Campus President’s Report: SCC

 

By: Annette Barfield, SCC Campus President

At Sacramento City College, we wanted to address some issues that had been hanging around for a long time, but that continued to require some clarification. With the help of Robert Perrone, we responded to these issues in a general email to all faculty at SCC.

Office Hours on Non-teaching Days

On those days when you do not have classes scheduled, you do not need to hold an office hour (4.7.2.2). The dean cannot compel you to come to campus just to hold an office hour. For example, if you have a four-day teaching schedule, the dean cannot assign you an office hour on the fifth day.

Five-day Work Week and Exceptions

If you have been given a schedule in which your classes meet for fewer than five days per week, you do not have to come to campus on days when your classes do not meet, you do not have any college service activities scheduled, and you do not have other meetings scheduled (4.7.4).

The Question of Departments Assigning Textbooks

Faculty have the freedom to determine which textbooks will be used in their classes. They have the freedom to determine how course materials are presented. And,  they have the right to determine a fair and equitable grading policy in accordance with the approved course outline. An example of this is the issue of how faculty address student plagiarism. As long as you are clear in your syllabus what penalty will be assessed and provide examples of plagiarism, you are acting within your rights. (17.2).

Peer Review Process

Peer review team members who have questions about the process may speak with a Union representative about those questions without fear of having violated confidentiality.

 

Our Colleagues Respond

The reaction to our email was very positive. Many of those who responded had follow-up questions.  We answered those questions with this message to all SCC faculty:

Going on the assumption that for everyone who asks a question, there are several people with the same question, but who didn’t ask, here are responses to questions sent to us in response to our email last week. We have edited the questions for clarity.

Question: What is the rule on office hours in those instances when the faculty member has a teaching schedule that has face-to-face classes only on two or three days in a week?

AB: Assuming that you teach at least two online classes, you are allowed two online office hours, to be held wherever you choose. The other three hours must be held on campus on the days when you have face-to-face classes. In the above example, if you have face-to-face classes on only two days each week, you must hold three office hours during those two days; an hour-and-a-half each day or any other denomination you choose that is longer than 25 minutes.

Question: I was wondering about teaching online classes, do we still have to have five office hours a week, or can we have online office hours?

AB: You are allowed one online office hour for every .20 FTE class you teach, to a maximum of two online office hours. You must hold the other three office hours on campus.

Question: We do not need to hold an office hour on a non-teaching day but we still need to hold the same number of office hours during the week, correct?

AB: Correct!

Question: I am hearing different things about our ability to re-schedule an individual office hour rather than cancel it (and use leave time) when we cannot meet it. What is the policy on this?

AB: As of this date, there is no re-scheduling of office hours if you call in sick or otherwise are absent. Adjunct faculty are an exception, since they are paid separately for the office hours they hold. If you have to cancel an office hour because of a work-related responsibility, e.g. to perform college service, attend a department meeting, you can reschedule your office hour.

Question: When there is a Friday holiday does that mean I could do one less office hour that week even if it is scheduled for another day of the week?

AB: No!

Question: Has anyone else brought up the issue about finding one’s own substitute if you are ill?

AB: This is a common problem, faculty being told they must find their own subs. While you might want to provide the dean with a list of subs who can teach your class, you are not obligated to find a sub when you’re ill. Finding a sub is akin to a hiring decision. Faculty do not have the authority to hire; that is the dean’s responsibility.