Concerns Regarding Accuracy of Payroll for Milestone Increases

The Faculty Council has been made aware that milestone increases have not been accurately recorded or applied to payroll this month for some faculty members in the district. We encourage you to double-check your information as soon as possible.

As a reminder, this month:

·         All full-time faculty who were full-time employees prior to June 1, 2017, are to receive a $2,150 increase to base salary. There does not seem to be a problem with this, but please check it anyway.

·         All faculty eligible for one of the milestone increases approved in 2015 are to receive that adjustment. Please take careful note of the minimum number of years and salary ranges for eligibility in the following milestones:

o   5% adjustment to base after completion of first three one-year contracts

o   5% adjustment to base after completion of 10 years of consecutive service as a faculty member with a minimum of 5 years at Range 2 or higher

o   3% adjustment to base after completion of 15 years of consecutive service as a faculty member with a minimum of 5 years at Range 3 or higher

o   3% adjustment to base after completion of 20 years of consecutive service as a faculty member with a minimum of 10 years at Range 3 or higher

These adjustments will be made in this order: the milestone percentage is applied first (based on your salary as of 8/31/2017) and then the $2,150 is applied.

Please review your Payroll Preview information and do the calculations necessary to see if the information is correct. If you discover any errors, please inform your campus Faculty Association President and contact your campus HR director. 

Update on Faculty Evaluation System Review

The Faculty Evaluation System Review Task Force, co-chaired by MVC President Bobby Garza and CVC Faculty Member President Tommy Thompson, was formed to in the Spring of 2017 to review and update the DCCCD Faculty Evaluation System.

The initial purpose of this Task Force was noted in this previous blog post: http://dccfa.blogspot.com/2016/09/preliminary-information-on-task-forces.html

The specific charges to the Task Force and an update on its first two meetings can be found here (http://dccfa.blogspot.com/2017/04/faculty-evaluation-system-review-update.html) 

An update on a subsequent meeting is available here (http://dccfa.blogspot.com/2017/04/faculty-job-description-update.html)

The members of the Task Force agreed that little could be done by the subcommittees on Academic Forms and Contractual Forms until a new Faculty Job Description was in place, so our work concentrated on that particular task. 

The Task Force held its last meeting on May 3, 2017. At that meeting, the group reviewed and approved a final draft of the Faculty Job Description. The final draft is available for review here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5H8D6yQDi_BdWs3MVJvNU1qUVk  

Please note that proposed Job Description is still a draft at this point and pending consideration; it is in no way an official document.

A report on the work done by the Task Force and copy of the proposed draft of the Faculty Job Description was submitted by co-chairs Garza and Thomson to Susan Hall at District HR at the end of the spring semester. 

To date, we have not had a response to the report and do not know the status of the Task Force going forward. We hope to reconstitute the group to continue the important work started in the spring semester. As soon as any more information is known, it will be posted here and shared with all faculty. 

Letter to DCCCD Faculty from DCCFA President Bill Hammerschlag on our response to those displaced by Hurricane Harvey

Colleagues-

Your Faculty Association has been in close contact with the Administration as we prepare for an influx of students displaced by Hurricane Harvey. Two students from the Houston area have already joined our rosters.

We are well aware that these incoming students need to have stability in shelter, food, clothing and money before they can successfully complete schoolwork. The DCCCD is taking unprecedented steps toward helping those in need receive aid and social services as they try to put their lives back together. This aid is targeted for both short term immediate needs as well as longer term support.

Faculty can do our part as well. Should any Harvey refugees make it into your classes this semester, please consider flexibility with due dates and deadlines where appropriate. While our academic standards remain as high and firm as ever, we know that some people need a little extra time with their work while they adjust to a new life in a new place.

Thanks for your support.

