Self-Study Issues
PAGE 7 OF 10
Standard Seven
Committee Membership
Steve D. Tobias, Co-Chair, Dean of Health and Human Performance
Mayo
de la Rocha, Co-Chair, Dean of Social Sciences and Foreign Languages
Dr.
Larry Calderón, College President
Luke Drew Hall, Professor of Geography
and Geology
Dr. Lyn MacConnaire, Dean of Student Development
Angie Marquez, Executive
Assistant, Classified Senate President
Standard Seven: Faculty And Staff
The institution has sufficient qualified, full-time faculty and staff to support its educational programs and services where offered and by whatever means delivered. Consistent with its mission, the institution demonstrates its commitment to the significant educational role played by persons of diverse ethnic, social and economic backgrounds by making positive efforts to foster such diversity.
A. From 1996 Self-Study Report
1. Standard 4A: Selection
Issue:
Increase diversity in staff hiring to keep pace with changing student demographics (diversity).Discussion Summary:
We continue to make progress on this issue. Since 1996, Ventura College has hired 72 Hispanics, ten Blacks, 17 Asians, six American Indians, one Japanese, one Hawaiian, 11 Filipinos, one Vietnamese, one South American, and 12 of other/unknown ethnic status. The most progress has been made among the classified support staff where 20% of the new hires have been Hispanic, 3% Asian, and 1.5% for both Alaskan and African American. We have also made some significant progress in the part-time instructor ranks with 41 new Hispanic hires (12%) and 23 Asian hires (23%). We need to continue to focus our attention on the full-time instructor area where only eight of 22 new instructors since 1996 were from under-represented groups, including women (S7.1 Demographic Data sheet).
Issue:
Replacement of full-time faculty.Discussion Summary:
We continue to struggle to replace full-time faculty because of the instability that exists with our general fund budget. Since 1996 we have hired 21 new full-time faculty while during this same period we lost 36 full-time faculty to retirements or for other reasons. The need to rely on part-time faculty has resulted in less quality service to students, programs and services (S 7-1).
Issue:
Improve ratio of full-time to part-time faculty.
Discussion Summary:
We have been unable to make progress on this issue. Due to budgetary restraints, we have not been able to improve our ratio of full-time to part-time faculty. While there is a general understanding that using full-time instructors greatly enhances the educational experience, Ventura College continues to lose full-time faculty while backfilling with part-time faculty for fiscal reasons. When full-time replacements have been hired, they have generally occurred within core disciplines or within programs that have local, state or national staffing requirements. (e.g. Nursing)
Issue:
Replace lost positions in College Management.Discussion Summary:
We have made some progress in this area. In 1996, Ventura College moved from a three Vice President model to a two Vice President model including an Executive Vice President of Student Learning and a Vice President of College Services. The college has also developed large divisions under the supervision of fewer deans in the attempt to reduce management costs. With the ever-increasing expansion of our programs and services, the College continues to be understaffed in the management area. However, given the College’s inability to replace vital faculty positions, the need for additional managers has not been a recent priority (S 7.2 Organizational Charts).
Issue:
Lack of new staffing positions for mega divisions (Fine Arts and Language Arts, Social Sciences, and Physical Education, CJ, Health Sciences).Discussion Summary:
We have resolved this issue. We have added support positions in PE/Athletics (Gilligan), in Criminal Justice (Plisky), in Social Science (Allen), in Language Arts (Tuyor) and in Science/Multi Media (Stewart).
Issue:
Improve diversity within Management positions.Discussion Summary:
We have made good progress on this issue. Since 1996 we have hired Dean Glenn Hisayasu (Male, Asian), Assistant Dean Sandra Avalos, (Female, Hispanic), Dean Gina LaMonica (Female, White-Non Hispanic), Assistant Dean Jerry Mortensen (Male, White-Non Hispanic), Dean Mayo de la Rocha (Male, Hispanic), and Dean Joan Smith (Female, White-Non Hispanic). Both Gina LaMonica and Sandra Avalos have left the College and the management team has been reorganized.
Issue:
Initiate a program to introduce potential mentees to the Mentorship Teaching Program.Discussion Summary:
This is no longer an issue. The Mentorship Teaching Program designed and implemented by the District has not been active for six years.Issue:
AFT/VCCCD Labor Contract guarantee of an interview for part-time faculty puts added time burden on some full-time selection committees.Discussion Summary:
We have made no progress via negotiations on this issue. Part-time employees currently working in the District (discipline related) and minimally qualified, continue to be guaranteed an interview in the hiring process (S 7.3).Issue:
College and District should work together to make the hiring of under-represented groups a top priority in all staffing areas.Discussion Summary:
Some progress has been made on this issue. The College has recently appointed a new Diversity Facilitator (see Response to Recommendation Four, and Standard Two Self-Identified Issues and Progress Report.) This position has been consistently filled, and has confirmed that the hiring committees and the applicant pools were appropriately representative. Ventura College has made good progress in the non-instructional academic and classified support positions having hired many new employees from under-represented groups with particular success between Hispanic and women.Issue:
Review priority system for the replacement of retired or resigned faculty.Discussion Summary:
We have resolved this issue. The College has established a three-tiered procedure for the prioritization of new and replacement faculty hires. The Academic Senate provides the College President with an annually updated prioritized list of faculty positions. The Administrative Council (managers) also conducts an annual review and develops its prioritized list through the Executive Vice President. Both lists are taken to the President’s Cabinet where a final prioritized list is developed and approved by the Cabinet. The President’s Cabinet membership includes the Academic Senate President, the Classified Senate President, the President of the Student Association, the two College Vice Presidents, the Executive Director of the VC Foundation and the Public Information Officer for the College.
