Part Time Faculty Handbook

Official College Policies

Academic Responsibilities

Academic Integrity, Freedom, and Responsibility

The following statements were produced by the Texas Junior College Teachers Association (TJCTA) Professional Development Committee [now Texas Community College Teachers’ Association (TCCTA)], unanimously adopted by that committee, endorsed by the TJCTA Executive Committee also unanimously, and, finally, approved by the general membership in the association's conventions in 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1986. The statements thus became formal expressions of the organization's membership on the vital topics they address.

Academic Integrity

The principles enumerated below have been among the cornerstones of academic integrity for years. We reaffirm them here to provide a fuller view of our beliefs and our expectations for the future.

1. We fully accept the responsibility of college teachers to establish and maintain standards of excellence in the courses they teach.
2. We recognize the need for consistency and fairness in the evaluation of student performance.
3. We fully recognize the need to maintain public confidence in the academic integrity of our colleges.
4. We know that inflated grades have cheapened value, and therefore we strongly affirm the need to strengthen and preserve credible measures for evaluating student performance.

Academic Freedom

Texas community/junior colleges, like all other institutions of higher education, serve the common-good, which depends upon an uninhibited search for truth and its open expression. The points enumerated below constitute our position on academic freedom:

1. Faculty members of Texas community/junior colleges are appointed to impart to their students and their communities the truth as they see it in their respective disciplines. The teacher's right to teach preserves the student's right to learn.
2. The mastery of a subject makes a faculty member a qualified authority in that discipline and competent to choose how to present its information and conclusions to students. The following are among the freedoms and responsibilities which should reside primarily with the faculty: planning and revising curricula, selecting textbooks and readings, selecting classroom films and other teaching materials, choosing instructional methodologies, assigning grades, and maintaining classroom discipline.
3. Faculty members of Texas community/junior colleges are citizens and, therefore, possess the rights of citizens. These rights include, among others, the right as private citizens to speak freely outside the classroom on matters of public concern and to participate in lawful political activities.
4. Prior restraint or sanctions should not be imposed upon faculty members of Texas community/junior colleges in the exercise of their rights as citizens or duties as teachers. Nor should faculty members fear reprisals for exercising their civic rights and academic freedom.
5. Faculty members of Texas community/junior colleges have a right to expect their governing boards and administrators to uphold vigorously the principles of academic freedom and to protect their faculties from harassment, censorship, or interference from outside groups and individuals.

Academic Responsibility

The academic freedom of Texas community/junior college’s faculty members is accompanied by equally compelling obligations and responsibilities to their profession, their students, their institutions, and their communities. Faculty members must defend the rights of academic freedom while accepting willingly the responsibilities enumerated:

1. Faculty members of Texas community/junior colleges should be judicious in the introduction of material in the classroom without forfeiting the instructional benefits controversy.
2. Faculty members of Texas community/junior colleges are entitled to all rights and privileges of academic freedom in the classroom while discussing the subjects they teach. No faculty member, however, should attempt to force on his or her students a personal viewpoint intolerant of the rights of others to hold or express diverse opinions.
3. Faculty members of Texas community/junior colleges recognize their responsibility to maintain competence in their disciplines through continued professional development and to demonstrate that competence through consistently adequate preparation and performance.
4. Faculty members of Texas community/junior colleges recognize that the public will judge their institution and their profession by their public conduct. Therefore, faculty members should always make clear that the views they express are their own and should avoid creating the impression that they speak or act in behalf of their employing institutions or of their profession.

Code of Professional Ethics1

Texas Community College Teachers Association (TCCTA)

Professional Educators affirm the inherent worth and dignity of all persons and the right of all persons to learn. Learning best occurs in an environment devoted to the pursuit of truth, excellence, and liberty. These flourish where both freedom and responsibility are esteemed.

In order to express more adequately the affirmation of our professional responsibilities, we, the members of the Texas Community College Teachers Association, do adopt, and hold us and each other subject to, the following Professional Ethics:

1. The Professional Educator shall treat all persons with respect, dignity, and justice, discriminating against no one on any arbitrary basis such as ethnicity, creed, gender, disability, or age.
2. The Professional Educator shall strive to help each student realize his or her full potential as a learner and as a human being.
3. The Professional Educator shall by example and action encourage and defend the unfettered pursuit of truth by both colleagues* and students, supporting the free exchange of ideas, observing the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity, and seeking always an attitude of scholarly objectivity and tolerance of other viewpoints.
4. The Professional Educator shall work to enhance cooperation and collegiality among students, faculty, administrators, and other Human Resources.
5. The Professional Educator shall recognize and preserve the confidential nature of professional relationships, neither disclosing nor encouraging the disclosure of information or rumor, which might damage or embarrass or violate the privacy of any other person.
6. The Professional Educator shall maintain competence through continued professional development, shall demonstrate that competence through consistent adequate preparation and performance, and shall seek to enhance that competence by accepting and appropriating constructive criticism and evaluation.
7. The Professional Educator shall make the most judicious and effective use of the college's time and resources.
8. The Professional Educator shall fulfill the employment both in spirit and in fact, shall give reasonable notice upon resignation, and shall neither accept tasks for which he or she is not qualified nor assign tasks to unqualified persons.
9. The Professional Educator shall support the goals and ideals of the college and shall act in public and private affairs in such a manner as to bring credit to the college.
10. The Professional Educator shall not engage in sexual harassment of students or colleagues and shall adhere to the college's policy of sexual conduct.
11. The Professional Educator shall observe the stated policies and procedures of the college, reserving the right to seek revision in a judicious and appropriate manner.
12. The Professional Educator shall participate in the governance of the college by accepting a fair share of committee and institutional responsibilities.
13. The Professional Educator shall support the right of all colleagues to academic freedom and due process and defend and assist a professional colleague accused of wrongdoing, incompetence, or other serious offense so long as the colleague's innocence may reasonably be maintained.
14. The Professional Educator shall not support a colleague whose persistently unethical conduct or professional incompetence has been demonstrated through due process.
15. The Professional Educator shall accept all rights and responsibilities of citizenship, always avoiding use of the privileges of his or her public position for private or partisan advantage.

