Standard 5: Faculty | 40

Faculty / 5

DESCRIPTION

The faculty at Bristol Community College is a talented, dynamic group. Faculty members stay current and engaged in their fields as reflected by their presence at regional and national conferences, their participation and leadership in national academic organizations, their publishing of books and articles, and their participation in performances and gallery shows. There are healthy debates and differences of opinion, but what unites and distinguishes the faculty is their dedication to BCC students. As new members join the ranks of the College’s faculty, they are welcomed and mentored by a group of highly dedicated individuals, many of whom have devoted the majority or entirety of their professional lives to teaching at BCC.

BCC faculty members play an essential role in nourishing the growth of well-rounded, educated students. The College employs both full-time and adjunct faculty as well as academic support staff. The categories and roles of all full-time faculty, part-time nursing faculty, and academic support staff are defined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Board of Higher Education and the Massachusetts Community College Council/Massachusetts Teachers’ Association (the Day Contract). The categories and roles of adjunct faculty (who teach day classes or classes at or after 4 p.m.) are defined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement for the Division of Continuing Education between the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and The Community College Council/Massachusetts Teachers’ Association (the DCE Contract). Contractual agreements, employment policies, salary schedules, appointment policies, tenure, benefits, guarantee of academic freedom, and grievance procedures for full-time, adjunct, and academic support staff are detailed in the Day and DCE Contracts. The BCC Employment Handbook and the Faculty Handbook also outline policies and procedures for College employees.

All faculty are members of one of six academic divisions, each of which is headed by a dean who reports to the Vice President of Academic Affairs. Each faculty member is also a member of a department or program and holds one of the following titles: Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor, as defined in detail in Article XIV of the Day Contract.

As of fall 2013, there are 133 full-time faculty members employed by the College. To summarize the detailed demographic information about the full-time faculty on the Data First forms: A little over two-thirds (68%) are women, a little over half (53%) are tenured (though all can be considered to be on tenure track), 21 percent have a doctoral degree, and 10 percent are of color. The College also employs approximately 600 adjunct faculty members. As of fall 2013, a little over half of them (52%) are women, 11percent have a doctoral degree, and 5 percent are of color.

According to the Standard Five Data First Forms, in terms of discrete numbers of individual faculty teaching in each academic department, the percentages of full-time and part-time faculty have remained stable at an average of 19 percent full-time and 81 percent part-time. However, these percentages do not take into account the number of credit hours being taught by full-time and part-time faculty. During spring 2012, for example,

41 | Bristol Community College NEASC Self-Study Report / 2014

43 percent of the total day credits were taught by full-time faculty to fulfill their contractual workload, and 57 percent were taught by part-time faculty. By legal definition, the part-time faculty category must include any full-time faculty who teach courses beyond their contractual work load (4% of that 57%), full-time professional staff who teach part time (5% of that 57%), as well as retired full-time faculty who continue to teach (2% of that 57%).

Besides credit courses, the College also employs a number of faculty who teach noncredit courses through the Center for Workforce and Community Education. In addition, full-time academic support staff, referred to as “professional staff” by the Day Contract, include counselors, skills specialists, and librarians. Full-time clerical and media staff also provide academic support to the College and are organized under the Classified Contract. Finally, a number of part-time employees, including, but not limited to, counselors, tutors, librarians, typists, lab assistants, and advisors, also serve the College in this capacity.

Hiring

The President, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, and the divisional deans periodically consult with faculty to assess and prioritize each academic area’s need for full-time faculty and to make decisions dependent on those needs as well as budget. Faculty job descriptions are written with input from academic departments, program coordinators/chairs, academic deans, and the Chief Academic Officer. The job descriptions identify qualifications that are required or preferred, such as advanced degrees held, evidence of scholarship or advanced study, creative activities, teaching abilities, and other relevant professional experience, training, and credentials. Salaries, benefits, and employment security guidelines are described in the Day and DCE Contracts.

According to the Employee Handbook, recruitment is the process by which a division or administrative unit seeks to attract people to employment at BCC. This process must provide equal employment opportunity to persons without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, or disability. If efforts in this area are not vigorous, or if the pool of candidates is not sufficient, the President or Vice President of Human Resources may require a reopening of a recruitment search. Faculty and professional positions are advertised on a regional or national level in newspapers, journals, and websites related to specific disciplines, as well as in minority publications and through contacts with national associations.

