Faculty Online Handbook

The contents of this Faculty Handbook describe facilities, policies, and practices at Los Angeles Valley College. As such, they add to the body of procedures and policies of the Los Angeles Community College District. It is understood that Federal, State, and local laws, Board Rules, Los Angeles Community College District rules and regulations, and the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the American Federation of Teachers College Guild and the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees take precedence over any portion of this Handbook. This Faculty Handbook is designed to serve many functions. It can be used as a guide by a new faculty member and as a reference by others. An attempt has been made to provide complete information wherever possible. Supplementary documents may be suggested on some subjects. Since the handbook is provided to be helpful to faculty, suggestions for improvements are welcome and should be submitted in writing to the Academic Senate.

• About Being an Instructor
• Academic Rank
• Academic Rights and Responsibilities
• Emergency Information and Procedures
• Organizations, Officers, Elections
• Student Complaints About Faculty
• Shared Governance
• Student Services
• The Instructional Program
• The Curriculum Development Process

About Being an Instructor

Paychecks: Paychecks will be sent to the faculty member's home address or bank. A form for changing the address to which the paycheck should be mailed must be filed with the college Personnel Office (Administration 105A).

Parking: Free on-campus parking is provided to members of the College Staff in the following locations: College Road North, College Road South, the street on the north side of the Women's Gym, the first row of Lot C (east of the Art Building) and Lot H (entered from Burbank Blvd.). Each staff member's car that is parked on campus must have the required permit decal hanging from the back of the rear view mirror. This decal can be obtained from the College Police (Bungalow 59). Cars parked on campus without the decal are subject to police citation.

Keys: Classroom doors are opened by the custodian for only the first two weeks of each semester. Keys for offices, classrooms and cabinets should be requested from the Office of Administrative Services (Administration 108) at the beginning of the semester. Key requests must be approved by the department chair.

Mailroom: Faculty are given a combination to a mailbox in the Administration Building.

Faculty Lounge:  A Faculty Lounge at the north end of the Cafeteria Building is available to all faculty. Keys (#F45) may be requested in AD. 108. The lounge has men's and women's toilets, showers, and cot rooms. The Senate and AFT hold their meetings here, and the room may be booked for other events by application to the Faculty President.

Status and Rating

• "Regular" (Permanent) An employee of the District who has completed his/her probationary assignment and holds regular permanent status.
• "Probationary" (Contract) An employee of the District serving a probationary period in a regular position.
• "Long Term Substitute" (Temporary) An employee who does not hold regular contract status and is paid on the Preparation Salary Schedule.
• "Limited Contract" A limited contract employee is one who has been appointed on temporary contract, usually for a specially funded program or in cases of unforeseen growth. Such employment may continue for the duration of the contract. Service in this status does not count toward tenure. Limited contract employees have the same benefits as other contract employees in the certificated service.
• "Hourly Rate" - Any employee paid exclusively from the hourly rate salary schedule. Full time instructors may teach hourly rate classes in addition to their regular load.

Salary

• Rating: All instructors of the Los Angeles Community College District are on the "preparation-type single-salary schedule," which means that preparation, prior teaching experience, and military service determine salary rating.
• Manner of Payment: Salaries of Instructors on a monthly basis are paid in ten or more equal monthly installments, or an equal total in unequal payments (the Payroll Office, Administration 105 can provide more information about this). If the instructor is on a B or D basis s/he will receive additional compensation. Warrants are mailed to the address designated by the instructors following the 20-teaching day period for which payment is being made. Salary for hourly-rate assignment teaching is also sent by U.S. mail to address designated by the instructor.
• Deductions: Warrants are subject to the following deductions:
  • State retirement, automatically deducted.
  • State income tax, automatically deducted.
  • Federal income tax, automatically deducted.
  • AFT College Guild dues or agency shop fee, automatically deducted.
  • Voluntary deductions authorized by the individual instructor.
• Salary Points for Columnar Placement: The unit of measurement for columnar placement and advancement on the full-time salary schedule is the "point." A point is a college semester unit or an equivalent, as defined by the Board of Trustees. Points may be earned for: college and university work; in-service training projects; educational travel projects; educational work experience; projects involving leadership of extra-curricular activities; work in schools involving leadership of extra-curricular activities; work in schools of advanced standing; military training undertaken during the summer vacation period. For information, advice, and application forms, call the District Office, Human Resources Division Certificated Personnel, (213) 891-2303.
• Columnar Advancement: Instructors who believe they have qualified for columnar advancement on the salary schedule should file necessary forms with the District Human Resources Division.
• Current Salary Schedule: For the current salary schedule, see Appendix A "Salary Schedules," of the current contractual Agreement between the LACCD and the AFT College Guild, Local 1521, CFT/AFT, AFL-CIO, go to http://www.aft1521.org/, and click on Salary Schedule.

