HOUSE BILL REPORT
HB 2089
As Reported by House Committee On:
Higher Education
Title: An act relating to part‑time faculty at community and technical colleges.
Brief Description: Implementing provisions for part‑time faculty at community and technical colleges.
Sponsors: Representatives Kenney, Cox, Gombosky, Skinner, Keiser, Fromhold, Jarrett, Quall, Campbell, Conway, Santos, Hurst and Schual‑Berke.
Brief History:
Committee Activity:
Higher Education: 2/19/01, 2/23/01 [DPS].
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Brief Summary of Substitute Bill
$Implements proportional pay over a period of 10 years and requires the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges to submit annual reports on part-time faculty numbers.
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HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 8 members: Representatives Cox, Republican Co‑Chair; Kenney, Democratic Co‑Chair; Gombosky, Democratic Vice Chair; Jarrett, Republican Vice Chair; Dunn, Fromhold, Lantz and Skinner.
Staff: Marsha Reilly (786‑7135).
Background:
Part-time faculty represent 42 percent of state-funded full-time-equivalent faculty positions in the state community and technical colleges. The community and technical colleges rely on part-time faculty for flexibility in responding to changes in enrollment and program needs, to offer expertise by current practitioners, and to increase student access by helping to keep costs down.
Traditionally, part-time faculty have been paid less than full-time faculty, even when comparing salaries based exclusively on teaching duties. The 1996 Legislature passed SB 6583 directing the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) to convene a task force to conduct a best practices audit of compensation packages and conditions of employment for part-time faculty. The Best Practices Task Force reported to the Legislature in January 1997. Part II of this report contained a synopsis of discussions and recommendations addressing faculty salary disparities between part-time and full-time faculty. The SBCTC endorsed the best practices principles and salary recommendations identified in the report. In doing so, they agreed to include budget requests of $15.8 million each biennium to bring part-time faculty salaries up to 76 percent of full-time salaries.
A budget proviso in 1997 directed the SBCTC to "address part-time faculty salary disparities and to increase the ratio of full-time to part-time faculty instructors. . ." The sum of $2.9 million was appropriated for this purpose. In addition to cost of living allowances, a 1 percent increase was authorized for FY98 and an additional 2 percent was authorized for FY99.
In the 1999-01 biennium, the Legislature provided $10 million for increases to part-time faculty with a proviso that colleges must provide a local match. The SBCTC set the minimum local match at 40 percent and each district determined their local match through the collective bargaining process. As a result, part-time faculty salaries increased by 22.2 percent bringing the ratio of part-time salaries up to 56 percent of full-time salaries, 20 percent below the recommended level in the Best Practices Audit.
Summary of Substitute Bill:
Part-time faculty shall receive proportional pay based upon proportional duties. Proportional duties will be determined locally through the decision-making process. Proportional pay will be distributed on a yearly, incremental basis until 2010 or until proportional pay has been achieved.
The community and technical colleges shall increase the number of full-time positions based on the current workloads of their respective part-time faculty.
The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) are required to submit yearly reports containing the following information:
The number of part-time faculty who teach five credits or less on a continuing basis; the number of part-time faculty who teach five to 10 credits on a continuing basis; and the number of part-time faculty who teach more than 10 credits on a continuing basis. The number of part-time faculty in each of the groups above who teach at more than one community or technical college during an academic year and on a continuing year-to-year basis. The number of faculty who teach more than 10 credits for two consecutive quarters that are denied teaching contracts in a third quarter to avoid tenure.
Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:
The substitute bill adds the requirement that part-time faculty receive proportional pay based on proportional duties, and that proportional duties are determined at the local level through the decision-making process. It deletes the requirement to notify part-time faculty of tenure-track openings, and it adds a requirement that the SBCTC report part-time faculty numbers to the Legislature on a yearly basis.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on February 14, 2001.
Effective Date of Substitute Bill: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
Testimony For: Part-time faculty are entitled to receive equal pay for equal work. Because the numbers of full-time faculty are low in comparison to part-time faculty, there are not enough full-time faculty to cover duties such as advising or curriculum planning and development. As a result, part-time faculty have covered many of these duties with no additional compensation. There is a need for more full-time faculty.
(With reservations) Proportional pay based on a calculation of the part-time academic workload to the full-time academic workload based on in-class teaching hours would result in higher pay for part-time faculty than full-time faculty. Full-time faculty salary is based on in-class teaching and a variety of other duties. There needs to be clarification on the meaning of proportional pay distributed in equal amounts on a yearly basis until 2010.
Testimony Against: None.
Testified: (In support) Representative Kenney, prime sponsor; Susan Levy, Washington Federation of Teachers; Ruth Windhover and Karin Hilgersom, Washington Education Association; Michelle Johnson, Pierce College; Dick Burton and Lynne Dodson, Seattle Community College Federation of Teachers; and Sibyl James, Washington Federation of Teachers and Washington Education Association.
(In support with reservations) Dana Rush, Washington Part-time Faculty Association and Green River Community College