Issue:
Encourage the District to maintain progress toward the goal of 75% full-time faculty.Discussion Summary:
We have made no progress on this issue. There is no realistic commitment to the goal of 75/25 within the District. Each college has been able to address this goal as resources are made available. Ventura College has not been able to replace many of its open full-time faculty positions because of budget restraints.
2. Section 4B: Qualifications of Staff
Issue:
College will institute periodic reviews of classified job descriptions to ensure reflection of skills and knowledge of job responsibilities.Discussion Summary:
We have resolved this issue. A complete desk audit was conducted in 1998 resulting in a comprehensive review of classified support position duties and responsibilities.
Issue:
College will develop in-house training programs and career ladders for classified staff to encourage professional development.Discussion Summary:
This issue is no longer relevant. The District, not the College, has taken responsibility for such a training and career enhancement program.
3. Standard 4C: Evaluation
Issue:
Management evaluations appear to be less formal and time consuming and do not include faculty or staff input.Discussion Summary:
We are currently addressing this issue. For the past year, the College Management Association and the District Chancellor have been developing a new tool for management evaluations that will more clearly define the process and could include input from non-management employees.Issue:
Number and quality of evaluation forms needs to be addressed.Discussion Summary:
We are still working on this issue. The College and the District have on several occasions worked with faculty leaders as a task force to redesign the forms used to evaluate faculty. The end result was new forms that were completely rejected by the AFT. Because the evaluation forms are part of the current labor agreement, they can only be changed with AFT approval. The evaluation forms used to evaluate classified support staff have been reviewed and revised as needed. Management evaluation within the District is being revised by the College Management Association and the District Chancellor’s office and should be adopted in the very near future (S 7.4).
4. Standard 4E: Other Personnel Policies
Issue:
College will develop a plan to ensure that all staff are aware of their rights and responsibilities as employees on campus.Discussion Summary:
This issue has been partially resolved. The District has developed a comprehensive orientation process utilizing an employee handbook for all new classified employees. The College relies on each Division to develop and implement their own orientation process for both faculty and classified staff. A mentoring program has been established through the Staff Development Committee for all new full-time employees that further encourages organizational awareness and individual responsibility for new employees. The College’s Faculty Handbook needs to be updated on a regular basis.Issue:
Need to replace retirees among faculty, classified and managers.
Discussion Summary:
The College has not been able to adequately address this issue. Due to severe budget restraints, the College has not been able to replace retirees except in a few vital areas of operation. The College anticipates that their inability to replace staff will not improve until the allocation model is modified and state fiscal resources increase.
B. From the 1998 Midterm Report
1. Standard 7: Faculty and Staff
Issue:Fill Vice Chancellor of Human Resources position upon whose office a systematic review of hiring processes would depend.
Discussion Summary:
We have resolved this issue. See Response to Recommendation Four.
Issue:
Complete a review of “Adult Hourly” positions in order to replace them with temporary part-time, seasonal, and provisional employees.Discussion Summary:
We have resolved this issue. All “adult hourly” positions have been eliminated and replaced by regular classified positions (S 7.5).
Issue:
Ventura College will complete and implement new processes and criteria for prioritizing positions in all areas of personnel needs, and will have established operational “preference” list for hiring and assigning part-time faculty.Discussion Summary:
We have resolved this issue. The portion of this issue related to the prioritization of personnel needs was addressed in the 1996 Self Study and referenced earlier in this document. The establishment of a “preference” list as it relates to the assignment of part-time faculty has been developed and is updated on an annual basis. The preference list for assignment of part-time faculty resulted from Article 5.4C of the AFT/VCCCD labor agreement (S 7.6).
Issue:
More African American and Latinos are needed.Discussion Summary:
This is no longer an issue. With the passage of Proposition 209, affirmative action goals have been de-emphasized. The College, however, continues to be committed to the selection of a diverse workforce that is representative of the changing diversity of our student population.
Issue:
Modification of past policies in light of regulatory change and legal opinions resulting from passage of Proposition 209.Discussion Summary:
This issue has been resolved. This is a District issue that has been addressed and has resulted in modification of District policy with regards to affirmative action.
C. 2002 Report
1. Standard 7: Faculty and Staff
Issue:
Vice Chancellor of Human Resources needs to be filled again.Discussion Summary
This issue has been resolved. See Response to Recommendation Four, Staffing.
Standard Seven List of Documents
| S 7.1 | Demographic Data Chart |
| S 7.2 | Organizational Charts |
| S 7.3 | Non-Contract Guarantee of Interview |
| S 7.4 | Evaluation Forms |
| S 7.5 | Hiring Options |
| S 7.6 | Non-Contract Assignment Procedures |
Ventura College, 4667 Telegraph Road, Ventura, CA 93003 (805) 654-6400