The hiring process for full-time faculty begins with the approval of a vacant faculty position to be filled based on the need of the College. The dean of the division prepares a personnel recruitment request (PER) with an attached copy of the job description and passes it on to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for approval. The PER is then forwarded to the Vice President of Human Resources and finally the President for approval. Once approved, the position is posted by the Human Resources Office in various publications and websites. The dean of the division usually serves as the chair of the search committee and selects the rest of the committee: two faculty members from the department where the position will reside, one affirmative action member, and one faculty member from another division at the College. All search committee members receive training through Human Resources on how to conduct a lawful employment process.

All candidates’ application packets are made available through a secured website called Interview Exchange, to which authorized search committee members have access to review the documents. The search committee selects a number of candidates to interview. Upon interview completion, a non-prioritized list of finalists is sent forward to the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA), along with a list of strengths and concerns for each. The VPAA then conducts the second round of interviews, checks references, and makes a recommendation to the President who approves the hiring of the selected candidate. The President of the College provides the Board of Trustees with a report of all hires at their next meeting. Until tenure, full-time faculty members are appointed on a year-by-year basis, and after tenure, upon three-year review.

Standard 5: Faculty | 42

The adjunct faculty search consists of the dean and typically the department chair or coordinator from the appropriate academic area. The interviewers then make a recommendation in writing to the VPAA, which includes the reasons why a candidate is qualified. In most cases, the minimum requirement for teaching credit-bearing courses is a master’s degree. If the candidate does not have a master’s degree in the appropriate field, the dean may justify why the candidate should be approved for a one-semester appointment. Before an adjunct faculty member is hired to teach, he or she must also be approved by the VPAA. Adjunct faculty assignments for those who have reappointment rights (five courses taught over three years) are then offered at least one course based upon seniority by academic area.

Workload

The workload for full-time faculty members includes instructional and noninstructional elements, as defined by the Day Contract, under Article XII, 12.03. The standard instructional workload requires 150 class days per year of instruction, instructional preparation time, and assessment of student performance. Faculty members provide 15 credit hours of instruction per semester, or equivalent service, with no more than three preparations per semester or five preparations within one year. Noninstructional tasks consist of seven hours per week in student advisement, college/community service, and/or professional development. Additionally, full-time faculty members provide at least four office hours per week on at least four days.

Full-time faculty may apply to receive a course-load reduction, also called reassigned time, in order to pursue professional development opportunities, coordinate programs, chair departments, or participate in special projects. The Day Contract states that the “number of hours for an activity will be equal to twice the credit hour reduction,” with a “proportional reduction in office hours one hour per three credit hour equivalent.” This means that if a faculty member receives a course-load reduction for one course, he or she is released from three hours of instruction (x2), which would equal six hours, as well as one office hour per week, for a seven hour total reduction. Allocation of course-load reductions is necessitated by institutional needs.

The adjunct faculty workload includes instructional hours, preparation, and assessment of student performance. Adjunct faculty members are not required to hold scheduled office hours, but they are required to meet with students at mutually convenient times. Other than attending one meeting per year, adjunct faculty are not required to participate in College service activities. However, many adjunct faculty members elect to participate voluntarily in professional days, College committees, and professional development activities. Workload reductions are not formally available to adjunct faculty. In some cases, adjunct faculty members are compensated for their participation in College service activities or professional development.

The professional staff workload consists of professional duties as articulated in the staff member’s Professional Staff Position Description in Article XII, 12.04, of the Day Contract. Full-time academic support members are also required to participate in college service activities and advise students. Academic support staff may negotiate a change in workload if they are asked to take on duties not set out in their current job description.

BCC’s committee system is structured to include college-wide participation of faculty and professional staff. The committees provide recommendations to the Vice Presidents and to the President about College policies and/or procedures. There are currently 32 committees at the College, with representation from each of the six academic divisions, along with other areas. BCC also has a Faculty and Professional Staff Senate which advises the President on academic affairs.

Evaluation

Faculty effectiveness is evaluated as outlined in the Day and DCE Contracts. Article XIII, 13.02, of the Day Contract states that full-time faculty are evaluated every year until they reach tenure, and thereafter, every three

43 | Bristol Community College NEASC Self-Study Report / 2014

years. The assessment includes classroom observation (25%), student evaluations (25%), student advisement (10%), college service (10%), course materials (15%), and personnel file (15%).

The evaluation process of adjunct faculty is defined in Article XI, 11.01-11.06, of the DCE Contract. Adjunct faculty are evaluated by student evaluation, course materials, personnel file, and a classroom observation. If an adjunct faculty member teaches five credit-bearing courses over the period of three consecutive fiscal years and receives satisfactory evaluations, his or her name is added to the reappointment list. Adjuncts on this list must be offered the opportunity to be reappointed before other adjuncts are approved to teach the same course(s) who are not on the list.

