BILL REQ. #:  H-5206.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/04/08.   

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

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   It is the intent of the legislature to provide faculty and college excellence for Washington citizens by increasing the number of full-time, tenured academic employee positions at community and technical colleges and by enabling academic employees who hold part-time positions to have greater assurance of continuing employment. Promoting faculty and college excellence will result in better educational opportunities for our students, our communities, and our economy.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28B.52 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) It is the goal of the legislature that by 2014 the community and technical colleges increase the numbers of full-time tenured positions on their campuses by adding three hundred fifty full-time academic employee positions.
     (2) By December 1, 2008, each community and technical college, in close collaboration with the exclusive bargaining representative for faculty, shall determine the number of full-time academic employees it plans to create each year through 2014 and shall report its findings to the state board for community and technical colleges, its board of trustees, and the exclusive representatives of the faculty.
     (3)(a) Those community and technical colleges that determine a need to increase the percentage of courses taught by tenured or tenure-track academic employees shall create a plan by the end of summer quarter 2009 to meet the goals in the plan by 2014, subject to collective bargaining with the exclusive representatives of the faculty. In its plan, the college shall state how it intends to meet its goal by, but not limited to, creating new full-time tenure-track appointments, creating opportunities for adjunct faculty to attain full-time positions or by converting classes or assignments left vacant by attrition, but not by discharging currently employed part-time or nontenure-track faculty who have taught in the college for more than two years. Special attention should be paid to increasing the number of full-time faculty in departments of mathematics, science, adult basic education, early childhood education, and English. The plan shall also include projected costs to reach the goal.
     (b) Each biennium, the governing boards of each community and technical college shall submit in its biennial budget request an amount of funds sufficient to cover the projected costs of implementing this section.
     (c) The state board for community and technical colleges shall review the submitted plans and work with the college districts to ensure consistency with the legislature's goal.
     (d) The state board for community and technical colleges shall report to the higher education committees of the legislature, by December 1, 2008, and every two years thereafter until December 1, 2014, regarding the board's progress in increasing the percentage of full-time, tenure or tenure-track academic employees.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28B.52 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) It is the goal of the legislature that part-time and nontenured faculty in community and technical colleges receive consideration for continuing employment and for new tenure-track positions.
     (2) Each community and technical college shall establish a process, subject to collective bargaining, under which part-time and full-time nontenured faculty members, after successful completion of an evaluation period, receive timely notice of and priority consideration, consistent with other institutional and state policies, for academic employment assignments for which they are qualified in their discipline in coming academic terms.
     (3) Each community and technical college 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 such as, but not limited to, a job interview for positions where minimum requirements have been met or notification of job openings before they are posted outside of the institution.
     (4) The processes in this section shall be consistent with
institutional and state affirmative action and other personnel policies.