By Alethia Meloncon

By Alethia Meloncon

Hiring practices for part-time faculty at Riverside Community College are currently under review. The proposal, being reviewed by the Academic Senate, is called Resolution 1004.

“[The resolution] is a way of making sure that the current hiring practices are followed,” Department Chair Diana McDougal said. According to a member of the Board of Trustees, the hiring policies of RCCD are not complete enough.

In spite of the lack of current hiring policy in place for part time faculty, the Academic Senate Committee is now drafting recommendations to the District Administration that will soon go on to the Board of Trustees.

This policy will specifically state that all part-time faculty must be interviewed by two full-time faculty, one of whom must be a disciplined expert in the subject that the adjunct will be hired to teach. This will guarantee that all part time faculty meet the qualifications for their discipline.

The current informal practice does not make it mandatory that one of the full time faculty must be disciplined in the subject that the adjunct will be hired to instruct. The resolution’s purpose is to streamline all areas of learning in a specific department so that the hiring process is consisent. Students would then be able to have a smooth transition in each class.

Another informal practice was stated by Richard Mahon, president of the Academic Senate Committee “that it is fairly common practice now for part-time faculty to not be interviewed by the faculty on the campus where they would be teaching.”

With the open hiring guidelines, there is much room for interpretation by each interviewer. The new policies will be very narrow and clear.

In order for this resolution to get to the Board of Trustees it must first be voted on and passed by all three college Senates before it goes to District Administration. This may take a lot more time for the hiring policy to change at RCCD. The policy could take anywhere from months to years depending on how the District Administration responds to the Senate issue.

“Items of resolution often get stalled or thrown out when the District Administration disapproves of the Senate’s view. Few items that the District Administration disproves of ever make it to the Board of Trustees. If the administration decides to, it could pass the item to the Board of Trustees by putting it on the Board meeting agenda.” Kathryn Brooks, Vice President of the Academic Senate said.

Currently the resolution has only had one reading and has been [tabled] until Nov. 6 for a second reading,” Student Senator Diana Solórzano said. She continued by saying that “the reason being is that the wording needs additional review.”