The evaluation process of full-time professional staff is defined in Article XIII, 13.03-13.04, of the Day Contract. Full-time professional staff members are evaluated in the areas of professional performance, student advisement, college service, and personnel file. Further, they, too, are eligible for tenure after completing six years at the college (three of which must be in their current job function), and, like faculty, once tenured, they are required to be evaluated every three years.

Full-time faculty, adjunct faculty, and professional staff receive copies of all evaluative materials in order for them to be aware of their strengths and areas of concern. Faculty and professional staff have opportunities to respond to these evaluative materials through writing and meeting with the evaluator.

Expectations and processes for faculty ethics are clearly listed for full-time faculty in Article VII, 7.02 (entitled “Academic Responsibility”), of the Day Contract and in Article VI, 6.02, of the DCE Contract for part-time faculty. In addition, the College has a published statement of ethical behavior called the “Academic Integrity Policy” in the Faculty Handbook.

Professional Development: Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity

Professional development opportunities, offered in a variety of ways, are available to full-time faculty, part-time faculty, and professional staff. For FY2013, $60,000 was available to fund professional development activities, as well as $15,000 for Perkins Grant-funded activities. In addition, $23,000 in professional development money was made available for work related to strategic planning goals, and in fall of 2012, the President awarded all full-time faculty a $500 stipend to purchase technology related to their teaching.

The Lash Center for Teaching and Learning (LCTL) offers professional development and community-building opportunities through workshops, seminars, and individual consultations related to teaching and learning. Faculty may participate in a variety of on-campus programs, and the location of the LCTL serves as an adjunct faculty center, providing adjunct faculty access to office and support resources. The Center for Instructional Technology Expertise (CITE Lab) supports faculty and students with the use of technology, including eLearning, accessBCC, and supplemental online technologies used in the traditional or online classroom.

Opportunities for faculty research and scholarly activities are also available. The Community College Leadership Academy, as well as the Presidential Fellowship, both provide an intensive exploration of a faculty member’s area of interest. Full-time faculty and full-time unit professional staff are also eligible to apply for sabbatical leave in accordance with Article IX, 9.01, of the Day Contract. Finally, faculty and staff continue to engage in scholarly work related to their field, such as publishing books and articles, presenting at regional and national conferences, and/or participation in performances and/or gallery shows.

To ensure an ethical approach to research, the College has established an Institutional Review Board (IRB) which “upholds the principles of the Belmont Report and other established guidelines, and ensures the rights, welfare, and privacy of individuals involved in research.” The IRB reviews research activities and determines their

Standard 5: Faculty | 44

acceptability, while it also strives to include a diverse representation of races, genders, cultural backgrounds, and sensitivity to the rights and welfare of human subjects.

Teaching and Advising

The College supports academic freedom as being the right of scholars. Faculty members are entitled to freedom in their choice of teaching methods and materials to support course objectives.

Definition and discussion of academic freedom and academic responsibility are contained in Article VII, 7.01 and 7.02, of the Day Contract and are also supported in the Faculty Handbook.

The use of technology in the classroom has grown as well as the development of distance learning courses. Over 65 percent of all degree programs and 52 percent of all certificate programs are available at least 50 percent or more online. eLearning is a learning management system that provides online course spaces where faculty members can post resources for traditional face-to-face courses or teach partially or completely online. BCC also offers technology enhanced classrooms (TEC) that include equipment such as computers, projectors, SmartBoards, and/or document cameras.

Scholarly and creative achievement by students is encouraged through many programs, opportunities, and awards. The Commonwealth Honors Program offers intellectually challenging experiences to highly motivated and gifted students in every discipline, while the Presidential Scholars Program guides high-achieving students in transfer to competitive baccalaureate institutions. Many awards at the local, regional, and national level are also available to students; and at the end of every academic year, the College hosts an Annual Student Award Night.

Multiple sections are offered for many courses, especially general education courses, which allow students to be taught by a variety of faculty, ensuring exposure to diverse perspectives and course formats. However, measures are taken to maintain consistency in learning outcomes. Faculty are encouraged to use a standard set of course objectives as related to the course description in the Catalog, while still retaining flexibility in their teaching materials and style. Under the Connected College Title III Grant, online course toolkits have been created to give all faculty access to common resources for gateway courses. These toolkits include course objectives, student learning objectives, model syllabi, sample assignments, and other learning activities.

A full-time faculty member is required to advise 18 students each semester, as detailed in Article XII, 12.03 of the Day Contract. Students are also advised by professional staff and staff from the Advising Center. In addition, faculty may work in the Advising Center to advise students for an hourly stipend. Those who do are required to attend training sessions each semester prior to commencement of the next advisement cycle.

