Part-Time Faculty Teach Half of College Courses

The county’s community college students are taught fewer hours by full-time faculty than students in most other districts in California, figures from the state chancellor’s office show.

According to the findings, part-time and full-time faculty members at each of the county’s three community college campuses split about 50% of the instruction time, whereas statewide, full-time faculty members, on average, teach 62% of the instructional load.

The data raise questions about the quality of education at the county’s colleges, say members of the faculty union, because most part-time instructors are forced to hold down several teaching jobs to make ends meet, and consequently have limited loyalty to any one college campus.

And although part-time faculty members are generally as educated and competent as their full-time counterparts, such instructors earn about half of the $60,000 average annual salary of a full-time faculty member.

Part-time instructors in the Ventura County Community College District make an average of $40 an hour without benefits, and are paid only for the time they teach, union members said. They receive no additional pay for class preparation or office hours, so very few offer advice or counseling to students outside of class time.

“Having access to teachers through office hours is an integral part of the higher education experience,” said Ruth Hunt, executive director of this region’s California Federation of Teachers. “Two students could be taking the same history course, one taught by a full-time teacher, the other by a part-time. But even though they are paying the same amount of money, only one student will have access to direction and help outside of class. And that’s a travesty.”