CORE REQUIREMENT CR 8:

The number of full-time faculty members is adequate to support the mission of the institution. The institution has adequate faculty resources 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.

Collin County Community College District (CCCCD) employs approximately 200 full-time faculty and 550 part-time faculty, with approximately 47% of all contact hours being taught by full-time faculty members (References 1, 2). The District strives to maintain a 50/50 ratio of full-time to part-time faculty contact hours. This ratio has proved adequate for maintaining academic quality and consistency. The Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory is administered to students each year (Reference 3). Students have expressed satisfaction with faculty in this report.

During Fall 2003, CCCCD had an average class size of 22 students. Many workforce education class sections are consistently smaller than 22 students, and only a few transfer disciplines offer courses that routinely average more than 35 students per class. Some examples of these disciplines are History, Government, and Biology. CCCCD administrators have determined that the District’s ability to offer small classes also demonstrates the current number of qualified full-time and part-time faculty to be adequate.

The current ratio of full-time to part-time faculty has proved to be an adequate balance between the stability offered by full-time faculty and the valuable professional expertise that part-time faculty provide. The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area has nine universities from which the District recruits part-time faculty and a local workforce dense with technology-industry personnel. This local population and workforce provide a rich environment for the continued recruitment of adequately prepared part-time faculty, from not only the metropolitan area, but also the surrounding counties.

Each fall, the Institutional Research Office gathers data which the academic deans use to recommend the employment of new full-time faculty. A thorough analysis of data, such as full-time/part-time ratios, numbers of students, contact hours, and anecdotal information pertinent to the academic department, is presented to request new full-time faculty the following fall. The decision to finalize the anticipated positions requested by the deans for the following fall is made by the Vice President of Academic Affairs, Executive Vice President, Vice President of Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer, Associate Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness and Human Resources, and the President. Announcements and advertisements are made by February for the following academic year. The College has added 47 full-time faculty positions during the last five years: 14 in 1999-2000, 7 in 2000-2001, 4 in 2001-2002, 10 in 2002-2003, and 12 in 2003-2004. Twenty-two additional faculty positions have been advertised for Fall 2004.

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