Students who are required to see an academic advisor (i.e., are not exempt from seeing an advisor), are assigned categorically according to academic program. There are exceptions to this due to requests for specific advisors based on student need/preference and based on criteria other than academic program or Campus location (e.g., Presidential Scholars). The regular programmatic assignments are made based on each divisional dean’s instructions, including faculty eligibility for receiving assignment of advisees, the program of instruction of the faculty member, and the number of advisees each faculty member is contractually obligated to be assigned. Once program assignments are made, all remaining advisees are assigned to the Fall River, New Bedford, Attleboro, or evening Advising Center based on the predominance of credits at a particular location or time.

Full-time faculty and professional staff receive an advisement packet each semester that contains advisee transcripts and updated information about courses. The online program DegreeWorks assists advisors by giving them access to each student’s advisement and academic history. The Advising Center’s website also contains a link to “Faculty Resources” which includes tutorials, course information, and best practices. Throughout the semester, advising workshops and DegreeWorks tutorials are offered.

45 | Bristol Community College NEASC Self-Study Report / 2014

APPRAISAL

Faculty Numbers and Qualifications

Growth of the Full-Time Faculty: When President Sbrega started in 2000, he set a goal of 65 percent of BCC day courses being taught by full-time faculty. The administration has made steady progress toward that goal even during a period of strained financial resources. During the worst years of the most recent recession, the President invoked a no-layoffs pledge, promising all faculty and staff each September that the administration would find other ways of trimming the budget. The President delivered on his promise. In fact, as depicted in the graph below, between fall 2013 and the College’s last Fifth-Year Report in 2009, there was a 24 percent gain in full-time faculty. The graph also shows that as the category of full professors has decreased, due to retirements, the number of faculty in all other ranks has increased.

As of fall 2013, there are 133 members of the full-time faculty, with another seven searches planned or underway. This will bring the number of full-time faculty up to 140, which will be an all-time high for the College.

Positive Evaluations of Full-Time Faculty: Overall, student and administrative evaluations of BCC faculty are positive and strong. Full-time faculty members are evaluated consistently according to the Day Contract. Beyond their degrees (15% have doctorates, and 85% have master’s degrees), other factors are considered such as teaching effectiveness, course materials, college service, and scholarly activities. During AY2011-12, all but one of the full-time faculty members were evaluated by their dean as satisfactory or higher. That same year, student evaluations of full-time faculty performance showed a mean score of 4.01 out of 5. This score shows faculty on the cusp of the very good category, with excellent equaling a 5.0. Overall, the qualifications of full-time faculty are appropriate to the discipline and level of assignment.

During the Self-study process, it was noted that it would be beneficial to have a more easily accessible archive of faculty accomplishments. A plan for faculty biographies to be more regularly updated on the College website was also discussed. Updates to faculty web pages will be easier to manage on the College’s new website, as discussed in more detail within Standard Ten: Public Disclosure.

Strengths and Challenges Associated with a Large Adjunct Faculty: Although there is agreement that a larger full-time faculty has multiple benefits, there is also sound appreciation for the vital role that part-time faculty play in the fulfillment of BCC’s mission. The number of adjunct faculty has also increased over the past five years, from 427 in 2009, to 596 in fall 2013, or 40 percent. The College is highly fortunate to have a cadre of committed

Standard 5: Faculty | 46

and qualified part-time faculty members, many of whom have been willing to participate in College committees and initiatives. Of course there are also challenges.

On the NEASC Self-study 2012 Survey there was an open-ended question asking employees their thoughts on how the percentage of adjunct faculty affects the College (N=257). Fifty percent of respondents either emphasized the positive effects (25%), a balance of positive effects and concerns (16%), or thought the effects were neutral (9%). Forty-three percent of participants emphasized concerns, and seven percent made comments categorized as “other.” The two top categories of positive effects were the real world and practical experience that part-time faculty bring to the College, and the flexibility they offer in terms of providing classes for our students during evenings, early mornings, and weekends. The two top categories of concerns were the potential for inconsistent delivery of curriculum and for lack of accessibility to students.

Another challenge is making sure that all adjuncts are evaluated in a timely fashion. The DCE Contract states that classroom observations will be conducted at least once for all adjunct faculty members prior to earning reappointment rights at the three-year mark, granted they have taught at least five courses within those three consecutive fiscal years. According to the Office of Academic Affairs, these classroom observations are not happening uniformly due to the multiple campuses, mediums (face-to-face, hybrid, fully online), and the wide range of times classes are offered. It is important that the evaluations take place before adjuncts reach their threshold for reappointment. In response, the Office of Academic Affairs has set a goal for all new part-time faculty members to be observed within their first year of teaching. Further, the Office of Academic Affairs has been in discussion with divisional deans and department chairs about the best ways to provide the deans with the support they need to manage this large task, including moving some of the responsibility for recommending and scheduling adjunct faculty to department chairs.

