There are two items of special interest to adjunct faculty in the upcoming spring semester.

            The first of these is the on line availability process.  This past Winterim the on-line form was the only method of declaring availability to teach in that semester. From what I have seen the process is working well. The information provided by the program developed by the Academic Computer Services office is clear, concise and complete. For the Winterim the information was only on the  college intranet system and could only be accessed using computers on the college system. For the Spring 2008 semester the information will be available on the internet so it can be accessed by any computer anywhere. Each Department Representative will have access to his/her own department’s availability forms as will  the chairs of the departments.

            The information provided will not only include the course, time and day preferences of each faculty member but will also include seniority status and prior employment for the current academic year. The manner of presentation should make contract administration easier and give the department representative a clear picture of how assignments are  made. These points will assure greater protection of the rights of the members under the contract.

            Once again it must be noted that failure to put in an availability form during the “window” period  will create major difficulties for individual members.

            In conjunction with the assignment process the AFA has pressed the college to comply with the AFA contract and provide updated lists of the courses for which the department has found faculty qualified to teach as well as the courses or  areas that TAs are qualified to work. This last area has been a bone of contention for some time and must be addressed now.

           New faculty, especially, should be advised of all courses for which they are qualified.

            Another area of interest is the introduction of the evening club or activity  hour.

            This program was introduced in the fall and has been a great success. Professor Phyllis Kurland of Student Personnel Services is to  be congratulated for her hard work in coordinating and organizing the program. Professor Kurland has invited all faculty members to take part in this new program and offer activities that can enrich the experience of the students participating in it. Faculty can contact Professor Kurland at 572-7150 to discuss an offering they feel worthwhile.

            For the spring the Evening Activity Hour will occur on Tuesdays. The dates and times are: Feb. 26 at 8:30pm, March 18 at 7:pm and April 22 at 5:30 pm.

            The calendar for the spring provides for an extra Tuesday  meeting so there will be no need to make up a class to accommodate the program.

            Faculty that have atypical class meeting times can cancel part on a class to attend the program or cancel an entire class (that extends beyond the activity program time)  and hold a class during the next activity hour.

            One can’t say enough about the concept of this program. Evening students have been the forgotten class for too long. This program at last makes an attempt to address this problem and find a way to include evening students in the life of the college in a meaningful way.

            Once again congratulations to Professor Kurland and to all the faculty and students that have advanced this program and made it work. We look forward to its  future development  and offer to assist in any way that we can.