District Hospital-Medical, Dental, Life Insurance, and Vision Programs

• When to enroll:
  • New Instructors. New instructors must enroll within the first 30 days after the semester in which they are first employed.
  • Continuing Instructors. Contact the personnel clerk for the exact dates during which current employees may either change or enroll in medical, dental, and vision programs. It is imperative that under the Agreement, stated deadlines be met.
• Cost. The Board pays the premium for the hospital-medical, dental, and vision programs of the employee and eligible dependents.
• Life Insurance: See the Collective Bargaining Agreement, go to http://www.aft1521.org/.

Leaves: See the Collective Bargaining Agreement, go to http://www.aft1521.org/.

Employment Contracts: Formal written contracts between instructors and the District are not ordinarily used. An official assignment order from the Personnel Division is issued to each new instructor. Acceptance of employment in writing constitutes completion of the contract, which is effective until resignation, dismissal, or retirement.

Performance Evaluations: Performance evaluation procedures for regular, contract, temporary and hourly rate employees are described in the collective bargaining agreement. Read the Agreement carefully. Go to http://www.aft1521.org.

District Sexual Harassment Policy: The policy of the Los Angeles Community College District is to provide an educational, employment and business environment free from unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct or communications constituting sexual harassment. Employees, students, or other persons acting on behalf of the District who engage in sexual harassment as defined in this policy or by state or federal law shall be subject to discipline, up to and including discharge, expulsion or termination of contract. The specific rules and procedures for reporting charges of sexual harassment and for pursuing available remedies are incorporated in the Board Rules in Chapter 15.

Conference Attendance: Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the District provides funds for instructors who wish to attend professional meetings or conferences. These funds are allocated by a Faculty Conference Attendance Committee appointed by the Academic Senate. Conference attendance application forms for released time and/or expenses may be secured from the Office of Administrative Services (Ad. 108). The application should be submitted no later than one month in advance of the meeting. (In case of extenuating circumstances, the President or the President's designee may waive the time stipulation.) Applications for funds must be approved by the Conference Attendance Committee. A form should be completed even if no funds are requested and no classes will be missed in order that insurance coverage will apply, should an accident occur while the faculty member is traveling to or from the meeting. Applications for Staff Development funds are made on forms supplied by that Committee. Maximum reimbursement for expenses depends on the number of applications and the extent of the budget for the school year.

College Governance: It is the responsibility of all monthly rate faculty assigned under the provision of this Article to be involved in college activities. These activities may include, but are not limited to, evaluation of student performance, curriculum development, sponsorship of co-curricular groups, college or District committee work, faculty meetings, or in-service training or staff development. It is through such active involvement in college affairs that faculty can share in the governance of the college and the district.

Released/Reassigned Time:

• Faculty President. Traditionally, upon recommendation of the College President, the President of the Faculty Association/Academic Senate receives .6 reassigned time on a D basis to facilitate discharge of the duties of this office.
• Faculty Vice-President. The Vice-President of the faculty chairs the Valley College Curriculum Committee. In 1989 the College President granted .4 reassigned time to this function.
• The faculty chairs of the College Council standing committees get .2 reassigned time.
• All faculty serving on the District Academic Senate (Instructors, Counselors, Librarians) are entitled to released time to attend District Senate Meetings.
• Faculty may apply for released time to attend Conventions and Conferences of professional or discipline related organizations. Such requests must be approved by the Department Chair, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and the College President, upon recommendation of the Senate Conference Attendance Committee.
• The College President may approve faculty reassigned time for other purposes.

Routine Obligations and Responsibilities: The following recommendations were developed by the college wide approval process of the Valley College Curriculum Committee and approved by the Academic Senate.

• It is recommended that each faculty member give each student a course information sheet containing a short description of the course consistent with the approved course outline on file in the Office of Instruction. This information sheet should list designated texts, assignments and examinations and should also include an indication of the amount of reading and writing required in the course.
• Instructors should recognize that students have a right to know the standards for keeping attendance, evaluating and grading, and to know that these standards and procedures are consistently applied.
• Instructors have the obligation to let students review tests that have been taken and to know their approximate standing in the class.
• Instructors are expected to adhere to the course outlines established by the department.
• It is recommended that before the final official withdrawal date, all instructors shall have returned some graded assignments to their students in every class, in order for the students to determine their progress so that they can make informed decisions concerning withdrawal.
• Office Hours. All monthly rate faculty assigned to teaching duties shall maintain a posted schedule of office hours per week at a reasonable time for student consultation as indicated in the collective bargaining agreement.