*In this Code the term "colleague" refers to all persons employed by colleges in the educational enterprise.

Drug Policy2

Employees shall not unlawfully manufacture, distribute, dispense, possess, use, or be under the influence of any of the following substances during working hours while at the College or at College-related activities during or outside of usual working hours:

Any controlled substance or dangerous drug as defined by law, including but not limited to marijuana, any narcotic drug, hallucinogen, stimulant, depressant, amphetamine, or barbiturate.

Alcohol or any alcoholic beverage.

Any abusable glue, aerosol paint, or any other chemical substance for inhalation.

Any other intoxicant, or mood-changing, mind-altering, or behavior-altering drugs.

An employee who uses a drug authorized by a licensed physician through a prescription specifically for that employee's use should not be considered to have violated this policy.

In addition to a copy of this policy, each employee shall be given a copy of the District's statement regarding drug-free workplace and drug-free schools, a description of the applicable legal sanctions under local, state, or federal law, and a description of the health risks associated with the use of illicit drugs and the abuse of alcohol.

Drug-Free Schools and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements

The District prohibits the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of a controlled substance, illicit drug, and alcohol, as those terms are defined in state and federal law, in the workplace, on school premises, or as part of any of the District's activities.

Employees who violate this prohibition shall be subject to disciplinary sanctions. Such sanctions may include referral to drug and alcohol counseling or rehabilitation programs or employee assistance programs, termination from employment with the District, and referral to appropriate law enforcement officials for prosecution.

Compliance with these requirements and prohibitions is mandatory and is a condition of employment. As a further condition of employment, an employee shall notify the District of any criminal drug statute conviction the employee incurs for a violation in the workplace no later than five days after such conviction.

Within 30 calendar days of receiving notice from any source of a conviction for any drug statute violation occurring in the workplace, the District shall either (1) take appropriate Human Resources action against the employee, up to and including termination of employment or referral for prosecution or (2) require the employee to participate satisfactorily in a drug and alcohol abuse assistance or rehabilitation program approved for such purposes by a federal, state, or local health agency, law enforcement agency, or other appropriate agency.

(This notice complies with notice requirements imposed by the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act [20 U.S.C. 3471, 1221e-3(a) (1) and 34 CFR 85.630] and notice requirements imposed by the federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989 [20 U.S.C. 3224a and 34 CFR 86.201])3

Campus Property Policy

College property is not intended for personal use and, therefore, is not to be taken from the campus for use at home, in business places, or in the community.

If it is necessary to move College property to a non-campus location for instructional purposes when an employee is directly representing the College, the employee must secure written approval from the Dean of Administrative Services.

When the property is returned to campus, the employee must verify with the Dean of Administrative Services that the property has been returned.

Student Complaint Procedure4

DISCIPLINE. The College has inherent authority to maintain order and discipline students. It may discipline students for failing to abide by its standards of conduct. Students attending the College are subject to reasonable rules and regulations of the Board. Students who cause disorders and disrupt the school's educational environment may be disciplined.

The College may define offenses for which suspension (for the rest of the semester or for a longer period of time) may be imposed and determine whether the offense has been committed. Students shall be given a fair opportunity to demonstrate innocence in a hearing before school officials. Students are entitled to due process in disciplinary hearings, including being given adequate notice of the hearing and definite charges in advance. (See Board Policy FMA [Local])

DISCRIMINATION. All student complaints including those alleging discrimination on the basis of age, race, religion, color, gender, national origin, veteran status, or disabilities will be afforded prompt and equitable resolution beginning at the first possible level.

The student may be represented at any level of the complaint.

An instructor or College employee who is the subject of a student complaint may be present and/or represented at any level of the complaint process.

If the complaint involves a problem with an instructor, the student shall discuss the matter with the instructor before requesting a conference with the division chair at Level One.

Decisions may not be reversed when to do so would violate Board policy, local, state, or federal laws and regulations.

LEVEL 1 - Students with complaints or concerns about their instructors should discuss the matter with the instructor before requesting a conference with the division chair.

LEVEL 2 - Students with complaints or grievances regarding an instructional issue must request a conference with the division chair. If the complaint is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction, he/she may proceed to Level 3.

LEVEL 3 - If the outcome at Level 2 does not satisfy the student, he/she may, within 15 days, request a conference with the appropriate instructional dean, either the Dean of Academic Studies or the Dean of Applied Sciences and Community Education.

Prior to or at the conference, the student shall submit a written complaint that includes a statement of the complaint and any evidence in its support, the solution sought, the student’s signature, and the date of the meeting with the division chair.

LEVEL 4 - If the outcome of at Level 3 does not satisfy the student, he/she may, within five working days, notify the Dean of Student Development and Institutional Planning of his/her desire to appeal the instructional dean’s decision to the Academic Appeals Committee.

The Academic Appeals Committee shall consist of two faculty members and two students. The Dean of Student Development and institutional Planning shall preside over the meeting but have no vote except in the case of a tie. Prior to or at the conference, the student shall submit the written statements required at Level 2 and the date of the conference with the instructional dean.

The decision of the Academic Appeals Committee is final; it cannot be appealed within the College. However, a student who is not satisfied with the outcome of this procedure may write a letter explaining his/her position and have it appended to his/her academic record.

Smoking Policy

Smoking is not allowed inside any facilities. Smoking is permitted 15 feet from building entrance and at designated outdoor locations.