Pima County Community College District Standard Practice Guide

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SPG Title: Faculty Standards and Qualifications
SPG Number: SPG-3001/AA
Effective Date: 4/9/03
Approval Date: 3/18/03
Review Date(s):  5/11/07
Revision Date(s):  5/11/07
Schedule for Review & Update:
Unit Responsible for Review & Update:
Sponsoring Unit/Department:  Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services
Regulation Title & No.: Faculty Standards and Qualifications, RG-3001/A
Board Policy Title & No.: Faculty Standards and Qualifications, BP-3001
Legal Reference:
Cross Reference:

Purpose

In March 2002, the Arizona State Board of Community Colleges was divested of its responsibility for certifying community College faculty. Faculty certification authority was relegated to each of Arizona’s ten community college districts.

DEFINITIONS

PROCESS AND PROCEDURES

The process of determining faculty standards and qualifications is a collaborative effort on the part of Human Resource Personnel, CDAC faculty and campus administration. The integrity of the process, however, is the responsibility of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services. All disputes and official inquires will be forwarded to this Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for investigation and resolution.

I. Description of Application Process

Applicant completes and submits employment application and all official documents
Application and documents are evaluated and determination is made as to applicant’s satisfaction of faculty standards
Applicant is advised of official standards status
Applicant information is entered into Pima Community College Human Resource database

II. Transcript Evaluation

Official or unofficial transcripts may be evaluated and used in the determination of an applicant’s qualifications; however, official transcripts must be provided prior to certification
The Campus Human Resource specialist responsible for Contract and Faculty Standards performing the evaluation will keep application documents on file in accordance with State requirements
Upon employment, transcripts and other application documents will be transferred to District Human Resources
Applicants who attended international post secondary institutions are responsible for having all official evaluations performed and submitted to a Campus Human Resource specialist responsible for Contract and Faculty Standards
Pima Community College will provide the applicant with an official list of approved international credentials evaluation agencies
All costs for international credentials evaluations will be incurred by the applicant
All copies of international credentials/documents and official evaluations — must be submitted to the Campus Human Resource specialist responsible for Contract and Faculty Standards for evaluation and archiving

III. Letters of Experience

Applicants applying for teaching positions in Occupational and/or Workforce Response curriculum areas must submit letters of experience to the Campus Human Resource specialist responsible for Contract and Faculty Standards. Letters of experience must be written on official letterhead and be signed by an official representative of the employer
Letters of experience must delineate length of employment, classification of position, job responsibilities, skill attainment, observed competence in performance of duties and job requirements and period(s) of employment (beginning and ending dates)

IV. License/Certificates

Applicants applying for teaching positions in Occupational and/or Workforce Response curriculum areas must submit all official licenses and/or certificates related to posted job requirements
Official licenses and/or certificates must bear any embossed seals and/or any other official insignia or designations and must be issued by the appropriate accrediting agency
Official licenses and/or certificates must be presented to the Campus Human Resource specialist responsible for Contract and Faculty Standards for approval and will be copied and maintained in the applicant’s file

V. Pima Standards Categories

Note: Faculty teaching Special Interest Courses shall meet the qualifications of Developmental or Occupational/Workforce faculty. Special Interest courses are courses that serve community needs or provide exploration of collegiate careers, prepares students for college core/major curriculum or provide better understanding of the requirements of a collegiate core/major. These courses are not transferable and do not count toward Pima certificates or degrees.

Standard Category (Academic, Developmental, Occupational/ Workforce, Counselor, Librarian)
The faculty member has met the minimum requirements for the specific discipline (prefix) and classification with degrees/teaching field coursework

Limited Exemption (Academic, Developmental, Occupational/Workforce, Counselor, Librarian)
This classification is reserved for individuals with unique qualifications for teaching, which may include but are limited to those who are nationally or regionally recognized as expert in their field, those who have not completed the required number of graduate hours in the teaching field, and those who teach in subject areas that have proven difficult to staff. A subject area is deemed difficult to staff if it necessitates: 1) adjunct overloads; 2) class cancellations; or 3) there is a history of the granting of 3 limited exemptions per semester per campus or 5 limited exemptions per semester per district wide. A discipline with multiple limited exemptions over a two year period may be considered for an additional regular faculty FTE as identified and documented by the Campus President and determined by the Chancellor’s Cabinet.

Initial request for a limited exemption is made to the Dean of Instruction by the Department Chair or Division Dean. Initial approval of the limited exemption must be initiated by a Dean of Instruction and approved by the Campus President. CDACs will receive a list of all limited exemptions awarded with an accompanying rationale by the 45^th day of each semester. Classes beginning after 45^th day taught by a faculty member holding a limited exemption classification will be included in a list provided by the Dean of Instruction at the end of the semester to the appropriate CDAC. Any extension beyond two years requires the review and recommendation of the Department Chair, the Dean of Instruction and the Campus President. Final approval for extensions can be granted only by the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services.

