Statement of Rationale for Judgment of Compliance

Palo Alto College (PAC) has an adequate number of full-time faculty to support the mission of the institution and ensure the quality and integrity of each academic discipline and program.

The case for compliance is structured as follows:

1. Policies, procedures, and practices are in place that establish faculty responsibilities, the number of full-time faculty employed by the College, faculty loading, and maximum class size.  These combine to ensure that an adequate number of full-time faculty are present in each discipline and program to fulfill the mission of the College and ensure the quality and integrity of each academic discipline and program, regardless of mode or site of delivery.
2. The guidelines set by policy and procedure are followed by the College. For all programs and areas of academic concentration, the College has full-time faculty present in numbers that reflect those guidelines and are, as a result, sufficient to ensure coordination and oversight. In five disciplines that number of full-time faculty members is not present.  In each of these cases further explanation is provided, demonstrating the adequacy of existing faculty curricular oversight for these areas.

Defining Responsibilities for Full-time Faculty

Full-time faculty at Palo Alto College have responsibilities in the areas of teaching, advising, and professional development which are outlined in the Full-Time Teaching Faculty Job Description[1].  Specifically, the job description speaks to effective instruction assuming “primary responsibility for and exercis[ing] oversight of the curriculum” and maintaining currency within one’s discipline.  These areas of responsibility are defined and addressed again in the faculty evaluation dossier, completed every year for full-time faculty in their first six years of full-time employment and every other year thereafter as shown in the sample faculty 180 portfolio[2].  Each dossier is reviewed by faculty peers and by the faculty member’s Department Chair, ensuring that requirements are met in each area of faculty responsibility.  These categories of full-time faculty responsibility fully align their role to the college mission: “To inspire, empower, and educate our community for leadership and success” documented in Board Policy A.1.3.c: College Mission Statement: Palo Alto College.[3] As is also clear from the job description, faculty responsibilities fully and explicitly align with faculty oversight of their respective disciplines and programs.

Ensuring Full-time Faculty Responsibilities for Program and Discipline Oversight Can Be Met

• Full-time Faculty Course Loads: Alamo Colleges District policy and procedure regarding faculty load (D.5.1.2 (Procedure) Faculty Teaching Loads[4]) place load limitations which ensure that faculty have sufficient time outside of their teaching obligations to address discipline and program oversight.  The standard load for a full-time faculty member is 15 load hours during each fall and spring 16-week term.  A full-time faculty member may, with the recommendation of the Chairperson, Dean, and approval of the Vice President of Academic Success, voluntarily take on additional classes, but this overload is limited to two classes as demonstrated in the Fall 2016 Faculty Teaching Loads[5].  The maximum course load during a 16-week term, with approval, is 23 hours per Procedure D 5.1.2[4]. Exceptions to the standard load may also be made when a full-time faculty member has assumed additional responsibilities associated with program development, curriculum review, or student advising.  In these cases, with the approval of the Vice President of Academic Success and the President, full-time faculty may be released from a portion of their teaching load, which provides sufficient time to serve in this capacity as supported by D.5.1.2 (Procedure) Faculty Teaching Loads[4] and Faculty Releases Fall 2016[6]. These course load restrictions ensure sufficient time for program coordination and faculty oversight of their respective disciplines.

• Full-time Faculty Student Loads:  In addition to course load limitations, class sizes are also limited.  The average class size target[7] for Palo Alto College is 25 students, with a maximum in any one class set at 30 students, a maximum which is in place regardless of discipline or mode of delivery (see class maxima highlighted on the Fall 2016 enrollment report[8]).  This maximum class size preserves a maximum total student load of 150 to 210 students for each full-time faculty member.  This is a maximum student load, and may be reduced if the faculty member is teaching courses limited in class size by program accreditation requirements, safety concerns, equipment availability, or issues of student success.

• Full-time to Part-time Faculty Ratios: To ensure that a sufficient number of full-time faculty are present for each program and in each area of concentration for transfer, the target full-time/part-time faculty ratio for Palo Alto College was recently revised by the Alamo Colleges Board of Trustees from 50 percent full-time to 55 percent full-time (see D.5.1.2 (Procedure) Faculty Teaching Loads[4]), recognizing the key role full-time faculty play in curricular oversight and student success both within the classroom and in service to their discipline, department, and college.  The full-time to part-time faculty ratio is an overall target for the College but is also preserved at the discipline and program level, ensuring that each program and area of concentration for transfer retains a sufficient number of full-time faculty for adequate program coordination. Preserving the ratio of full-time to part-time faculty at Palo Alto College has also ensured that the number of full-time faculty has remained responsive to the growth in student enrollment.  Figure 2.8-1 summarizes the relationship between faculty availability and college enrollments.

The policies and procedures that place limitations on full-time faculty teaching loads, both in the number of classes taught and the number of students in each class, accompanied by the target ratio of 55:45 for full-time to part-time faculty for each discipline, combine to ensure that full-time faculty at Palo Alto College are present in sufficient number and have sufficient time outside of the classroom to provide oversight for the quality and integrity of each program and academic discipline. (See Fall 2016 Faculty Teaching Loads[5].) These rules apply to all full-time faculty, regardless of mode or site of program delivery. 