Supporting Adjunct Faculty: Although assistance and support is certainly offered through the divisional deans and respective departmental faculty, including department chairs, the Lash Center for Teaching and Learning (LCTL) is the organizational hub of support for the College’s adjunct faculty. The newly renovated LCTL accommodates over 100 adjuncts per month, where they have a central location to use as a home base, to ask questions and swap stories with other adjuncts and LCTL staff, to take advantage of office resources (computers, photocopier, office supplies), or to use one of the 15 semi-private cubicles to meet with students, prepare for class, or correct student work. During spring 2013, the Dean of the LCTL applied for funding for an adjunct certification course. Other trainings and offerings by the LCTL are discussed below under “Teaching and Professional Development.”

Employment Policies and Contractual Issues

Faculty and Professional Staff responsibilities, benefits, recruitment, appointment, and evaluation procedures, as well as College policies on hiring, pay scales, promotion, and tenure are all defined and published in one or more of the following documents: the Day Contract, the DCE Contract, the Faculty Handbook, and the BCC Employee Handbook. These documents are all conveniently available on the College’s website.

Workload

Benefits of Reassigned Time: Full-time faculty members are required to teach 15 credits each semester. However, faculty are often granted reassigned time for involvement in College activities, governance, or professional development. Twenty-one percent of the possible full-time faculty workload credits were devoted to reassigned time in the fall of 2012. The amount of reassigned time demonstrates the College’s commitment to full-time faculty professional development in the form of sabbaticals, presidential fellowships, and involvement in College governance and special projects.

47 | Bristol Community College NEASC Self-Study Report / 2014

Involvement in Governance and New Initiatives: Faculty and professional staff consistently show their willingness to participate in College policy and governance. Full-time faculty are required to serve on one “standing” (college-wide) committee each semester, but often will serve on more than one, or on other ad hoc committees. As discussed in Standard Three: Organization and Governance, the Faculty and Professional Staff Senate, founded in 2007, also provides another forum for faculty and staff to have a voice on policy and initiatives at BCC.

In an effort to capture the state of the College and make recommendations, the Senate’s first initiative was to write a report entitled “Positive Potential, Crucial Change.” In response to the paper, the administration held an Open College Meeting about the content. The meeting was very well attended and received. Subsequently, the administration and Senate decided to collaborate on results oriented projects that would show, by practice, commitment to topics and principles equally important to all. For example, the Joint Senate/Administration Task Force on Advisement was formed in spring 2011, and the Joint Senate/Administration Task Force on Governance, Academic Decision-Making, and Transparency was initiated in spring 2012. The work of the latter is ongoing, but the task force on student advisement released its final report in fall 2012, and President Sbrega accepted its recommendations in full.

In addition to a commitment to College service and governance, faculty members have also been involved in many new projects to support curriculum and teaching. Most recently, faculty have been involved in the creation of new computer labs for classes, and presidential fellowships were awarded to faculty in the math and English departments to research and recommend new models of developmental education courses to pilot at the College.

Hiring

Review of Search Committee Process: The College’s hiring practices are clearly documented in the Day and DCE Contracts, as well as in the Employee Handbook and the Search Committee Guide, all available through the College’s website. In January of 2011, the College reconvened a 2007 task force responsible for initially developing the Search Committee Guide and added members of the BCC Faculty and Professional Staff Senate. This new group, comprised of faculty, staff, and administrators, reviewed the search process and updated the document under the direction of the Human Resources Office. The goal was to further clarify and strengthen the search process. The revised search process is documented in the most recent version of the Search Committee Guide, dated May 2011. The 2007 task force had already implemented significant changes, including candidates’ materials being submitted electronically, and each member of the search committee undergoing a brief training through human resources at the beginning of each search (or if he or she had not participated in a search previously, a more intensive training would be required). The 2011 updated guide further clarifies a number of areas, including the duties of a search committee chair and the hiring administrator. It also adds that someone from Human Resources “will participate on searches when possible to monitor and assist in the process.”

