Pursuant to California Education Code Section 84362, each community college district is required to allocate at least 50% of its annual education expenses, as defined by law, to the salaries and benefits of classroom instructors. This requirement ensures a significant portion of educational expenditures directly supports classroom instruction. The…

Community and technical colleges (collectively referred to as associate's institutions throughout this brief) serve an important role in the U.S. higher education system. They are often an option for students who: (1) need skills development, an associate's degree, or training for specific jobs in their community; (2) need a more affordable…

Earlier research published in this journal examined factors associated with various forms of job satisfaction among part-time faculty, both at four-year institutions and community colleges. This research forwarded conclusions at odds with popular accounts regarding part-time faculty. Specifically, it was demonstrated that part-time faculty were…

This chapter explores recent legal challenges and victories brought forth by part-time community college faculty in Washington State in an effort to attain equity and social justice.

How do part-time faculty members in community colleges view their roles? Data from part-time faculty responses regarding their experiences in higher education vary. Valadez and Antony (2001) analyzed data from 6,811 part-time faculty collected from the National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) 1992-1993 National Survey of Postsecondary…

Staffing the nation's community colleges with qualified faculty is an emerging problem. The problem results from massive retirements among members of the post-WW II "baby boom" generation and intense competition from other sectors of the economy for scarce human talent. This study was a faculty-recruitment simulation designed to investigate the…

Sabbatical leave has a long and distinguished history in academe, both at universities and community colleges. By virtue of its traditional benefit to professors, institutions, and students, sabbaticals may appropriately be considered as a "right" by the professoriate. Even so, during statewide budgetary crises, sabbatical leave was…

This study addresses concerns regarding compensation disparities between New Mexico institutions and their peers. A recommended adjustment schedule with fiscal requirements is included, but not specific recommendations for faculty at individual institutions. The average salaries for New Mexico institutions were compared with regional peers to…

As the age of the population continues to increase, faculty retirement issues are becoming more central to campus-level planning and management. Academic planners and senior administrators recognize that there are positive, negative, and unintended consequences associated with various retirement programs and policies, whether they are early…

This article discusses employment of part-time faculty at the community college level, including historical reasons for their current status, alternatives to this status, and specific steps to change it.

As community colleges struggle with keeping their disciplines and programs up-to-date, offer more courses to an ever-increasing student population, and battle shrinking budgets, adjunct faculty save the day (Roueche, Roueche, & Milliron, 1995). To retain quality part-time faculty members already employed in community colleges, as well as new hires…

During the biennium 1926-1928 approximately 1,200 educational acts of general application were passed in the continental United States. The outstanding general feature is the increased tendency to employ educational surveys and state-wide investigations as bases for educational legislation. In recent years legislatures and school officials have…