DCCFA Attorney Advises Faculty that They Can Sign Their Contracts

As detailed in the Advance Blog post of Monday, May 14, the DCCFA Faculty Council asked long-time DCCFA legal representative Frank Hill to review the revised language recently introduced to the DCCCD faculty contract.

The Council is pleased to report that Mr. Hill has reviewed the language, and late Wednesday, May 16, told us he has no concerns with the language, and that we need not worry about signing our contracts. Specifically, Mr. Hill said it is most important and significant that the revised contract language does not diminish our rights to due process.

The Council looks forward to engaging and productive dialogue with the new Chief Human Resources Officer, and other senior District Officials, to ensure that future contract and policy language revisions are the result of robust stakeholder input in keeping with the principles of shared governance.

Again, based on consultation with our legal defense attorney, the Council believes all faculty safely can sign their contracts if they have not already done so.

As a reminder, the Council secured an extended deadline of May 31 for faculty to sign their contracts, and the college HR offices have been directed to allow faculty to sign and return their contract electronically, or via mail or fax, if they are unable to do so in person.

If you have additional questions, please contact your college faculty association president.

Message from the DCCFA Faculty Council Regarding Faculty Contracts

Several faculty at several colleges have raised concerns both with the delayed timing, and some changes to the language, of our faculty contracts. Both issues are connected, and this message is intended to explain the situation as well as how the Faculty Council is addressing it.

First, the outgoing Chief Talent Officer, who is retiring August 31, presided over some changes in the faculty contract language. A copy of the recent template for faculty contracts is available at this link. Her efforts to change the language began recently and, given the extensive alterations and need for detailed review by District legal personnel, explain why the contracts were delayed.

Second, and of more concern, the outgoing Chief Talent Officer did not consult with stakeholders – including and most especially faculty, the Faculty Council, or the DCCFA President – before making these changes.

Third, the District HR Council discussed a communication strategy regarding the delay and timeline for making contracts available to sign, and decided that each college HR office would handle it on their own. This process is emblematic of the structural problem with human resources operations in the DCCCD. Specifically, each individual location/college is empowered to communicate HR policies in its own way, which invariably leads to confusion, inequity, questions, concerns, and wasted time. (Incidentally, equity and consistency are the reasons why the Faculty Council speaks with one voice through the DCCFA Advance Blog.)

The Faculty Council learned Wednesday, May 9, that contracts were delayed but were coming soon and would be available for faculty to sign at their colleges (but did not have any advance notice of the changes in the contract language), and that a message would be sent to faculty from their location HR office to that effect. Between Thursday, May 10, and Friday, May 11, some college HR offices sent messages to their faculty that their contracts were ready. Some colleges, on the other hand, still have not received such messages as of today, Monday, May 14. Of the messages that were sent, some had varying dates, and one message had no information other than a subject line indicating that contracts were available. Further, the HR Council deliberately decided to exclude the use of MyPortal. The Faculty Council believes this was a poor decision as it shut off a uniform and frequently accessed powerful communications channel.

DCCFA President Bill Hammerschlag received a copy of the amended contract language on Friday morning, May 11. He immediately asked members of the Council to review it with him, and provide comments. Council members – some of whom were grading, some of whom were preparing for graduation, and some of whom were traveling – did their best to review the language, and sent their questions and concerns to Bill. Based on the number of questions, the Council on Saturday, May 12, passed a motion authorizing Bill to have DCCFA legal representative Frank Hill review the contract language. Bill has now done that as of today, Monday, May 14, and is awaiting a reply. In addition, the Council has contacted District leadership. They share our concerns and we will work with them toward both short- and long-term resolutions.

In the meantime, understanding that the spring semester has ended and some faculty are already traveling, we have secured an agreement to extend the contract deadline through May 31. Options are being provided for those who cannot personally visit a college HR office before then. Because we do not yet have an opinion from our attorney, the Council is officially neutral with advice on whether or not individual faculty should sign their contracts. 

Rather, our official position right now is, “Be cool” and “Don’t panic.” This is not an emergency. It is the latest in a long line of HR issues that we are confident we will begin to resolve thanks to the new Chief Human Resources Officer, who has said she wants Faculty Council input into all HR issues that affect faculty.

This is an evolving issue that the Faculty Council continues to monitor during the transition to the new Council on June 1. Your Council operates under several long-standing DCCFA principles, including that “we are the voice of reason.” We don’t act hastily or impulsively. We think a problem through and try to solve those problems logically, rationally, and cooperatively. It has served us well for 41 years, and is why District leadership, including the chancellor, respects the Council and the DCCFA.