Efforts to Attract and Retain Faculty and Professional Staff of Color: The College has taken significant steps to ensure that search committees have affirmative action representation and that recruiting efforts attract candidates of color. For example, job descriptions are sent to historically black colleges and are published in minority-focused media such as DiversityInc, Urban League, The Bay State Banner, New York Amsterdam News, and Hispanic Outlook. Presently, 10 percent of the full-time faculty is nonwhite; the goal is to at least double that so as to reflect the student body which is 20 percent of color. In addition to continued efforts to recruit more faculty and staff of color, the College has also taken further steps to retain all employees of color. Created by the President in 2001, the “Minority Faculty and Staff Group” meets a few times each semester to provide mentoring, social connection, and support for dealing with issues related to being a nonwhite employee. The Human Resources Office has also created a link on the College website which lists other professionals of color at the College. Over the past five years, 20 percent of faculty and staff who have departed from the College have been employees of color, often times for new opportunities for which the College has helped prepare them.

Standard 5: Faculty | 48

Although there is still progress to be made, the College is proud to have increased its number of employees of color by 166 percent over the past 10 years.

Hiring Adjuncts Earlier: The College has put measures into place to minimize the number of part-time faculty who are hired to teach classes shortly before the new semester begins. During fall 2012, for example, 25 new adjunct faculty members were hired within two weeks of the start of classes due to the addition of new sections and changes in full-time faculty schedules. Although the College will always need to exercise the right to make changes to the schedule in response to shifts in enrollment, the goal of surveying and assigning adjunct faculty to classes earlier is to give adjuncts as much time as possible to prepare for their course assignments and take advantage of mentoring and other professional development opportunities.

Teaching and Professional Development

The New Faculty Seminar: The College is proud of its New Faculty Seminar. During the first semester at BCC, new full-time faculty members are released from teaching one course and from serving on a standing committee to participate in a seminar run by the Lash Center for Teaching and Learning (LCTL). The seminar provides pedagogical, technological, and practical support as new faculty members acclimate to BCC’s culture. Although it lasts a full academic year, there is no reassigned time during the second semester, so the level of weekly preparation for the course shifts accordingly. Assessed at the midterm and end of the semester, the LCTL has been responsive to faculty feedback in making adjustments to the curriculum.

Growth of and Support for New Technology: Technology has become a significant influence in the College culture, and, over the past decade, teaching has been influenced by the continued growth of new technology. This progression is evidenced in the number of distance learning courses being taught and the number of technology-enhanced classrooms on all campuses including several discipline-specific computer labs. Job descriptions now often require that faculty be able to teach in a variety of modalities, ranging from traditional face-to-face, hybrid, and fully online courses. Also, many veteran faculty members have revised course structures and environments to allow for the use of cutting-edge technology. The College’s investment in technology-enhanced pedagogy is reflected in its support of professional development through the LCTL, the Center for Instructional Technology Expertise (CITE lab), Title III initiatives, the Office of Information Technology Services, and a one-time stipend of $500 awarded to all full-time faculty during AY2012-13 to purchase any technological item from an approved list.

Rich Opportunities for Professional Development: In addition to support for new technologies, and despite hard economic times, the College continues to provide progressive, diverse, and relevant opportunities for professional development in many areas. Professional development is often the first to be cut from budgets, but the administration has found ways to keep this a well-funded priority. Over the years, the professional development fund has doubled for faculty and professional staff, with additional monies available through the Perkins Grant and Title III. Funded projects range from national conference attendance to department in-service training. Other professional development opportunities include:

• In addition to serving as an Adjunct Faculty Center and conducting the New Faculty Seminar, the Lash Center for Teaching and Learning (LCTL) offers many other compensated and uncompensated programs. For example, for those interested in building more interdisciplinary bridges with peers, there are learning community training sessions. The Mentoring Program matches newer faculty with more experienced faculty for a semester and compensates both mentor and mentee for participation. Service-Learning Faculty Fellows are trained to provide meaningful service-learning experiences for students. Training in learning outcomes assessment as well as integration of technology into the classroom is also available. The LCTL also sponsors a pedagogy group for faculty to gather and discuss common readings and teaching practices and philosophies. Many of these opportunities are available to full-time and part-time faculty alike.

49 | Bristol Community College NEASC Self-Study Report / 2014

• The Center for Instructional Technology Expertise (CITE Lab) also continues to serve a large number of faculty and staff who are seeking professional development with eLearning or instructional technology. Often offering one-on-one guidance to tailor support to specific needs, during AY2011-12, the CITE Lab served a total of 312 individual faculty and staff members (181 during the summer, 163 in the fall, and 119 during the spring). Usage of the CITE Lab more than doubled over the previous year. In addition to providing drop-in help, scheduled individual appointments, and email or phone assistance, the CITE Lab collaborates with the LCTL and Title III to provide structured professional development opportunities. Over 130 workshops attended by 135 faculty members were offered during AY 2011-12.