Number of Full-time Faculty at Palo Alto College Meets or Surpasses the Policy and Procedure Guidelines

Tables 2.8-1 through 2.8-3 provide the number of Fall 2016 sections taught by full-time faculty for each program or area of academic concentration, as well as the program ratio of full-time to part-time faculty. Data for these tables is sourced from Full-Time Faculty Ratios, Fall 2016[9]. Ratios are provided both by section and by contact hour. Also provided are the program leads, as referenced in CS 3.4.11 with respect to their academic qualifications for that role. The College previously targeted a 50:50 ratio for full-time to part-time faculty; however, a new target ratio of 55:45 for full-time to part-time faculty was approved by the Alamo Colleges District Board of Trustees and documented in D.5.1.2 (procedure) Faculty Teaching Loads[4], recognizing the cross-functional role of full-time faculty in the success of all students. As can be seen in these figures, the College has either preserved the 50:50 ratio or moved toward (or beyond) the 55:45 ratio, excepting five academic areas of study. For each of these five areas a further explanation is provided, demonstrating that sufficient, qualified faculty oversight is present.

Table 2.8-1: Full-Time Section List, Academic[10]

Table 2.8-2: Full-Time Section List, Technical[11]

Table 2.8-3: Full-Time Section List, Developmental[12]

The following five disciplines do not reflect a full-time faculty presence in a 50:50 or stronger ratio, but have academically qualified faculty oversight in sufficient number to ensure the quality and integrity of the discipline:

1. Dance: The College does not have a dance program but with the hire of a new full-time faculty member Hector Garza for drama, (see note “B” below), PAC opened two dance sections in Fall 2016 to support the theater offerings for that term. The adjunct instructor for these dance sections, Amber Ortega-Perez[13], is fully qualified, both professionally and academically, to teach these courses (See qualifications on Programs List with Leads[14]). Under the supervision of full-time drama faculty member Hector Garza and Department Chair Carolyn De Lecour, Ms. Ortega-Perez ensures the appropriate college-level rigor and academic integrity of these sections.
2. Drama: The lead for drama is a full-time faculty member, Hector Garza[15], who taught three of the ten drama sections offered during the Fall 2016 term.  As a new, full-time lead for this discipline, Mr. Garza was given a six load hour (two course) release from a full-time instructional load in order to fully review the existing curriculum and oversee two theater productions during the Fall 2016 term (See qualifications on Programs List with Leads[14]). 
3. Geology: There are too few sections of geology offered by the College to support a full-time faculty member; those that are offered support a small but potentially increasing student interest in this discipline. The adjunct instructor for these geology courses, Elizabeth Montgomery[16], is academically qualified in this discipline (See academic qualifications on Programs List with Leads[14]). Under the oversight of Department Chair Peter Hernandez, she ensures the appropriate college-level rigor and academic integrity for these sections.
4. Social Work: As with geology, social work courses do not at this time sustain sufficient student interest to support a full-time faculty member.  The two sections that were offered in Fall 2016 were sufficient to meet existing interest.  The adjunct instructors for these sections, Lia Hollis[17] and Natania Gertman, are academically qualified in this discipline. Lia Hollis (See qualifications on Programs List with Leads[14]) provides academic oversight for these social work courses as supported by Department Chair Dr. John Hernandez.
5. Aviation: The College has submitted to SACSCOC a request for their approval of the teach-out plan for the aviation programs. Enrollment has dropped sharply following significant changes in the support provided by the Veterans Administration to veterans interested in this area of study.  All aviation courses are still currently offered as required by students wishing to complete these programs. The six sections of aviation courses offered in the Fall 2016 term were taught by academically and professionally qualified adjuncts: Brian Wells[18] and Robert Arredondo[19] (See academic and professional qualifications on Programs List with Leads[14]).  These adjuncts, under the supervision of Interim Dean of Career and Technical Education Patrick Lee, are sufficient in number, experience, and professional and academic qualifications, to ensure the quality and integrity of the program.

In addition to the above Fall 2016 snapshot of full-time faculty at Palo Alto College, the following new full-time faculty were interviewed in Spring 2017, hired, and given an August 2017 start date:

1. Samuel Evans – Government
2. Dr. Jonathon Peterson – Government
3. Bruce Mickell – Mathematics
4. Mohamed Ghouse – Mathematics
5. Bhawana Ranjan – Mathematics
6. Samuel Longoria – Speech
7. Dr. Mary Melissa Elston – English and Integrated Reading and Writing
8. Antonio Garza – English and Integrated Reading and Writing
9. Dr. Fonzie Quance-Fitch – Veterinary Technology

As articulated in Board Policy A.1.1[20], the College District is known by the assumed names of “Alamo Colleges” and “Alamo Colleges District” or the “Alamo Community College District.” References to these assumed names in the narrative and any supporting documentation are equivalent.