There is, at the beginning of each semester, some concern arising from the appointment of both teaching and non-teaching faculty. Part of the difficulty stems from misconceptions concerning the role of the department representative in the appointment process.

            Unlike the waiver situation, the DR does not have to be consulted as faculty are appointed to regular positions. However the DR must be provided a copy of the retention pool and class assignments as soon as they are available. The same obligation exists with the assignment of TAs and AAs. There is no retention pool for the non-teaching faculty. They must be appointed in seniority order. All such lists must be posted in each department office in a prominent place.

It is unacceptable for a DR to be told that the above lists are not available when the semester has commenced. If there are faculty working then the departments know who is employed and must provide that information to the DR. This is called contract enforcement. How is the union to know whether the contract is being followed without this information?

The DR could be a valuable resource for the chairs if they are brought into the process. If this were done much confusion would be avoided and the process would run more smoothly. This is done in some departments.

The DR is not the adversary of the chair and is not looking to interfere in the appointment process, but must be kept informed. This is the best way to avoid grievances and avoid spending energy senselessly.

The DR must also have the most up to date lists of qualifications for each department. He must know which staff members are qualified to teach the

various courses or perform the duties of the TAs or AAs.

Such lists should also be made available to individual faculty members so they have the necessary information to fill out their availability forms in the most efficient manner.

When qualifications are changed, the faculty and the DR must be informed promptly so that the rights of the members can be protected.  A DR should not discover that qualifications have been changed without his or her knowledge.

The rules  controlling the appointment  of faculty are not arcane or obtuse.  The DR can help the chair perform this task to the advantage of both.

ON-LINE AVAILABILITY FORM

Shortly, the college will experiment with the use of an on-line availability form. This will require that faculty have access to a computer and e-mail.

College e-mail is available to all faculty and an account can be created by contacting Academic Computer Services.

In the spring 2006 semester, the Math, English, History, and Business Departments will take part in the pilot project to implement the on-line availability form. The rules governing the new procedure will be provided to the members of the departments concerned. Procedures will be put in place so that DRs can obtain the necessary  information to perform their functions properly.

It is expected that this modernization will be followed by computerization of class rosters reports, grade reporting and other forms of communication between faculty and administration.