• During AY2002-03, President Sbrega started the Presidential Fellowship Program. Faculty or professional staff members have been awarded a presidential fellowship to study a topic of mutual interest to the individual and the College. Recipients have investigated model programs at other colleges in preparation for developing programs for BCC. For example, presidential fellowships have led to the creation of BCC’s Civic Engagement Program, LusoCentro, and the Institute for Sustainability and Post-Carbon Education. Over the past two academic years (2011-12 and 2012-13), members of the math and English departments have used the fellowship support to study model developmental math and English programs and institute important changes to their course offerings.

• In addition to presidential fellowships, and despite tight economic times, the College has continued to fund sabbaticals which offer faculty the chance to engage in intensive semester- or year-long individual projects. These projects encourage faculty to keep current in their field, offer fresh perspectives on teaching, and fuel new College initiatives.

Customizing Professional Development to Fit Faculty Interests: During the Self-study process, it was acknowledged that full-time faculty have participated less in professional development opportunities in recent years. There are different theories about why, including increased faculty commitment to College governance activities, lack of funding for some professional development offerings, and the need to provide a more customized fit between the offerings and the needs and interests of faculty. Toward providing a more customized fit, over AY2012-13, the Dean of the LCTL completed 13 different types of surveys and data-gathering activities to assess faculty needs and create new professional development opportunities. During spring 2013, these efforts included interviews with full-time and part-time faculty. Over summer 2013, the LCTL sponsored two presentations on what was learned from the quantitative and qualitative data collected about faculty needs and interests. These extensive data-gathering efforts, which are part of a cycle of continuous planning and evaluation, will inform the LCTL’s development of new offerings and changes to long-standing programs that are still serving a purpose.

Promoting More Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: One area of interest that faculty members were asked to address on the NEASC Self-study Survey was cross-disciplinary collaboration. Forty-seven percent of full-time faculty reported participating in such work, with another 20 percent reporting having participated “somewhat.” One challenge that survey respondents mentioned regarding cross-disciplinary work is that BCC could do a better job of promoting learning communities. Over a two-year period spanning from fall 2010 to fall 2012, only two-thirds of learning communities on the schedule had enough students enrolled for them to run, a statistic the College can improve upon, as noted in the Projection section. Learning communities and other forms of cross-disciplinary collaboration are beneficial for students and faculty alike.

Involvement in New Academic Initiatives: A portion of the faculty has raised concerns over the past two years about the way newly launched programs such as Middle College and Gateway to College (two dual enrollment programs for at-risk high school students) affect delivery of curriculum. Sometimes new programs require changes to the time-line, structure, or content of a course; some faculty and staff have expressed concerns that such changes may not always benefit students or could weaken a curriculum. When asked on the Self-study Survey if the appropriate stakeholders play a satisfactory role in the development of new academic initiatives at the College, about one-third of the full-time faculty agreed, one-third disagreed, and one-third

Standard 5: Faculty | 50

remained neutral. Many who said it was a concern acknowledged that improvements were taking place. As discussed in Standard Three: Organization and Governance, the goal of the Joint Senate/Administration Task Force on Academic Decision Making is to clarify a process for academic decision making that provides ample opportunities for communication about new programs and their potential effects on the delivery of curriculum, while acknowledging the administration’s responsibility and right to make the final decisions on such matters.

Advising

Successful Task Force: As discussed further in Standard Six: Students, the College has been intently focused on a plan to further improve its advising system. Results of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), as well as other evidence gathered by the College, show that students report relatively low usage of advising services. For example, on the CCSSE, student use of advising services averages between the categories of never and sometimes. At the same time, students report that they value advising, ranking its importance on the CCSSE between the categories of somewhat and very. In response to such findings, the Joint Senate/Administration Task Force on Advisement was formed during spring 2011. When the committee released its final report during fall 2012, there was widespread agreement that the process of collaboration had worked very well, and the President accepted the Committee’s recommendations in full.

Strengths and Challenges of Current System: The report detailed the strengths of BCC’s system, including the one-on-one, face-to-face advising opportunities students have, advisor expertise in certain fields or career paths, and the use of relatively new software called DegreeWorks, which has been successfully used to store student information and build an academic history for each student (6,629 student plans had been added to DegreeWorks as of summer 2013). The report also addressed the existing challenges to the advising system, including the administrative challenges involved in consistent pairing of advisors and advisees from semester to semester, and the fact that many more students end up being advised by part-time staff in the Advising Center. Another challenge noted by the Standard Five Committee is that there has been frequent turnover in the Director of Advisement position over the past 10 years. Finally, more professional development for faculty will also be offered as part of an effort to improve faculty effectiveness as advisors.

