Request for Tenure Track Faculty
Program: Speech Communication
Initiator(s): Kerry Mayer
1. Program(s) Supported by the Discipline: General Education, Liberal Arts – Humanities &
Communication, Nursing, Dental Assisting
2. Job Description. Separate requests are required for each position sought. Please indicate
if this request is site specific and the location(s).
Full-time, tenure-track faculty member in Speech Communication on the Eureka Campus to
teach multiple sections of lower division communication courses per semester including public
speaking, interpersonal communication, and small group communication, among others.
Representative duties include teaching multiple sections per semester of the fundamental
communications courses using teaching methods and materials challenging to the student and
appropriate to the subject matter; maintaining currency and depth of knowledge in the discipline;
assisting with curriculum development, course assessment, and program review; participation,
where appropriate, in peer mentoring and evaluation processes; participation in accreditation
processes; and meeting contractual obligations.
3. Please check ONE of the following categories: Faculty Replacement Position, Growth
Position or New Program/Discipline. Provide related information. (0-5 Points)
Faculty Replacement Position (check one)
Stable or growing discipline or program needs replacement for FT faculty who have left
within this academic year
Stable or growing discipline or program needs replacement for FT faculty who have left
within 1-2 years
Stable discipline or program needs replacement for FT faculty who have left within threefour years
X
Stable discipline or program can justify replacement for FT faculty who have left within
five years or more
Outside accreditation is at risk without FT hire
Provide justification and documentation. Include when the position became vacant and
the incumbent to be replaced.
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Position requested is a replacement position vacated in the Spring of 2008 due to a nonrenewal of contract during the tenure process. Position last held by David Chimovitz.
Growth Position (checkone)
Enrollment data over past two years indicate program is growing
Enrollment data over past two years indicate program is stable
Enrollment data over past two years indicate program is declining
Independent marketing or other data indicate growth potential
Provide justification and documentation.
New Program/Discipline Position
Program Initialization process complete
State curriculum approval complete
Program has grown significantly without FT faculty
Independent marketing data suggests viability of new program
Provide justification and documentation.
4. FT/PT Ratio: Indicate which statement/s are confirmed by the data: (0 -5 points)
Program has no full-time faculty
X
FT/PT ration below 50/50 percent
FT/PT ratio below 60/40 percent
FT/PT ratio below 75/25 percent
FT/PT ratio results in critical lack of effective oversight for associate faculty
X
Reliable pool of well-qualified associate faculty is unavailable
(In the case of non-teaching faculty positions, the criteria will be the deviation from norms
obtained from like institutions)
Provide justification and documentation.
Historically, the Speech Communication discipline at College of the Redwoods has had two fulltime faculty members and has consistently been able to provide ample load for those faculty
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pg 2
members. Since 2000, when our probationary faculty member’s contract was not renewed, we
have been down one full-time faculty member in Speech Communication. During this same time
period, the available pool of qualified part-time instructors has dwindled – in part due to
associate faculty retirements and in part due to an increasing demand from HSU which has
resulted in associate faculty who had taught multiple sections of Speech at CR each semester
opting to give up sections at CR in order to increase their teaching load at HSU where their pay
is greater and they are afforded benefits. This has forced us to reduce the number of sections of
critical Speech Communication courses offered each semester from between 14 and 16 sections
per semester when we had two full-time faculty members to between 10 and 11 with just one. For
example, during the last semester that Speech had two full-time faculty members (Spring 2008)
we were able to offer (and fill) 14 sections of Speech Communication courses at a time when one
of the full-time faculty members was on partial reassignment as Academic Senate Co-president.
Historically, we have also been able to offer robust summer offerings at locations throughout the
District (in 2004 we were able to offer and fill 10 sections of Speech Communications offered at
Eureka, Mendocino, Del Norte, and Klamath-Trinity). This semester (Spring 2013), we were
only able to offer 11 sections (and that includes one section on overload status for the remaining
full-time faculty member) and summer scheduling has become particularly difficult. Additionally,
enrollment in all Speech Communication courses offered continues to be robust, with high fill
rates (between 88 – 96% during the 2011-2012 academic year), large wait lists, and strong
demand.
5. Program/Student Outcomes (0 – 5 points)
Provide a narrative justifying need for full-time faculty in order to maintain and/or improve
program and student learning outcomes (one-page max), based on the following: (0 – 5 points)


Demonstrate a clear need for FT faculty in order to maintain program outcomes
Justification demonstrates a clear need for FT faculty in order to achieve student learning
outcomes
Narrative:
Because of the crucial role of the Speech Communication courses in meeting general education
requirements, degree requirements, and certificate requirements and because of the impacted
nature of the courses, we are currently unable to meet student demand in the areas of Speech
Communication. As a result, students are forced to defer enrollment in these critical courses,
delaying their completion of degree, certificate, and transfer requirements. Speech
Communication courses are among the first courses to fill once registration has begun and
typically have not only full wait lists but high numbers of students attempting to “crash” courses
during the first week of instruction. Simply put, because we do not have enough faculty, there are
not enough sections of Speech Communication courses offered to meet student demand which is
resulting in students being unable to meet their program learning outcomes in general education
(Effective Communication), degree programs (Liberal Arts – Humanities & Communication;
Dental Assisting; Registered Nursing), and certificate programs (LVN to RN).
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pg 3
REDWOODS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
RUBRIC FOR PRIORITIZING FULL-TIME FACULTY POSITIONS
Faculty Replacement Position





Points (0-5):
Stable or growing discipline or program needs replacement for FT faculty
who have left within this academic year
Stable or growing discipline or program needs replacement for FT faculty
who have left within 1-2 years
Stable discipline or program needs replacement for FT faculty who have left
within three-four years
Stable discipline or program can justify replacement for FT faculty who have
left within five years or more
Outside accreditation is at risk without FT hire
OR
Growth Position




Enrollment data over past two years indicate program is growing
Enrollment data over past two years indicate program is stable
Enrollment data over past two years indicate program is declining
Independent marketing or other data indicate growth potential
OR
New Program/Discipline Position




Program Initialization process complete
State curriculum approval complete
New program has shown significant growth without FT faculty
Independent marketing data suggest viability of new program
FT/PT Ratio






Points (0-5):
Program has no full-time faculty
FT/PT ration below 50/50 percent
FT/PT ratio below 60/40 percent
FT/PT ratio below 75/25 percent
FT/PT ratio results in critical lack of effective oversight for associate faculty
Reliable pool of well-qualified associate faculty is unavailable
(In the case of non teaching faculty positions, the criteria will be the deviation
from norms obtained from like institutions)
Program/Student Outcomes


Narrative justification demonstrates clear need for FT faculty in order to
maintain program outcomes
Narrative justification demonstrates clear need for FT faculty in order to
achieve student learning outcomes
Other (Shared Interest)

Points (0-5):
Points (0-5):
Shared interest determined by the Faculty Prioritization Committee. Scoring
rubric will be mutually agreed and will be based on the nature of the shared
interest.
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TOTAL
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pg 5