BILL REQ. #:  H-0881.2 

Read first time 01/31/2007.   Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

     AN ACT Relating to employment opportunities at institutions of higher education; adding a new section to chapter 28B.52 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 41.76 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 28B.52 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) It is the purpose of this section to address growing concerns about the academic staffing crisis in higher education. Staffing issues, including the economic exploitation of adjunct faculty along with the shrinking ranks of full-time tenured faculty, limit the ability of the state system of higher education to provide high quality education, improve retention rates, conduct research, and provide support for economic development.
     (2)(a) It is the goal of this section to have at least seventy-five percent of the full-time equivalent faculty positions be held by full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty in each department that has at least eight full-time equivalent faculty appointments, as defined in RCW 28B.50.851, on each campus of each institution of higher education.
     (b) It is further the goal of this section to have salaries in institutions of higher education that will attract and retain the best faculty possible to educate the citizens of Washington state. To achieve this goal, salaries for full-time faculty should be increased above a regular cost-of-living increase until by 2013 salaries are in the sixtieth percentile for faculty of comparable rank in global challenge states. In addition, to achieve this goal, each institution of higher education should determine a salary standard for adjunct faculty members employed in each academic, technical, basic studies, or other department that, subject to collective bargaining with the exclusive representatives of faculty, constitutes a pro rata salary compared to the salaries of full-time tenured faculty members of comparable qualifications doing comparable work.
     (3) In 2008, each institution of higher education shall determine the number of full-time equivalent faculty appointments held by part-time, nontenured, tenure-track, and tenured faculty in each academic department.
     (4)(a) Each institution of higher education shall create a plan to meet the goal in subsection (2)(a) of this section, subject to collective bargaining with the exclusive representatives of the faculty. In its plan, the institution shall state how it intends to meet its goal not by eliminating positions for current employees but by creating new full-time tenure-track appointments, by creating opportunities for adjunct faculty to attain full-time positions, and by converting work done by adjuncts to the greatest extent possible.
     (b) Those departments with at least eight full-time equivalent faculty appointments that do not meet the seventy-five percent goal in subsection (2)(a) of this section shall, subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, beginning in September 2008, and in each succeeding year, plan to increase the share of positions held by full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty so that by 2013 the legislature's goal of seventy-five percent is met.
     (5) Each biennium, the governing boards of each institution of higher education shall submit in their biennial budget request an amount of funds sufficient to cover the projected costs of implementing this section.
     (6) Beginning in September 2008, subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, each institution of higher education shall plan to increase faculty salaries by a sufficient amount to raise the salaries to comparative global challenge states' rates and to close the pro rata gap between adjunct faculty salary and full-time faculty in each department, if a gap exists, so that by September 2013, the legislature's goal is met.
     (7)(a) Each institution of higher education shall establish a process, subject to collective bargaining, under which adjunct faculty, after successful completion of a probationary period, receive timely notice of and priority consideration, consistent with other institutional and state policies, for adjunct teaching assignments in coming academic terms. The priority consideration shall include either rights of first refusal for eligible classes or a continuing contract with due process rights.
     (b) Each institution of higher education shall create, subject to collective bargaining, a process for ensuring that qualified internal applicants receive priority consideration for attaining a tenure-track position when one becomes available.
     (c) The processes in this subsection shall be consistent with institutional and state affirmative action and other personnel policies and shall ensure that nontenure-track faculty: (i) Accumulate seniority; (ii) are notified of job openings before the job is posted outside of the institution of higher education; and (iii) have priority consideration for appointments.
     (8) Each institution of higher education shall establish a faculty restoration and equity account.
     (a) Subject to amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, moneys in the account shall be used to advance one-fifth of the way toward meeting the five-year goal of increasing the number of undergraduate courses taught by tenure and tenure-track faculty members to seventy-five percent in each department; and
     (b) Subject to amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, moneys in the account shall be used to advance one-fifth of the way toward meeting the five-year goal of ensuring that full-time faculty receive wages in the sixtieth percentile of global challenge states and adjunct faculty receive fully comparable pay to full-time tenure and tenure-track faculty.
     (9) This section shall not be construed to either limit or reduce salaries, benefits, or hiring rights in existence at an institution of higher education on the effective date of this section or subsequently established.
