Policy: Faculty Hiring & Contracts

Document Number: 1.008
Title: Faculty Hiring & Contracts
Effective Date: 08/08/2024
Revised Date: N/A

Policy Statement

An outstanding educational program in any college is dependent upon the employment and retention of well qualified personnel. RPCC is committed to attracting well qualified and diverse faculty for its instructional programs. All applicants for vacant instructional positions at the College must submit a resume, copies of official college transcripts for all college work, and a completed application to be considered for employment.   

Faculty Hiring  

Full-time instructional positions:  

The applicant pool for each full-time vacant position will be reviewed and screened by a committee appointed by the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. The Screening Committee shall be composed of at least three members. If the position being screened is in a discipline already represented by one or more full-time faculty, a representative of that disciple will serve on the Screening Committee.  The Screening Committee will be chaired by the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs or his/her designee. 

The Screening Committee will examine all submitted documentation, interview qualified applicants and, whenever possible, require applicants to make a teaching presentation to the committee before identifying position finalists.  The Vice Chancellor recommends the individual to fill the position following review of the judgement of the Screening Committee. 

If the time for filling a vacant full-time faculty position before the beginning of a fall, spring, or summer semester precludes the regular screening and hiring process, the College may make an emergency appointment for the fall, spring, and/or summer semester. The faculty member receiving an emergency appointment must meet the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges criteria for faculty selection and will be eligible to apply for the position when it is formally advertised and screened during the next hiring cycle. 

Part-time (adjunct) instructional positions:

The applicant pool for each part-time (adjunct) instructional position will be reviewed and screened by an appropriate Department Chair, under the direction of a Dean/Division Coordinator. The Department Chair/Dean/Division Coordinator will examine all submitted documentation, interview qualified applicants and, whenever possible, require applicants to make a teaching presentation before identifying position finalists. After review, the Dean will make a recommendation for filling the position to the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. 

Faculty Contracts 

Part-time (Adjunct) Faculty Contracts:

Adjunct contracts are course section-specific and are paid according to the per credit hour rate, or $50.00 per clock hour for Practical Nursing instructors (up to the contact hours required for the course). All part-time (adjunct) contracts must be approved by the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration, and the Chancellor. 

Full-Time Faculty Contracts:

Full-time faculty are offered 9-month contracts for an annual salary and related benefits. All 9-month, full-time faculty contracts begin with Fall Convocation and end with Spring Commencement. To support College functions or initiatives such as institutional or programmatic accreditation faculty may be offered 10-month, 11-month, or 12-month contracts, and the College reserves the right to do so. All full-time faculty contracts, no matter their length, must be approved by the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration, and the Chancellor. 

Summer Contracts for Full-Time Faculty:

Summer teaching contracts may be available to full-time faculty. Assignments are made based on student demand, instructor expertise, and College need. During the eight (8) week Summer Session, the normal teaching assignment is nine hours. Faculty who are contracted to teach in the summer will be paid at the adjunct rate. 

Tenure 

When RPCC began hiring faculty in the late spring of 1999, the College operated under the Rules of the University of Louisiana System (1997). One library and six full-time classroom faculty members were hired with an understanding that these positions were all tenure track positions. 

On July 1, 1999, all the community colleges and the Louisiana Technical College with its forty- two campuses were merged into a new system, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS). LCTCS member institutions brought three different tenure traditions into the merger. Those colleges which had been under the ULS acknowledged tenure and required a six-year review period for tenure eligibility. The LTC campuses had a significantly shorter waiting period, and the Baton Rouge Community College did not acknowledge tenure. The LCTCS Board of Supervisors instructed each institution to cease hiring additional faculty into tenure track positions until the issue could be resolved. 

A task force was established by the LCTCS to study tenure and related issues, and it submitted a report. However, no action was taken to establish a common tenure policy by the Board of Supervisors. In the meantime, RPCC continued to operate under the ULS Rules, (97) and those charter faculty members who remain with the College are in tenure track positions. Faculty members who were hired in subsequent years were alerted to the fact that they did not occupy tenure track positions. 

Teaching Location 

Faculty may be assigned to any River Parishes Community College campuses, as determined by student enrollment.