Recommendations: After researching how advising is done at other community colleges and surveying BCC students and advisors, the committee recommended a permanent location for the Advising Center to provide a central location for advising resources and expertise, and a private, familiar place for students to receive confidential advising. Over summer 2013, a permanent Advising Center was established in G Building as well as a complementary “Student Success Center” in B Building. It also recommended Advising Center staff institute some additional services such as professional development programs for faculty and staff advisors, training for students on the use of DegreeWorks and accessBCC, group advising, and advising specifically catered to “late start” cohorts (courses that start after the traditional semester start).

PROJECTION

1. The number of full-time faculty for fall 2013 is at 133; an additional 7 positions have been approved bringing the number to 140 full-time faculty for AY2013-14. Over the next five years, the President and Office of Academic Affairs will replace any full-time faculty members who leave or retire, and they will continue to expand the number of new full-time faculty positions with a goal of at least five additional positions.

2. Under the leadership of the Vice President of Human Resources, the College will continue its efforts to attract and retain a culturally diverse full-time and part-time faculty to reflect its service area. This will include continued targeted posting of job descriptions and continued social and professional networking for employees of color and other groups.

51 | Bristol Community College NEASC Self-Study Report / 2014

3. The Office of Academic Affairs has made it a priority to evaluate part-time faculty who are within one year of reappointment and have not yet been evaluated. A goal going forward is for new adjunct faculty to receive a classroom observation within their first year of teaching.

4. To more closely involve full-time faculty in curricular and instructional decisions, the Office of Academic Affairs will consider the possibility of increasing the responsibilities of faculty department chairs and program directors/coordinators in exchange for more reassigned time. Any such change would be by mutual agreement among the faculty member, divisional dean, and Office of Academic Affairs. In addition to providing faculty more involvement and ownership of academic decisions in their area, a secondary benefit will be to better balance the workload of the divisional deans.

5. Under the leadership of the Dean of the Lash Center for Teaching and Learning and academic divisional deans, efforts to further improve communication with adjunct faculty and increase their participation in divisional and departmental matters will also be ongoing. These efforts will include investigating online or hybrid models to reach and involve more adjuncts.

6. As projected in Standard Six: Students and Standard Eleven: Integrity, the College is in the process of implementing the recommendations of the Joint Senate/Administration Task Force on Advisement under the leadership of the Dean of Academic Advising. For example, over summer 2013 a permanent location for the Advising Center was established in the Commonwealth College Center. Further recommendations will be implemented during AY2013-14.

7. As projected in Standard Two: Planning and Evaluation and Standard Three: Organization and Governance, the Joint Senate/Administration Task Force on Academic Decision Making will present its findings and recommendations during AY2013-14, toward the goal of developing a clear, mutually acceptable process for communication and collaboration among all stakeholders.

8. During AY2013-14, the Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of Student Services will work together to assess why learning communities and other linked courses have sometimes been cancelled due to under-enrollment and to make recommendations for improvement.

9. Although monthly reports reflect the academic and creative work of faculty and staff, the Office of Academic Affairs will consider creating a single resource to archive this work and make it easily accessible online, along with a plan to organize and update faculty biographies on the College website.

INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

As discussed, there are a number of ways in which BCC evaluates the sufficiency of support for and the effectiveness of its faculty. During AY2012-13, the Lash Center for Teaching and Learning (LCTL) completed 13 different types of surveys and/or data-gathering activities, including interviews with part-time and full-time faculty to assess faculty needs and create new professional development opportunities. In addition, the LCTL continues to hone its New Faculty Seminar with midterm and final evaluations that shape improvements to the program. The Faculty and Professional Staff Senate holds monthly meetings open to all members of the community to promote shared governance, transparency, and mutual trust. Since the Senate was established in 2007, topics of mutual interest to administration and faculty have been successfully addressed through joint committee work.

Other issues related to the effectiveness of faculty and professional staff members are discussed during monthly meetings of MACER, the Management Association Committee on Employee Relations. This group was established as part of the Day Contract and is made up of representatives of the college administration and the members of the BCC Chapter of the MCCC Union. Full-time and part-time faculty are evaluated according to the Day and DCE Contracts. The Office of Academic Affairs has made it a priority to evaluate all adjunct faculty members during their initial three years. The LCTL is now working with divisional deans to provide individualized follow up with part-time or full-time faculty who receive less than good evaluations. Finally, as part of their research, the Joint Senate/Administration Task Force on Advisement considered the effectiveness of full-time faculty in their role as advisors. As requested, more professional development for faculty and staff advisors will be forthcoming.

Standard 5: Faculty | 52