Faculty Procedures

HUMANITIES

DEPARTMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Developed and Approved by the Humanities Faculty

(Winter Semester 2012)

2)     Faculty Procedures

a)     Scheduling

i)     The goal of scheduling is to provide each faculty member with a workable schedule, while taking into consideration the needs of the students, the success of the Humanities Department, and the WCCEA Contract.

ii)     The full-time faculty develops the structure of the schedule and proposes his/her ideal teaching schedule. Faculty with conflicts will attempt to resolve issues among themselves, but, if necessary, the Department Chair will be consulted to help facilitate conflict resolution. These conflicts may be resolved (at least in part) by taking into consideration the respective seniorities of the persons in conflict. However, if conflicts continuously affect one particular faculty member, a rotating system will be considered. 

iii)     After full-time faculty members have chosen courses, adjunct faculty will be assigned a course load as close to their preferred time and course preferences as possible. If the need arises (e.g., due to the shortage of instructors in certain areas or classrooms with technology), both adjunct and full-time faculty may be required to teach courses and sections not of their first choice, for the good of the Department. The final decision regarding this matter rests with the Department Chair. And, if two equally-qualified members of the Department (e.g., two full-time faculty members or two adjuncts) are competing for the same class or time slot, the Department Chair will arrange for a schedule that accommodates the right of each faculty member on a rotating basis. 

iv)     After full-time and adjunct faculty have finalized their schedules, the remaining sections will be assigned by the Department Chair to part-time faculty and to those full-time faculty from other departments who are teaching overload in the Humanities Department.

v)     Instructors teaching College on Demand courses/sections must have the approval/support of the discipline and the Department.

vi)     Ultimately, the responsibility of the schedule rests withthe Dean of the Humanities, Behavioral and Social Sciences Division and the Vice President of Instruction.

b)     Department Chair Election Process

i)     The Department Chair will be elected annually, as set forth in the Master Contractual Agreement between the WCC Board of Trustees and the WCCEA. The election will be conducted by the senior ranking member of the Humanities Department in April, during the full-time faculty department meeting.

ii)     The elected Department Chair will be decided by the greatest number of votes within the Department, and will serve the Department for a minimum of two years, unless unforeseen circumstances occur. The term of service will begin at the start of the fiscal year. The Department encourages rotation of the Chair position, and as such, a Department Chair term may not exceed seven years, unless the Department votes for an exception to this rule.

c)     Structure and Responsibilities of Department Members

i)     The Department Chair is the representative for the Humanities Department and thus he/she shall conduct his or her business in a manner befitting the Department. 

ii)     The Department Chair will attend instructional Department Chair meetings; in addition, the Chair will also interact with the administration, deans, and other Department Chairs on a regular basis in order to stay informed of developments that may impact the Department. 

iii)     Full-time faculty members are responsible (a) for the time-schedule structure, b) for part-time mentoring, (c) for problem solving, and (d) for volunteering for task forces and various committees, if needed. Members of the Humanities Department are committed to their teaching obligations as outlined in the contract, along with providing their time and commitment to other school-wide initiatives, particularly those that directly affect the Department. 

iv)     Adjunct/part-time faculty members play an important role in the success of the Humanities Department. 

◦ The Department seeks to hire qualified individuals with a Master’s Degree (or equivalent) in the discipline in question. 

◦ To insure the success of part-time faculty, full department meetings will be held regularly. Furthermore, each discipline may decide to meet additionally, lead by full-time members from that discipline, in cooperation with the Department Chair.

◦ The full-time faculty members are also committed to mentoring these individuals through observation and meetings. 

◦ Should problems occur within the part-time structure, the Department Chair will determine an equitable resolution.

◦ Student Opinion Questionnaire (SOQ) results and faculty observations are used to evaluate part-time faculty and adjuncts.