VI. Role of College Discipline Area Committee (CDAC)

CDACs in consultation with department chairs will determine minimum qualifications for the teaching field which informs the position and application process.
Each CDAC will elect a faculty representative for each prefix assigned to their CDAC. A CDAC may choose to have one faculty member serve as Discipline Standards Faculty for more than one prefix.
The initial list of teaching field coursework will be the current coursework accepted by the former State Certification Office. This list of teaching field courses will be reviewed and, if needed, modified by the Discipline Standards Faculty and approved by the appropriate CDAC. This list will be applied by the Campus Human Resource Specialist responsible for Contract and Faculty Standards in review of an applicant’s transcripts.
The list of teaching field courses for each prefix will be reviewed and, if needed, modified by the Discipline Standards Faculty and approved by the CDAC on an annual basis by July 1^st of each academic year.
Coursework can only be added to this list by the Discipline Standards Faculty with CDAC approval.
The list of teaching field coursework for each Pima Prefix will be published annually. A copy of this list will be distributed to all certification staff, Deans, CDAC chairs, Department Chairs and Discipline Standards Faculty annually.

VII. Role of Discipline Standards Faculty

Discipline Standards Faculty will:

Be elected for a 2 year term

Serve as the liaison between the Deans of Instruction, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services, Pima Campus Human Resource Specialist responsible for Contract and Faculty Standards, the Human Resource Department and CDAC members in an effort to maintain communications, ensure the standards and provide needed modifications to the teaching field course list.

Determine course equivalency on a case–by–case basis, if a prospective faculty’s course is not an exact match to a course on the CDAC approved teaching field list.

Be available in a timely manner to the certification staff for clarification, equivalency approval or questions regarding a review of a prospective faculty’s coursework or degrees or experience documentation.

Review and approve course equivalency for any translated non U.S. transcripts and degrees on a case by case basis.

Provide an annual summary of their activities to their CDAC and the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services.

Provide guidance to the Campus Human Resource Specialist responsible for Contract and Faculty Standards, Division Dean and/or Dean of Instruction concerning acceptable work experience for their prefix.

VIII. Role of the Human Resource Specialist responsible for Contract and Faculty Standards on each campus/district

The Campus Human Resource Specialist responsible for Contract and Faculty Standards is charged with receiving and reviewing the faculty standards application and attendant documents (See this SPG I, II, III) for the purpose of determining an applicant’s credentials/qualifications.

The Campus Human Resource Specialist responsible for Contract and Faculty Standards will:

Enter the application information into the Pima Community College Resource databank and complete district forms listing faculty members CDAC approved coursework and work experience for the appropriate Classification (Academic, Developmental or Occupational/Workforce)
Contact the Discipline Standards Faculty for clarification and forward documents for evaluation and signature if the degree, coursework or work experience do not clearly meet the CDAC approved coursework or work experience.
Verify that the requirements have been met, sign and forward documents to the Dean of Instruction for final verification and signature.
Submit applicants’ names to Board of Governors.
(Upon receipt of Dean of Instruction’s final verification signature) Give the faculty member a copy of the document verifying their official Pima standards status and enter the status into the Pima Community College Human Resource database.

The District Human Resource Specialist responsible for Faculty Standards will perform a corresponding process for full time regular faculty.

IX. Role of the Dean of Instruction

The Dean of Instruction assumes the responsibility on behalf of the Pima Community College District for final verification of an applicant’s credentials, all supporting documentation and signatures.

The Deans of Instruction will initiate the Limited Exemption Classification (See this SPG VI) when appropriate.
The Deans of Instruction will submit a list of all Limited Exemption Classifications granted to faculty on their campus to the appropriate CDAC and the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services on a semester basis.

X. The Role of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services

The Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services will:

Approve or deny renewal every two years basis the Limited Exemption Classification of a faculty member. Requests for an additional year must be accompanied with the written recommendations from the Dean of Instruction and the Campus President.
Receive and archive semester reports from the Deans of Instruction on the granting of Limited Exemptions
Receive and archive annual “summary of activities” reports from the Discipline Standards faculty.
Investigate and resolve all disputes and official inquiries concerning the process.
Ensure each CDAC elects a Discipline Standards Faculty for each prefix in their CDAC every two years. Election results will be reported to the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services by the CDAC chair on or before July 1st of the election year.
Ensure that each Dean of Instruction, Human Resource Specialist responsible for Faculty Standards and Discipline Standards Faculty receives Board Policy 3001, Regulation 3001/A, Standards Practice 3001/AA and corresponding Unit Guide.

In addition, the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services Office is responsible for:

Maintaining a list of Discipline Standard Faculty for each prefix, a list of Human Resource specialists by location and a list of the Deans of Instruction by campus. This list must include current contact information for each person listed.
Compiling a list of accepted course work for each discipline annually. (The initial list for each discipline is the last list generated by the State Board.) The coursework list for each discipline will reflect those changes made by the CDAC and reported to the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services by July 1 of each academic year.

The distribution on an annual basis of the above four lists by August 1^st to all Human Resource Specialists responsible for Faculty Standards, Deans, CDAC chairs, Department Chairs and Discipline Standards Faculty is the responsibility of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services.

OUTCOMES

This Standard Practice Guideline is to define the process of determining faculty standards and qualifications and delineate the roles of responsible parties [the CDAC, the Discipline Standard Faculty, the Human Resource Specialist (Contract & Faculty Standard) and the Deans of Instruction] in this process.