Spring 2024
WHEREAS, Ample academic literature asserts that outside of class contact with faculty, such as office hours, has a causal role in student learning[1] is directly tied to their academic success,[2] is associated with improved student outcomes [3] and has been proven to help decrease the social-class achievement gap amongst first-generation students [4];
WHEREAS, Students at a minimum of 78 California community colleges are guaranteed a significantly less number of office clock hours per unit when their classes are taught by part-time faculty, as opposed to when their classes are taught by full-time faculty, since these institutions compensate and require full-time faculty to hold a greater number of office clock hours per unit, than they compensate and require of part-time faculty[5]—and this disparity impacts a significant number of students as California Community College Districts have been shown to over-rely on part-time faculty,[6] as part-time faculty outnumber full-time faculty in 97.2% of California Community College Districts[7] and in 35 of the 72 California Community College Districts, they make up over 70% of all instructors [8];
WHEREAS, California community college students deserve a high quality education with regular access to their instructors, no matter if their instructors are part-time or full-time, and concurrently instructors deserve to be fairly compensated for their support of students, no matter if they are part-time or full-time; and
WHEREAS, several Community College Districts (e.g. Contra Costa [9], Kern [10], Glendale [11], Alan Hancock [12, 13], Marin [14], South Orange County [15], Cabrillo [16], Gavilan [17], Sonoma [18], Santa Monica [19], Feather River [20, 21], and Santa Clarita [22, 23] have contracts with faculty that provide part-time faculty with the same number of office clock hours per unit of instruction as full-time faculty, which demonstrates the fiscal feasibility of this practice and reflects the importance of prioritizing investment in office hours as an academic support asset for students; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate of California Community Colleges recognize the importance of access to office hours as a student priority which is essential to academic student success and which removes barriers to equity;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate of California Community Colleges establish a position that compensated office clock hours should be provided to both part-time and full-time faculty in a proportional manner, which is reflective of the number of units taught by the faculty member, at a rate of at minimum one office clock hour per 3-units of instruction;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate of California Community Colleges take the position that all Community College District Governing Boards ought to adopt terms that compensate part-time faculty for a number of office clock hours in a manner that’s proportional to full-time instructional faculty, corresponding to their respective instructional unit-load; and
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate of California Community Colleges collaborate with relevant entities, including but not limited to, the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, state legislators, and the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges to urge all Governing Boards of California Community College Districts to negotiate in good faith with faculty, especially part-time faculty, in a manner that reflects the relevance and importance of office hour access as an educational priority, and shall further collaborate to fully realize the positions laid out in this resolution.
WHEREAS, Students at a minimum of 78 California community colleges are guaranteed a significantly less number of office clock hours per unit when their classes are taught by part-time faculty, as opposed to when their classes are taught by full-time faculty, since these institutions compensate and require full-time faculty to hold a greater number of office clock hours per unit, than they compensate and require of part-time faculty[5]—and this disparity impacts a significant number of students as California Community College Districts have been shown to over-rely on part-time faculty,[6] as part-time faculty outnumber full-time faculty in 97.2% of California Community College Districts[7] and in 35 of the 72 California Community College Districts, they make up over 70% of all instructors [8];
WHEREAS, California community college students deserve a high quality education with regular access to their instructors, no matter if their instructors are part-time or full-time, and concurrently instructors deserve to be fairly compensated for their support of students, no matter if they are part-time or full-time; and
WHEREAS, several Community College Districts (e.g. Contra Costa [9], Kern [10], Glendale [11], Alan Hancock [12, 13], Marin [14], South Orange County [15], Cabrillo [16], Gavilan [17], Sonoma [18], Santa Monica [19], Feather River [20, 21], and Santa Clarita [22, 23] have contracts with faculty that provide part-time faculty with the same number of office clock hours per unit of instruction as full-time faculty, which demonstrates the fiscal feasibility of this practice and reflects the importance of prioritizing investment in office hours as an academic support asset for students; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate of California Community Colleges recognize the importance of access to office hours as a student priority which is essential to academic student success and which removes barriers to equity;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate of California Community Colleges establish a position that compensated office clock hours should be provided to both part-time and full-time faculty in a proportional manner, which is reflective of the number of units taught by the faculty member, at a rate of at minimum one office clock hour per 3-units of instruction;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate of California Community Colleges take the position that all Community College District Governing Boards ought to adopt terms that compensate part-time faculty for a number of office clock hours in a manner that’s proportional to full-time instructional faculty, corresponding to their respective instructional unit-load; and
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate of California Community Colleges collaborate with relevant entities, including but not limited to, the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, state legislators, and the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges to urge all Governing Boards of California Community College Districts to negotiate in good faith with faculty, especially part-time faculty, in a manner that reflects the relevance and importance of office hour access as an educational priority, and shall further collaborate to fully realize the positions laid out in this resolution.