Short time frames often make it difficult
to use established procedures of curriculum development. However,
the importance of curriculum development by regular faculty members,
in cooperation with employer representatives should
be considered. The possibility should be explored that
course development be done by regular faculty in the discipline
which most closely matches the content requested by the employer.
If the department faculty are not available, the division chair/department
chair should be consulted.
Not-for-credit contract education courses do not require approval
by the Curriculum Committee. However, the Curriculum Committee
needs to be involved. This will take place by the coordinator
of the course, giving the Curriculum Committee two weeks
advance notification before any new class is offered. The intent
would not be to add to the time required before a class could
be offered, but to establish a general time frame to meet the
concerns of all parties that quality education be offered. Flexibility
is of vital importance.
Non-credit courses currently are offered through Community
Education, in our district; however, consideration should be given
to expand some offerings through contract ed.
Hiring
The success of contract education depends as much on faculty involvement
in the hiring process as it does on faculty involvement in curriculum.
In the case of those teaching contract education courses offered
for credit, minimum qualifications for hire are determined and
applied by faculty as authorized by Title 5. In the case
of community service educator, it is the position of the District
Academic Senates that the department chair, or a full-time tenured
faculty designee, teaching in a discipline reasonably related
to the subject area in which the instruction is being sought,
should participate in the selection of the not-for-credit educator
with the campus person responsible for the contract. Quality education
rests in the hands of the faculty.
Faculty Contract Education Liaison
The Director of Corporate Training and Economic Development at
the District is the administrator of Contract Instruction and
reports directly to the Chancellor. In order to provide shared
governance regarding contract education, a faculty contract education
advisory committee should be created. This committee will report
to the Academic Senates and work with the administrator(s) in
charge of contract education to ensure quality of the offerings.
Faculty Qualifications
Faculty teaching all contract education, including not-for-credit
classes, must have the minimum qualifications
needed to teach the class. These qualifications should be specified
for each course to be taught. The regular faculty in the most
closely related discipline(s) should be involved in defining these
qualifications.
The class content in not-for-credit courses may be similar to
that included in regular credit classes. When this is the case,
the faculty will normally have the same minimum qualifications
as those who teach the credit classes. When possible, these classes
should be taught by the college faculty, either full-time or part-time.
Adherence to affirmative action guidelines and commitment to diversity
in hiring for contract education courses are essential. Affirmative
action guidelines need to be followed for new contract education
hires as well for regular faculty hires.
It must also be noted that there are some basic differences between
semester length credit classes and not-for-credit contract education
classes designed to meet the specific needs of an employer. Faculty
hired to teach need to understand that the student's success is
determined by increased employee performance on the job, not by
the grade earned at the end of the course.
Evaluation
Faculty in Contract Education will follow the performance appraisal
process as outlined in Article 26 (Performance Appraisal) of the
ACE Contract.
Load
Even though most contract education classes are short term, some
are offered for a length of time that could easily be included
in computing faculty load. In the Spring of 1992 the Academic
Senate for California Community Colleges passed Resolution 11.4
S92 Contract Education, concerning faculty load and load limitations
with regard to tenure consideration. However, that resolution
does not address the legal ramifications and collective bargaining
issues of load and its calculation towards the 60% law for Adjunct
Faculty.
The Education Code Section 87470 provides that the District's
governing board may employ appropriately qualified individuals
to perform instructional services under contract with public and
private agencies. Under the same provision, the education code
is loosely written in regard to load and the services provided
under such contracts concerning load calculation towards tenure.
The nature of contract education does not lend itself to the stability
necessary to hire additional tenure-track faculty because of minimum
load time, and lacks guarantees of subsequent offerings. It is
clear that the District would like to use adjunct faculty to provide
classes in this area because it allows them the flexibility to
offer other employment opportunities to part-time employees and
to meet the needs and demands of industry.
With those issues understood, it is still important to honor the
legal agreement between the District and the bargaining unit which
only allows the faculty bargaining unit, the Association of College
Educators (ACE) to negotiate salary and work conditions for faculty.
Load calculation needs to be applied to contract education courses
so that the hire of adjunct faculty to perform contract education
services does not conflict with the agreement made with the bargaining
unit and regulations established in the education code. It is
the position of the District Academic Senates that the District
load Contract Education courses based on the District load book.
Full-time faculty should have the option to teach a contract
education course as part of their regular load, but not be forced
to complete load with contract education courses.
Use of Fees
Contract Education generates a significant amount of money for
the District. Determining how those funds are distributed and
used is an important part of insuring maximum benefit to the college
and specifically to the department, which provides this service
to the community. Currently, in the West Valley-Mission Community
College District, far too much time elapses between payment by
the Contractor and distribution of funds to the department which
provided the course. A process needs to be developed that will
assure distribution of funds in a timely manner.
Second, since those funds may not be recurring, they should not
be used to maintain existing programs. They should be used as
follows:
1. to upgrade resources;
2. to develop curriculum;
3. facilitate student progress;
4. enable departments to work more effectively and efficiently;
5. promote relations with industry, business, other colleges, and
the state organizations; and
6. to develop professional growth.
Third, how those funds are used to enhance a program should be
at the discretion of the faculty in the specific department which
provides the course offerings.
Summary
1. The same curriculum procedures as used for regular courses should be used for contract education courses.
2. The hiring of not-for-credit educators should be under local faculty and contract ed control.
3. The department chair or full-time tenured faculty designee teaching in a discipline reasonably related to the subject area in which the training is being sought should participate in the selection of the not-for-credit trainer with the campus person responsible for the contract.
4. Adherence to affirmative action guidelines and commitment to diversity in hiring for contract education courses are essential.
5. Course development should be done by faculty in the discipline in cooperation with the industry expert, which most closely matches the content requested by the employer.
6. The Curriculum Committee should be involved in approval of not-for-credit contract education courses. This could perhaps take place by giving the Curriculum Committee advanced notification before any new class is offered.
7. Faculty Contract Education liaison(s) should be established.
8. Regular faculty in the most closely related discipline will define the qualifications for not-for-credit hires.
9. When not-for-credit class content is similar to that included in regular credit classes, those teaching the class will have the same minimum qualifications as those who teach the credit classes.
10. Contract Ed funds will be used to improve the instructional
programs.
Include a follow-up evaluation of the course by
the college to insure that the excellent reputation of the colleges
and the district is reflected in the offered courses. The intent
is to provide an accurate evaluation to be used to determine future
offerings and to be used as constructive criticism.
Approved by the MCAS, May 11, 1995.
Approved by the WVCAS, May 23, 1995.
Revised by MCAS February 15, 1996 (See Page 5, Evaluations)