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STANDARD 5: FACULTY

As noted in the Special Emphasis section, QVCC has added five new full-time faculty members since 2001 and will hire three more for fall 2006, largely in response to the CTC system’s assessment of the College’s high adjunct to full-time faculty ratio at a time of unprecedented enrollment growth. The system is committed to supporting more positions as long as enrollment growth continues, to ensure that the number of full-time faculty members is sufficient to carry out functions beyond teaching, such as student advisement, academic planning, course and curricular development, and College governance. The administration has consulted faculty, staff, and community in selecting new faculty disciplines, and a variety of faculty and other staff members are actively involved in the search processes. QVCC seeks to broaden its faculty diversity through multiple strategies and will continue its outreach to underrepresented groups. Finding appropriately interdisciplinary candidates has not been a problem.

The increase in full-time faculty members has prompted a more integrated, outcomes-based semester-long faculty orientation program. The new Director of Curriculum and Faculty Orientation helps integrate new faculty members into the College culture and ensure their long-term retention. An adjunct faculty orientation is held every semester, and each adjunct is assigned a full-time faculty liaison. An adjunct newsletter is published every semester to better integrate part-time faculty members into the institution. Adjuncts have College e-mail and voice-mail, and office space has been designated in the Danielson expansion to house adjunct faculty. An adjunct seniority list has been established by the CTC system to promote fair and equitable assignment of courses to part-time faculty members. Integrating the adjunct faculty into the College community will continue to be a high priority.

Many QVCC faculty members are active on CTC system-wide committees and task forces, and their involvement in system initiatives continues to increase, promoting a strong voice for the College in CTC policy and governance. In addition, faculty members participate in system professional development opportunities sponsored by the CTC’s Center for Teaching Excellence, such as the Instructional Skills Workshop, the Spirit of Teaching project, and the annual Barnes Seminar. Faculty members interested in assuming management positions are invited to participate in the system’s Schwab Leadership Institute every spring.

To meet its mission, the College will continue to invest in professional development resources and opportunities for full- and part-time faculty members. Professional development activities are funded by the CTC system in the form of grants, often used for travel to conferences, and reassigned time for faculty members. Examples of the latter include WebCT Vista mentoring (to assist both full- and part-time faculty members with course technology) and the position of Teaching and Learning Consultant (TLC). The TLC conducts best practices forums and disseminates information on professional development opportunities. Faculty members regularly attend and present at national and international conferences, such as those of the League for Innovation in the Community College, the American Philosophical Association, and the American Comparative Literature Association.

As discussed in Standard 7, QVCC faculty members (including adjuncts) are especially engaged in developing expertise in the area of technology, and the College is committed to increasing the faculty’s technological ability. Faculty members are actively involved in the Technology Direction Team, which plans and assesses the use of instructional technology and resources. Technology in new classrooms will enhance the faculty’s technological development of the teaching and learning environment.

As stipulated in the LSD Division Handbook and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, faculty members are granted full academic freedom, particularly with regard to classroom teaching, and no faculty members have complained of any abridgement of their academic freedom.

Institutional Effectiveness

QVCC assesses faculty effectiveness under the supervision of the Dean of LSD. The assessment tools employed include the Faculty Development and Review Plan (FDRP), additional responsibility reports generated by faculty members, and the Lead Planning Team’s Assessment Inventory. There are also Student Satisfaction Surveys, which generally applaud the faculty’s flexibility and sensitivity to student needs. The FDRP is an important component of the LSD Division’s planning efforts. Faculty members relate their additional responsibility reports directly to Division goals, with outcomes explicitly stated in terms of College goals so that individual goals can be factored into the overall planning process. The Assessment Inventory includes the various assessment tools employed by the faculty. Through membership on the Lead Planning Team and other committees, faculty members take leadership roles in the development of assessment tools to ensure institutional effectiveness.

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