     (10) As used in this section, "institution of higher education" has the same meaning as in RCW 28B.10.016.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 41.76 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) It is the purpose of this section to address growing concerns about the academic staffing crisis in higher education. Staffing issues, including the economic exploitation of adjunct faculty along with the shrinking ranks of full-time tenured faculty, limit the ability of the state system of higher education to provide high quality education, improve retention rates, conduct research, and provide support for economic development.
     (2)(a) It is the goal of this section to have at least seventy-five percent of the full-time equivalent faculty positions be held by full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty in each department that has at least eight full-time equivalent faculty positions with teaching responsibilities, on each campus of each institution of higher education.
     (b) It is further the goal of this section to have salaries in institutions of higher education that will attract and retain the best faculty possible to educate the citizens of Washington state. To achieve this goal, salaries for full-time faculty should be increased above a regular cost-of-living increase until by 2013 salaries are in the sixtieth percentile for faculty of comparable rank in global challenge states. In addition, to achieve this goal, each institution of higher education should determine a salary standard for adjunct faculty members employed in each academic, technical, basic studies, or other department that constitutes a pro rata salary compared to the salaries of full-time tenured faculty members of comparable qualifications doing comparable work. The salary standard shall be subject to collective bargaining with the exclusive representatives of the faculty, when such representation exists.
     (3) In 2008, each institution of higher education shall determine the number of full-time equivalent faculty positions held by part-time, nontenured, tenure-track, and tenured faculty with teaching responsibilities in each academic department.
     (4)(a) Each institution of higher education shall create a plan to meet the goal in subsection (2)(a) of this section, subject to collective bargaining with the exclusive representatives of the faculty, when such representation exists. In its plan, the institution shall state how it intends to meet its goal not by eliminating positions for current employees but by creating new full-time tenure-track positions, by creating opportunities for adjunct faculty to attain full-time positions, and by converting work done by adjuncts to the greatest extent possible.
     (b) Those departments with at least eight full-time equivalent faculty positions with teaching responsibilities that do not meet the seventy-five percent goal in subsection (2)(a) of this section shall, subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, beginning in September 2008, and in each succeeding year, plan to increase the share of positions held by full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty so that by 2013 the legislature's goal of seventy-five percent is met.
     (5) Each biennium, the governing boards of each institution of higher education shall submit in their biennial budget request an amount of funds sufficient to cover the projected costs of implementing this section.
     (6) Beginning in September 2008, subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, each institution of higher education shall plan to increase faculty salaries by a sufficient amount to raise the salaries to comparative global challenge states' rates and to close the pro rata gap between adjunct faculty salary and full-time faculty in each department, if a gap exists, so that by September 2013, the legislature's goal is met.
     (7)(a) Each institution of higher education shall establish a process, subject to collective bargaining when exclusive representation exists, under which adjunct faculty, after successful completion of a probationary period, receive timely notice of and priority consideration, consistent with other institutional and state policies, for adjunct teaching assignments in coming academic terms. The priority consideration shall include either rights of first refusal for eligible classes or a continuing contract with due process rights.
     (b) Each institution of higher education shall create, subject to collective bargaining when exclusive representation exists, a process for ensuring that qualified internal applicants receive priority consideration for attaining a tenure-track position when one becomes available.
     (c) The processes in this subsection shall be consistent with institutional and state affirmative action and other personnel policies and shall ensure that nontenure-track faculty: (i) Accumulate seniority; (ii) are notified of job openings before the job is posted outside of the institution of higher education; and (iii) have priority consideration for appointments.
     (8) Each institution of higher education shall establish a faculty restoration and equity account.
     (a) Subject to the availability of amounts specifically appropriated for this purpose, moneys in the account shall be used to advance one-fifth of the way toward meeting the five-year goal of increasing the number of undergraduate courses taught by tenure and tenure-track faculty members to seventy-five percent in each department; and
     (b) Subject to the availability of amounts specifically appropriated for this purpose, moneys in the account shall be used to advance one-fifth of the way toward meeting the five-year goal of ensuring that full-time faculty receive wages in the sixtieth percentile of global challenge states and adjunct faculty receive fully comparable pay to full-time tenure and tenure-track faculty.
     (9) This section shall not be construed to either limit or reduce salaries, benefits, or hiring rights in existence at an institution of higher education on the effective date of this section or subsequently established.
     (10) As used in this section, "institution of higher education" has the same meaning as in RCW 28B.10.016.