On behalf of the District Faculty Council, with Regards,
Bill Hammerschlag
President, DCCFA

FLRG Report #8: Final Recommendations from the 2016-2017 Faculty Load Review Group

FLRG tri-chairs Ken Alfers, Zarina Blankenbaker, and Matt Hinckley, presented the Faculty Load Review Group (FLRG) recommendation report and supporting documentation (including the Work Group ALPHA, BRAVO, and CHARLIE recommendations) to Chancellor May, Vice Chancellor Lonon, and Chief Talent Officer Susan Hall, in May 2017. Specifically, the FLRG report recommended that lecture and lab instruction be equalized in the calculation of full-time faculty load, that class sizes be made more equitable by discipline and course across the District according to discipline committee recommendations, and that compensation for coordinator/chair duties be made more equitable across the District. Upon initial review, Dr. May agreed the recommendations, if implemented, would bring about greater equity and consistency in the calculation of full-time faculty load.

Dr. May also said he will have Boston Consulting Group review the FLRG recommendations (and the Faculty Hiring Process committee recommendations) in the context of efforts to increase faculty diversity as well as the likely need to increase the overall number of full-time faculty in the District and refine our compensation models to retain faculty. Therefore, it is likely that any final decisions to implement FLRG recommendations would take several months, depending on the time frame of the work of the Boston Consulting Group.

Both the FLRG tri-chairs, and the Faculty Council, have recommended to Dr. May that FLRG be recommissioned in 2017-2018 to help write the guideline documents to implement the recommendations (should they ultimately be accepted), and to study and recommend other ways to increase equity in overall faculty work load, particularly in non-teaching institutional service, differing telecommuting definitions and arrangements (particularly on-campus office hour and institutional service expectations for faculty who teach online for load), and professional development experiences to promote range advancement.

While we counsel continued patience as we wait for the Boston Consulting Group review to progress, we reiterate that Dr. May wants faculty and instructional leaders to avail themselves of forthcoming opportunities to engage with the Boston Consulting Group.

Previous Advance Blog posts on FLRG can be found at this link.

DCCCD Personnel - New Names and/or Roles

The DCCCD has seen a number of changes to district administrative personnel recently. To help DCCFA members better know who is currently responsible for what, we have put together the following information about key members of the DCCCD leadership team.

NOTE: A powerpoint presentation that includes the following information in addition to photographs of the personnel below is available here.

Dr. Joe May, Chancellor

Justin Lonon, Executive Vice Chancellor 
Overseeing Educational Policy & Student Advocacy as well as Workforce & Economic Development. Formerly Vice Chancellor for Public and Governmental Affairs and Chief of Staff.

Anna Mays, Associate Vice Chancellor for Educational Policy & Student Success *
Now reporting to Justin Lonon
*Continuing in an interim capacity. The Chancellor has placed on hold the search for a permanent Vice Chancellor

Susan Hall, Chief Talent Officer *
*On a 60% contract for 2017-18. Will retire effective August 31, 2018.

Mark Hays, Vice Chancellor, Workforce & Economic Development
Now reporting to Justin Lonon

Isaac Faz, Chief Legislative Council
Formerly Associate Vice Chancellor for Public and Governmental Affairs

John Robertson, Chief Financial Officer
Oversight of district budget and finances

Tim Marshall, Chief Innovation Officer
Oversight of Information Technology

Iris Freemon, Chief of Staff 
Formerly Director of Resource Development and Major Gifts at DCCCD Foundation

New DCCFA Officers for 2017-2018

The Faculty Council has a new configuration for the 2017-2018 academic year.

The Council welcomed three new members in June. They are:

Brett Dyer, North Lake
Shaun Gilligan, Cedar Valley
Pam Crawford, El Centro

At the Faculty Council meeting of June 6, 2017, the newly configured Council elected a new slate of officers. Bill Hammerschlag was elected President; Matt Hinckley was elected Vice President; Matt Henry was elected Secretary; and Brett Dyer was elected Treasurer.

The 2017-2018 DCCFA Council members (and their respective positions) are:

• Bill Hammerschlag (BHC), President and Convention Planning Committee Chair
• Matt Hinckley (EFC), Vice President and Political Information Committee Chair
• Matt Henry (RLC), Secretary and Communications Committee Chair
• Brett Dyer (NLC), Treasurer and Budget and Planning Committee Chair
• Margo Silva (MVC), Instructional Goals and Academic Freedom Committee Chair.
• Pam Crawford (ECC), Membership Committee Chair
• Shaun Gilligan (CVC), Welfare and Benefits Committee Chair