Meanwhile, if you have specific questions about this or other issues, you may address them to your current Faculty Association president: Bill Hammerschlag, Shaun Gilligan, Pam Crawford, Matt Hinckley, Margo Silva, Brett Dyer, or Matt Henry.

Student Progress Reporting Update

On May 1, the DCCCD Board of Trustees passed revisions to Policy EGA (LOCAL), which among other things establishes that the District "shall provide periodic course reporting" on student performance and that such progress reporting "shall be conducted in accordance with administrative regulations promulgated by the Chancellor."

The Faculty Council believes that the general policy language adopted by the Board is not overly problematic or prescriptive, and it has been working with district administration this semester to determine the specifics of the regulations for Student Progress Reporting (SPR).

Earlier this semester, informed by the information gathered from the faculty survey on SPR, the Faculty Council recommended that there be just one reporting interval and that the reporting be done between 25% and 50% of the term for all college courses (excluding Winter and May terms). The Vice Presidents Council separately recommended two reporting intervals, with reporting to be done at the 33% and 66% marks.

In recent negotiations with Executive Vice Chancellor Justin Lonon, the Faculty Council pointed out that reporting at 66% would not be helpful to students, given that the drop deadline is set at the 75% mark. We therefore reiterated the belief that our initial recommendation for SPR is best. However, in an effort to achieve compromise, but still with a focus on doing what we believe is pedagogically sound and will be most beneficial to our students, we offered the following alternative recommendations:

• For 13-16 week courses: 2 reports. First report at 30-35%; Second report at 55-60%
• For 6-12 week courses: 1 report at 35-50%
• For 1-5 week courses: No reports

The Council also continued to insist that 2018-2019 be a prototype year, in which students and faculty will be surveyed on their use of the progress reporting system, and that results be shared monthly with stakeholders to inform subsequent systemic improvements. The Council believes strongly that progress reporting is of limited value if it is not directly tied into an intrusive, proactive early alert and intervention system that can help students get the help they need, regardless of whether it is purely academic or is tied to economic and social issues like food, transportation, or housing insecurity.

Faculty should know that Chancellor May, and/or Executive Vice Chancellor Justin Lonon, will make the final determination about SPR, and that they may well decide that two progress reports must be issued each term. The Faculty Council is continuing to work diligently with them, and with other stakeholders, to ensure that progress reporting is helpful to students and promotes their academic success. To that end, the Faculty Council has recommended names of faculty to serve on the “Student Progress Reporting Implementation Team,” to be led by El Centro College VP of Instruction Greg Morris. The Implementation Team will work this summer to build the SPR system. Shaun Gilligan, CVCFA president, will be the Council liaison to the Implementation Team.

As soon as anything more specific about the plans for SPR is known, we will provide an update.

Four DCCFA College Chapters Elect New Presidents; New Faculty Council to Take Office June 1

Every two years, each DCCFA College Chapter elects its officers, including presidents. Cedar Valley, El Centro, and North Lake elect their officers in odd numbered years. Brookhaven, Eastfield, Mountain View, and Richland elect their officers in even-numbered years.

The official transition happens on June 1 of each year. Elections of DCCFA Officers and Standing Committee Chairs typically takes place immediately prior to the June DCCCD Board of Trustees meeting. That transition meeting and officer election will take place this year on Tuesday, June 5.

The Brookhaven College Faculty Association has elected Scott Sires to succeed Bill Hammershlag as BHCFA president.

The Eastfield College Faculty Association has elected Stacey Jurhree to succeed Matt Hinckley as EFCFA president.

The Mountain View College Faculty Association has elected Ryan Pettengill to succeed Margo Silva as MVCFA president.

The Richland College Faculty Association has elected Carlos Martinez to succeed Matt Henry as RLCFA president.

Continuing their service on the DCCFA Faculty Council are Shaun Gilligan from Cedar Valley, Pam Crawford from El Centro, and Brett Dyer from North Lake.

2018 BOARD OF TRUSTEES ELECTION UPDATE #7: Charletta Compton Re-Elected as District 7 Trustee

Incumbent DCCCD District 7 Trustee Charletta Rogers Compton was re-elected to office in the May 5 election.

Compton was elected to her fourth six-year term. She previously was elected to the seat in 2000, 2006, and 2012.

Compton defeated challenger Micheal Jackson by a 58-42 margin. Compton earned 3,461 votes. Jackson earned 2.544 votes. Vote totals by precinct are available at the Dallas County Elections Department web site.

The Board of Trustees is expected to elect its chair and vice chair at the June 5 regular meeting. It is unclear at this time if Compton will be re-elected by the Board as chair.