The subject of Spring 2021 semester schedule “right-sizing,”
enrollment projections, and canceling or blinding Spring sections, has
understandably concerned many faculty in recent weeks.
What We Have Learned from Our
Students
Provost Shawnda Floyd’s Nov.11 Faculty Update message and Nov. 17 Faculty Update message both explained that Fall 2020 enrollment had fallen
significantly. This information built upon what Chancellor May and Vice
Chancellor of Student Success Beatriz Joseph shared with the Board of Trustees
Education Workforce Committee on Nov. 10 regarding enrollment patterns and what had been learned from both students who were continuing
their studies, as well as those who chose to pause their studies.
In brief, the communities (identified by zip codes) where
Dallas College saw the largest enrollment declines, were the same communities
with the highest rates and concentrations of poverty, the highest rates of
COVID infection, and the highest rates of individuals employed in the service
sectors hardest hit by COVID. Moreover, these same communities have the highest
concentrations of students who require developmental studies (DMAT and DIRW) and ESOL, and the lowest
penetration of access to technology hardware (personal computers, tablets,
etc.) and reliable high-speed internet access that are required successfully to
complete online courses. Consequently, many of these students reported that
they could not learn, or did not believe they could lean, unless they could do
so in a face-to-face classroom environment.
Consequently, while enrollment overall has declined – a trend that has affected almost all community colleges throughout the United States (subscription required to read the linked article) –
Dallas College has seen the sharpest enrollment declines in Developmental
studies, specifically Developmental English, Developmental Math, and ESOL.
Right-Sizing the Spring 2021
Schedule
As a result, the disciplines and faculty most affected by
the effort to “right-size” the Spring 2021 schedule, are English/Developmental
English, Math/Developmental Math, and ESOL.
Based on enrollment projections developed by the new Office
of Schedule Management, numerous sections of courses already built into the
Spring 2021 schedule have been “blinded” or “suppressed.” Location-based discipline
and program coordinators and deans in the past have used this very tactic to
drive enrollment into the remaining open sections until they fill, and then the
blinded/suppressed sections are opened in small batches. This tactic has been
shown to ensure that fewer sections will have to be canceled due to low
enrollment just days or hours before the semester begins.
The Faculty Council shared its concerns with how this
information and decisions have been communicated broadly, when it met with the
Vice Provosts and Nicole Mabine, Director of Academic Scheduling, on Tuesday,
November 17. During this meeting, the Faculty Council also argued for full-time
faculty to be prioritized in all scheduling decisions. Specifically, the
Faculty Council argues that the order of priority should be:
·
Full-time faculty to make contractual load
·
Full-time faculty for up to the maximum extra
service, distributed equitably across all faculty in the discipline/program who
desire extra service across all campuses
·
High-performing adjunct faculty
Director Mabine shared that she agreed with the
prioritization of full-time faculty, but acknowledged that the vice provosts
and deans in the seven Schools were empowered to make decisions about which
faculty would teach given sections. The vice provosts said they agreed with
prioritizing full-time faculty for load, but some vice provosts said they
preferred to balance full-time faculty extra service with high-performing
adjuncts. Some vice provosts said that it was exceedingly difficult to find and
retain high-performing adjuncts in many of the disciplines and programs in
their schools. The Faculty Council replied that if we truly want to retain the
high-performing adjuncts, that we should find ways to hire them as full-time
faculty.
Faculty Ideas to Improve Enrollment
and Engagement
Given that enrollment and engagement are something for which
we all take responsibility, the Faculty Council also conducted a survey of
Dallas College Faculty, to collect ideas for how to address student concerns
and reverse the enrollment decline through meeting student needs and engaging
them in the remote learning environment. The results of that survey have been posted to SharePoint and are available for allfaculty to review at this link. These results – which include all ideas
directly submitted by 249 faculty respondents through the survey – also have
been shared with Provost Floyd today, Thursday, Nov. 19. The Faculty Council
thanks all the faculty who participated and contributed their ideas via the
survey.
Proposed Resolutions, Proposed Amendments to the DCCFA Bylaws, and Proposed Amendments to the DCCFA Constitution 2020-2021