Action by the McHenry County College Board of Trustees Thursday evening is expected to provide many benefits for adjunct faculty and foremost for the students.
A new four-year contract between the Adjunct Faculty Association and the MCC Board of Trustees, includes a salary increase, which will help MCC become a more competitive employer for adjunct faculty, enabling the College to retain valuable employees and not lose them to other community colleges in the area.
Right now, the average salary per three-credit course paid to adjuncts is well below the average paid at other community colleges within the geographic area. This is indicated by information provided from the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) for Elgin Community College, Harper College, College of Lake County, and Rock Valley College.
The average salary for a three-credit hour course at these colleges is currently reported as $2,505 – while average pay at MCC is only $1,707 per course.
In order to remedy this situation, the new contract provides for a salary increase (spread over the four years of the contract) that makes average pay at MCC competitive with these nearby colleges. The salary increase will have a total financial impact in FY 2012 of approximately $390,000 – only 1% of the College’s Educational Fund budget. Yet the improved retention of adjunct faculty initiated by these salary adjustments will lead to more continuity for MCC students and a better opportunity for students to get the faculty support they need. Longer retention of well-qualified and experienced adjuncts will also help better integrate their educational efforts with those of the full-time faculty.
In addition to the salary increase, greater professional development opportunities will be available to adjunct faculty, a more effective formal evaluation process will be put in place, and adjuncts will have more flexibility on how many hours they can teach each year. These and other amendments to the current contract will significantly enhance and strengthen MCC’s focus on excellence in teaching and learning.
Peter Ponzio, Vice-President of the Adjunct Faculty Association, stated, “We are pleased with the outcome of our negotiations and feel that we have a new contract which will benefit adjunct faculty and the College, and ultimately the students at MCC. The process has been lengthy, extensive, and challenging at times, so we appreciate everyone’s patience, and want to thank our members for the assistance they have provided to the negotiating team. We also thank the Board of Trustees and the administration for their diligence and cooperation in reaching this agreement.”
No comments:
Post a Comment