BILL ANALYSIS
ACR 138
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 16, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Anthony Portantino, Chair
ACR 138 (Nava) - As Introduced: February 23, 2010
SUBJECT : California Community Colleges: faculty.
SUMMARY : States legislative intent that part-time and temporary
faculty receive comparable benefits and pay to that of full-time
faculty, and that the California Community Colleges (CCC)
increase the number of full-time tenured and tenure-track
faculty. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes various statements regarding, among other things, the
increasing reliance on part-time faculty at public colleges,
the importance of improved faculty working conditions, and the
negative effect of Proposition 13 on revenues that support
public education.
2)Resolves that the longstanding policy of the CCC Board of
Governors (BOG) that at least 75% of the hours of credit
instruction in the CCC be taught by full-time instructors
should be advanced and that each CCC district should develop
and adopt plans to meet the 75% goals.
3)Resolves that each CCC district should determine a minimum
salary goal for part-time and temporary faculty that is
prorated to the salaries of full-time tenured faculty with
comparable qualifications and that do comparable work, and
resolves that each CCC district should reduce the pay gap
between part-time and full-time employees by 15% each academic
year.
4)Resolves that part-time or other non-tenure track faculty that
teach at least 40% of the number of hours per week of
full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty should be eligible
for the same health care benefits provided to tenured and
tenure-track faculty.
5)Resolves that each CCC district establish a process for
part-time and non-tenure track employees to receive
preferential notice of teaching assignments and preferential
consideration for attaining full-time tenure-track positions
after a probationary period.
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6)Resolves that the implementation of all of the aforementioned
goals should be subject to a collective bargaining process
that includes the representatives of full-time and part-time
faculty serving at the institution.
EXISTING LAW requires the CCC BOG to adopt regulations regarding
the percent of credit instruction that shall be taught by
full-time faculty, and authorizes CCC districts with less than
75% full-time instructors to apply a portion of their
"program-improvement" funds toward reaching a 75% goal.
However, the state has since stopped providing
program-improvement funds, and the CCC BOG has since required
CCC districts to provide a portion of their growth funds to
hiring more full-time faculty.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. According to the Assembly
Appropriations Committee analysis of similar provisions
contained in previous resolutions, there is no direct fiscal
impact as a resolution does not carry the force of law.
However, significant costs are associated with the
implementation of the intent of this resolution, including about
$200 million to achieve the 75% goal, over $100 million to
achieve pay parity between full-time and part-time faculty, and
tens of millions to cover additional health insurance costs for
part-time faculty.
COMMENTS : Background : For over 20 years, the Legislature has
considered various efforts to address the issue of CCC districts
hiring temporary (part-time) faculty members in lieu of
full-time faculty. Much of the reason to utilize temporary
faculty is the lower costs associated with such faculty. While
the issue remains a major area of debate, many believe students
are under-served by a lack of permanent faculty, who are more
accessible and may have more teaching expertise in core
curriculum. Additionally, there are numerous equity concerns
surrounding temporary faculty. Several studies on CCC temporary
faculty found that CCC districts pay temporary faculty
significantly less than full-time faculty performing the same
duties, and nearly half of temporary faculty reported not
receiving any type of benefits from their CCC district. In
2008, 18,200 members of CCC teaching faculty were full-time
(tenure or tenure track) and 45,257 classified as temporary.
Purpose of this resolution : According to the sponsor, the
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California Federation of Teachers, part-time faculty are
compensated at significantly lower wages and benefits than
full-time faculty and too often lack basic supports such as paid
office hours. The sponsor believes that pay and benefit
increases for part-time faculty and ensuring that these faculty
members have a process to become full-time faculty will allow
the CCC to better serve its student population.
Varying perspectives : There are varying perspectives
surrounding the current system of unequal compensation for
part-time faculty; some believe it causes negative consequences
that need to be addressed, while others suggest it represents an
appropriate balance of market conditions at the local level that
should not be tampered with. Some argue that unequal
compensation creates a fiscal incentive to use more part-time
faculty with negative consequences for the quality of CCC
education. Others argue that decisions about compensation
should continue to be determined through the collective
bargaining process at the local level based on market conditions
and fiscal considerations. In the past, CCC districts have
expressed concern that using scarce funds to raise the pay of
part-time faculty could take funding away from educational
programs or prevent program growth and faculty expansion.
Related legislation : AB 1892 (Mendoza), pending in this
Committee, expresses Legislative intent that commencing with the
2011-12 fiscal year, sufficient funds be appropriated to
reimburse CCC districts for the costs incurred from
participation in the Part-Time Community College Faculty Health
Insurance Program (Program), and makes related changes to
statutes establishing the Program. AB 1807 (Fong), pending in
this Committee, requires a CCC district that hires temporary
employees to place those employees on a reemployment preference
list.
Previous legislation : AB 1095 (Hill), of 2009, which was held
in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, stated Legislative
intent that by the end of the 2013-14 fiscal year, 75% of the
hours of credit instruction be taught by full-time instructors.
ACR 31 (Ruskin), of 2009, which was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee and subsequently amended to a different
topic, was substantially similar to this resolution. ACR 91
(Mendoza), of 2008, which was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, was substantially similar to this
resolution. AB 591 (Dymally), Chapter 84, Statutes of 2008,
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allows a CCC district to hire temporary part-time employees to
teach up to 67%, rather than 60%, of the hours per week that
constitute a regular full-time faculty assignment. AB 1423
(Davis), held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, would
have required CCC district academic salary schedules to be
uniform in application and effect. AB 1343 (Mendoza), held in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee, would have required at
least 75% of full-time faculty on each campus of the California
State University and CCC be tenured or tenure-track by the
2014-2015 academic year.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Federation of Teachers
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960