Class Assignment process
Prioritization of offers
When scheduling for a term, as per the faculty contract, full-time faculty will choose their contract and overload assignments first (section 20.11.1). Once these choices have been made, the department chair will make offers of scheduled sections to part-time faculty.
The chair will request availability (days and times) from part-time faculty prior to beginning making offers. Responses coming back within three business days will be considered. Other responses may be considered at the chair’s discretion.
As per the faculty contract, assignments will be first offered according to the part-time prioritization list determined by Human Resources. The process of creating the prioritization numbers is detailed in section 20.10 of the Contract (linked below). Part-time faculty who have been teaching at the college for more than a few semesters are given a priority number according to rules determined by the contract and implemented by Human Resources. The process works as follows:
- When a section is available in a particular class, the chair will consult the prioritization list. Among faculty qualified to teach that course (see below), a section will be offered to the qualified part-time faculty member highest on the prioritization list. If many sections are available, multiple offers may be made at the same time.
- Whenever possible, sections will be offered which are compatible with the part-time faculty member’s schedule, based primarily off of their reported availability and schedule in previous terms. However, this cannot be guaranteed.
- If a part-time faculty member declines an offer, the chair may, at their discretion, offer other choices of sections to the part-time faculty member; however, this cannot be guaranteed.
- If a part-time faculty member declines an offer or does not respond within three business days, that faculty member will no longer be considered to have priority for section assignments for that semester.
- All offers are to be considered tentative and subject to change due to changes in the number of sections which the department can offer, mistakes made in scheduling, or other factors, but the department will make a good-faith effort to honor tentative offers.
Qualifications to teach a class
Part-time faculty will be considered to be qualified to teach a class if:
- They have taught that class at Palomar College within the previous five calendar years
- They have taught an equivalent course at another college within the previous five calendar years
- Note that the chair may request and consider student evaluations from the other college when determining whether a faculty member qualifies under this provision
- They have taught a course at Palomar College which covers substantially similar material to the course in question (“cross-qualifying”)
- A list of “cross-qualifying courses” is determined by the full-time faculty and is available below
- All faculty are considered qualified to teach BIOL 100, 101, or 101L if they meet minimum qualifications to teach in the department.
In the event of a dispute regarding whether a part-time faculty member is qualified to teach a class, the department chair will have final determination.
Links to relevant documents:
Relevant sections of the contract
- 20.10 defines process of prioritization number creation
- 20.10.2 describes how the prioritization is implemented
- 20.11 describes the process by which full-time faculty select their assignments.
- 20.11.1 includes the specification that full-time faculty select their assignments and overload before part-time assignments are made.