Core Requirement 2.8
The number of full-time faculty members
is adequate to support the mission of the institution and to ensure the quality
and integrity of its academic programs. In addition, upon application for
candidacy, an applicant institution demonstrates that it meets the
comprehensive standard for faculty qualifications. (Faculty)
aCompliance ___Partial Compliance ___Non-Compliance
Narrative:
The number of full-time faculty is
adequate to support the mission of Lawson State Community College and to ensure
the quality and integrity of its academic programs. According to Alabama State
Board of Education Policy 608.01, the
faculty course load consists of 15-16 semester credit hours for each college
transfer full-time faculty. An adjunct
faculty can maintain a course load of no more than 9 semester credit hours in
college transfer courses. Full-time
faculty in the Career Technical Division can maintain a course load that
consists of no more than 30 hours a week, while an adjunct faculty’s course
load is no more than 19 hours per week per semester. Those course loads for full-time and
part-time faculty are sufficient to maintain the integrity of all college
programs. In assessing the ratios below,
the majority (anywhere from 65% to 70%) of credit hours taught at the college
since fall 2007 are taught by full-time faculty members.
Equally important, the number of
full-time faculty members employed by the college grew from 86 to 96 in a
single year to keep pace with the growing trends in enrollment. The college
distributes teaching positions across two college campuses and an off-site correctional
facility.
|
Semester/Year |
Full-time faculty |
Part-time faculty |
Credit hours taught
by full-time faculty |
Credit hours taught by
part-time faculty |
% credit hours taught
by full-time faculty |
% credit hours taught
by part-time faculty |
|
Fall 2008 |
96 |
125 |
25,776 |
10,821 |
70 |
30 |
|
Summer 2008 |
74 |
75 |
10,732 |
3,959 |
73 |
27 |
|
Spring 2008 |
86 |
121 |
20,953 |
10,252 |
67 |
33 |
|
Fall 2007 |
86 |
125 |
22,044 |
11,733 |
65 |
35 |
Lawson State
Community College limits class size for traditional and distance learning
classes and clinical settings, hires qualified faculty, and monitors the
instructional loads of faculty as established by the State Board Policy 608.01. Additionally,
the College requires same courses to use common course student learner outcomes
and format but allows the instructor to use sound pedagogy and educational
practices to dissemination the knowledge and skills associated with the student
learning outcome in support of the College’s mission.
Class
Sizes and Specialized Enrollment Limits
The average class sizes at Lawson State
Community College range from 8 (in clinical settings) to 30 in College transfer
courses. The college complies with all
specialized accrediting bodies as well as safety standards in laboratories by
not superseding class size limits in specialized classes to include Clinical
courses for health professions classes and dental assisting programs. Class sizes, when created at Lawson State,
are created with a cap limit for available seats. Once all seats have been enrolled in during
pre-registration, the AS400 internal scheduling software automatically closes
the course and no more students can enroll unless approved by the Department
Chair of that division and the Academic Dean.
If enrollment demands are higher than anticipated for a specific course,
then a new course is added to the system.
Syllabi
Protections
Another way that Lawson State Community
College protects the integrity and quality of education is through the
standardization of its textbooks and Student Learning Outcomes per course. Syllabi and course objectives outline
specific minimums per course, regardless of instructor (Sample Syllabi). Full-time faculty (within each academic department) as
well as Department Chairs establish and review these standards via a syllabus
review. In 2007, the Academic Affairs
office issued a mandated syllabus review and restructure to include outlined
Student Learning Outcomes per course and the following template was issued to
all academic departments for syllabus alignment and uniformity (Syllabus Template).
Faculty
Qualifications
Full-time faculty must meet the minimum
qualifications outlined by the State Board (Policy 605.02). Faculty salary is
determined from Schedule D as outline by the State Board (Policy 606.01). Part-time faculty must meet minimum
qualifications. They are employed on a
per course and per semester basis.
