Planning, Review, and Budget Council
Program Review Synthesis Statement on Faculty Prioritization
November 16, 2015
On November 10th, the Planning, Review and Budget Council met to synthesize Program
Review after reading and responding to over seventy Program Reviews from both Academic
and Student Services. The reading group was representative of the college and included
committee chairs or co-chairs familiar with enrollment, success, and planning data. From our
reading and analysis, our recommendation to the Prioritization Committee is as follows:
Beyond outside accreditation and Federal requirements that the Prioritization
Committee must consider first, the PRBC recommends that Prioritization carefully evaluate the
impacts of retirement/termination* that have occurred since the economic downturn** in
combination with part-time to full-time teaching ratios and existing demand as the highest
priority for hiring. All research asserts that higher full-time to part-time ratios positively
correlate with student success. We are concerned that a number of departments, including
those that offer courses satisfying gatekeeper transfer requirements or those that are
positioned for growth, exhibit low full-time to part-time ratios. Similarly, areas that must meet
mandates, such as state matriculation requirements*** which create increased demand,
exhibit low faculty to student ratios.
When considering full-time to part-time ratios, the committee might consider the need
for and impacts of faculty coordination, that is, reassign time. These impacts are echoed in the
need for additional classified and administrative staff--critical gaps in infrastructure prevent us
from maintaining programs and meeting student needs.
The next critical needs are those exhibited in disciplines anchored by one or no full-time
faculty or disciplines positioned for significant growth related to geographic or emerging
technological demand.
*retired/resigned/terminated and not replaced
**the last five years during the time period when the college was not hiring
***SSSP/Counseling