D R A F T
To be discussed – comment but do not circulate
Declaration of the Rights of Adjuncts
Preamble:
Based on a survey of CSI adjuncts in December 2014, numerous
discussions among adjuncts, including in a series of meetings of the Adjunct
Faculty Assembly, and incorporating decisions and resolutions of that body, the
adjunct instructional staff of the College of Staten Island declare their
intention to actualize the following rights.
Rights of Adjuncts:
I.
Fair and adequate compensation for
professional work
1.
Goals for new contract
a)
Professional rate of pay – The value
of higher education is indicated by the value placed on teaching. Accordingly, the
floor must be raised so that no one can be hired to teach a 3-credit course for
less than $5,000, as a beginning rate at the lowest rank and step, while that
rate will increase at higher ranks and steps.
b)
Written contract that spells out job
description and awards additional pay for extra duties (see below) and that
also pays or reassigns adjuncts even if assigned class is canceled
c)
Continuation of City health benefits
as part of pension
d)
Eligibility to apply for prorated
sabbatical or fellowship leave
e)
Accrual of sick leave from semester
to semester and inclusion of adjuncts in other benefits such as parental leave
f)
Payment for extended sick leave for
adjuncts as necessary; college pays cost of employing substitute
g)
Voluntary buy-out option for
adjuncts of retirement age; this could involve cash and/or pension credit
2.
Fixes possible under current
contract
a)
Job descriptions – Departments
prepare written descriptions of the job that include the types and amount of
work expected along with a plan for compensating instructors for extra work
outside of the classroom
b)
Compensation for the time required
to perform the job – The base pay of a teaching adjunct, per credit hour,
covers 1 hour/week in the classroom and 40 minutes/week outside of the
classroom (for prep, grading, etc.). This calculation is derived from the contractual
payscales in which the teaching and non-teaching adjunct rates at every rank
and step follow a 3:5 equivalency formula. That is, the weekly compensation for
teaching a 3-credit course is the same as what the same person earns in 5 hours
at her/his non-teaching adjunct rate. For example, 5 hours @ the minimum NTA
rate of $38.91 = $194.55, and 3 “contact hours” teaching @ the minimum teaching
adjunct rate of $64.84 = $194.52. Clearly, the adjunct is only paid his/her
contractual rate when not exceeding the appropriate number of hours covered by
the $194.52, that is, 5 hours, wherever that work is carried out. If 3 hours
are spent teaching, then the pay covers only an additional 2 hours of prep and
grading. (For 4 hours teaching, only an additional 2 hours and 40 minutes are
covered by the paycheck.). Any work required beyond that therefore requires
additional compensation.
· Workload – Adjuncts must be paid at their non-teaching
adjunct hourly rate for any additional time (beyond 40 minutes per credit hour
per week) needed to perform the duties expected of them by their departments
and indicated in the job descriptions
·
Extra assignments – Adjuncts must be
paid at their non-teaching adjunct rate for attending meetings, trainings, staff
development in-services, workshops or for participating in service and academic
tasks such as advisement and curriculum development
·
Course development – Adjuncts must
be paid for developing new courses or adapting courses for online or hybrid
presentation; this payment is due even if the course is canceled or assigned to
someone else
a)
Office hour -- Someone who is not
paid for a professional hour cannot be expected to list an office hour, to hold
an office hour, or even to include “by appointment” wording on the syllabus.
That is a violation of the contract.
b)
Unemployment insurance – Adjuncts
who are unemployed and unpaid during the summer and winter breaks need unemployment
insurance benefits just like others who are periodically out of work. The
college and departments must cease cooperating with any efforts to use a legal
loophole to deprive them of this needed income
c)
Relaxation of 9/6 rule – The union
needs to relax its enforcement of a rule that creates a hardship for many
instructors struggling to make a living on multiple campuses; a good compromise
would be to allow adjuncts to teach a total of 15 credits anywhere within CUNY
during a term, with a maximum of 12 at any one campus
d)
Payment of temporary substitutes – It
should be the responsibility of the college, not the individual instructor, to
find and pay a substitute to fill in for an adjunct instructor who is absent
for more than a week
e)
Research funding – Both PSC and the
college should make additional research funding available to all continuing adjuncts
after one year’s service, regardless of the number of courses they have taught
in past semesters. Some of this support can be in the form of sabbaticals and
paid release time.
II.
Job stability and security
1.
Seniority principle – Best practices
require that adjunct faculty and staff be given preference in security, class
and schedule assignments, and other aspects of the job based on seniority from
date of hire
2.
Contracts -- After a probationary
period, adjuncts should be offered contracts (preferably in writing) that
cannot be violated except for cause and that can be appealed through due
process. Cancelation of an assignment less than two months before the beginning
of the term is unprofessional. In future, under a better contract, adjuncts
will be guaranteed their salaries and departments will be responsible to
arrange work schedules for adjuncts just like for full-time staff.
3.
Notice of full-time positions -- All
adjunct faculty in a department must be notified of openings for full-time
positions in that department. If they meet the basic qualifications and apply
for the job, they must be granted an interview in good faith.
4.
Fewer and more collegial
observations – Until such time as adjunct faculty are eligible to earn tenure,
there is no reason for years of continual and repeated classroom observations;
such observations as are necessary must follow a respectful protocol that is
not premised on the extreme vulnerability of the adjunct faculty member
5.
Extended sick leave -- No termination
because of illness, even extended illness that removes someone from the
classroom for the balance of a semester
6.
Leaves of absence – Experienced
adjuncts may apply for leaves of absence up to a year with guaranteed
reemployment upon return
III.
Inclusion in the college community
1.
Convocation -- Adjuncts and other
part-time employees should be honored for longevity milestones at convocation
along with full-time employees.
2.
Names and bios on website – Names
and bios of adjunct staff and faculty need to be listed on departmental and
college websites. This needs to start happening right now as the college
redesigns the website and sets new procedures for updating the websites.
3.
Orientation – Newly hired adjuncts
need orientation to the college and their departments, and also to the
union. Orientation sessions can happen
each term and all efforts should be made for every new adjunct to attend.
Adjuncts should be paid at their NTA rates to attend. Each department needs to
orient new hires and help them access all necessary support resources (e.g.,
copying).
4.
Faculty meetings -- Adjunct faculty
are faculty and cannot be excluded from faculty meetings. Nor can adjunct
faculty be denied the vote in departmental affairs once they have passed a
probationary period in the department.
5.
Condolences – Events in the lives of
adjuncts and their families should be treated the same as events in the lives
of full-time members of the community; e.g., the passing of the partner or
parent of an adjunct should be announced to the community through the usual
condolence email message
6.
Faculty Senate -- The college
governance plan must be revised to give adjuncts a fair number of Senators in
Faculty Senate and College Council, proportional to our numbers on campus.
7.
Office space and faculty lounge -- Every
good faith effort must be made to provide adjunct instructors with an adequate
and private office space to confer with students as well as a place to do their
work and keep class materials. Additionally, CSI needs a faculty lounge.
Draft prepared by Ruth Wangerin, 3/13/2016
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