Lawson State Community College employs competent faculty members
qualified to accomplish the mission and goals of the institution. All College
Transfer full-time and part-time faculty members who teach Associate Degree
courses that are designed for transfer towards a baccalaureate degree have
either a Master’s or Doctoral degree in the teaching discipline or a Master’s
degree with a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline
as governed by State Board Policy 605.02. Faculty members who teach developmental courses (below
college level) hold at least a Bachelor’s degree in the teaching discipline or
within a related field. Career Technical faculty members have either Associates
degree in their discipline, appropriate certifications and a minimum of three
years of work experience in the related teaching field or a professional
license (2008-2009 Faculty Roster).
Lawson State adheres to State Board Policy 602.02
guidelines as it relates to the hiring practices and procedures governing
faculty appointments. Job announcements
and position descriptions detail the required qualifications of all faculty and
outline minimum qualifications (Sample
Job Announcement). The Vice President for Instructional Services
is responsible for recommending (to the President) a committee for each
announced position. Committee structures
include faculty representatives from the department and others, an
administrative representative from the department and a Human Resources
representative. During the preliminary
stage of candidate selection, the credentials of all applicants are reviewed
and assessed against the minimum qualifications for the position, including a
review of transcripts and work experience. Following the screening and
interviewing process, Committee recommendations are sent to the President for
final approval and appointment as outlined in State Board Policy 602.01.
The College ensures (through the use of its Faculty Credentials
Packet and adjunct hiring process) that adjunct faculty meet the same academic
credential requirements as full-time faculty do; however, the department chair
will identify potential candidates, conduct interviews, evaluate transcripts,
verify related work experience and make the recommendation for employment to
the appropriate administrators (Associate Deans, Deans, and Vice President for
Instructional Services) (Faculty
Credentials Packet Template). The Credential Packet outlines a specific step-by-step
process that administrators must follow and includes a background check
authorization, listing of education qualifications, attachment of unofficial
transcripts and/or current certifications (for preliminary review), and
includes an eligibility test
(Completed
Faculty Credentials Packets). If approved tentatively, an official request
for transcripts is provided to the instructor (Transcript
Request Notification Letter). Once
transcripts are received in Human Resources, Department Chairs are provided
copies of official transcripts for review and final clearance of credentials.
Once officially cleared, the credentials packet is signed by the Department
Chair and submitted (for approval) to the Dean (academic or career technical) and
the Vice President for Instructional Services.
Final approval and appointment is reserved for the President.
In cases where a faculty member is hired without the appropriate
degree, the employee must complete a portfolio documenting extensive work and/or
talent in the teaching field. The portfolio is evaluated by a qualified
professional in the teaching field and is then sent to the Vice President for
Instructional Services for validation and submission to the Human Resources
Office for credential verification and placement in the personnel file.
The instructor is certified to teach as a qualified and properly credentialed
instructor in accordance to accreditation requirements. All personnel files are
housed in the Human
Resources Office.
Student Satisfaction
Additionally,
in an effort to ensure that the College has adequate faculty and the quality of
its academic programs by obtaining student feedback through the Graduate
Survey. The College surveys its
graduates, annually, to ascertain how satisfied they are with the instruction
and services provided to them over their tenure at the college. The Graduate Survey extracted results below
for the past three years (2006, 2007, and 2008) that students are satisfied
with the quality of the academic programs and with the resources provided
through supporting instructional units such as the Library/Learning Resources
Center and Department of Developmental Education. Also, academic success was encouraged and
promoted (97%, n=230) by the College (Student Satisfaction Survey Results).
Documentation:
|
Documentation |
Location |
|
2008 Policies & Procedures Manual, State Board Policy 608.01 |
Alabama State Board of
Education Policy 608.01 |
|
Sample Syllabi |
|
|
Syllabus Template |
|
|
2008 Policies & Procedures Manual, State Board Policy 605.02 |
|
|
2008 Policies & Procedures Manual, State Board Policy 606.01 |
State Board Policy 606.01 |
|
Faculty and Staff Roster |
|
|
2008 Policies & Procedures Manual, State Board Policy 602.02 |
State Board Policy 602.02 |
|
Sample Job Announcement |
|
|
2008 Policies & Procedures Manual, State Board Policy 602.01 |
2008 Policies and Procedures Manual, State Board
Policy 602.01 |
|
Faculty Credentials Packet, Template |
|
|
Completed Faculty Credentials Packets |
|
|
Transcript Request Notification Letter |
|
|
Graduates Survey (Extraction) |