Absences: Instructors must notify the office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs as far in advance as possible when it is necessary for them to be absent because of illness or for other reasons. This notice should include: Name, department, reason for absence, length of expected absence, and class schedule during period of absence. Indicate if any of the classes which will be missed are hourly rate assignments. DO NOT CALL A SUBSTITUTE YOURSELF. To report your absence call 818-947-2326. Following an absence the appropriate absence card, (cream color) for illness be filled out and returned to the Office of Academic Affairs immediately. Failure to fill out absence cards promptly may result in withholding of salary.

Commencement: Commencement takes place at the end of each school year. Unless other professional responsibilities conflict, it is expected that faculty will participate in the commencement exercises, including the academic procession. The presence of the faculty is an important contribution, helping to make the graduation exercises a memorable occasion for the graduates, their families, and friends.

Classroom Guest Speakers may be selected, scheduled, and notified by faculty members, but the instructor shall inform the Vice President of Academic Affairs on the form entitled Classroom Guest Speaker. These forms, available in the Office of Academic Affairs, must be submitted to the Vice President by the Department Chair at least 3 days prior to the scheduled speaker.

Academic Rights and Responsibilities

Academic Rights and Responsibilities: An instructor at Los Angeles Valley College has many rights; those guaranteed by the AFT Collective Bargaining Agreement with the LACCD, tenure and the American tradition of academic freedom. Commensurate responsibilities accrue with these rights. A separate booklet entitled Academic Rights and Responsibilities covers this area in detail. It also outlines procedures followed at Los Angeles Valley College when an instructor is accused of not living up to his or her responsibilities. It is good idea to become familiar with the material in the "Rights and Responsibilities" handbook on the LAVC website.

Course Standards: Individual instructors carry out their assignments under the aegis and direction of their department. Instructors should know, however, that courses taught for credit must meet minimum state requirements. The Curriculum Standards Handbook for the California Community Colleges, available in your department, lists course and program requirements in detail. Some of the essential requirements are:

• Course content must include material described in the "outline of record" on file in the department. Special care must be taken when a course is a prerequisite for another that those elements, which make it a prerequisite, are emphasized.
• State standards state a unit of credit should require 3 hours of work per week by the student, thus a 3 unit course should demand, in addition to the traditional 3 hour lecture, 6 hours of reading, writing, lab and/or activities.
• Credit coursework must involve critical thinking and understanding college level concepts.
• The Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees has directed that during the first week of classes instructors must distribute a statement describing the student work product, which will be the basis for determining each student's grade in the class. The Board also directed, "to the extent such student work product takes the form of written work, such written work shall, if not returned to the student, be retained by the faculty member for at least one year from the end of the term in which the course was taken. All faculty grade records shall be retained by the faculty member for at least such a one year period."
• Assembly Bill 1725 assigned to Academic Senates the responsibility for community college curriculum. At Los Angeles Valley College, the Senate and administration agreed that the Curriculum Committee would resolve all curriculum concerns such as prerequisites, corequisites, course content and programs. The VCCC is the arbiter of interdepartmental curriculum disputes and conducts periodic reviews to insure state mandates are met. Instructors should take curriculum matters to their department chair for resolution or forwarding to the Curriculum Committee. Full details on the curriculum process can be found later in this document.

STUDENT COMPLAINTS ABOUT FACULTY

The Academic Senate recommends that unsolicited written communications or verbal complaints from students about faculty members be handled by the department involved. The procedures outlined below provide an appropriate process, which will dovetail with the District policy on Student Grievances.

• The complaining student should first be directed to the faculty member involved in an effort to reach an informal solution.
• If the dispute cannot be resolved by a meeting with the faculty member, the student should make an appointment with the department chair. At this stage the complaint should be in writing with appropriate supportive documentation attached. The department chair has a number of alternatives.
  • The Chair may talk to the faculty member.
  • The Chair may arrange a joint meeting with the faculty member and the student.
  • The Chair may appoint a departmental committee to look into the situation, which would be appropriate if the chair is the faculty member involved in the complaint. (If the Chair himself/herself is the instructor involved in the complaint, and it is not resolved, the student may go to the next level, i.e., the area dean for that department.)
  • The department may wish to have the student choose a faculty member to represent him or her at a faculty committee meeting.
  • If there is no solution at the department level, the student may take the complaint to the area dean for that department.
• If after trying to resolve the issue at the faculty, department and administrative levels, no solution has been reached, the student may then be referred to the campus Ombudsperson to discuss the option of filing a formal grievance.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CURRENT ACADEMIC RANK POLICY (PDF)

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, OFFICERS, AND ELECTIONS: Following is partial list of organizations whose aims are of general interest to all instructors. Additional information may be obtained from the officers or representatives.

• Los Angeles Valley College Faculty Association/Academic Senate. The Faculty Association is a social and professional organization composed of the faculty on this campus. The Faculty Association is represented by an elected Academic Senate in all matters pertaining to the welfare of its members. Under Title 5. Senates are empowered as legal representatives of the faculty on "academic and professional matters."
• AFT College Guild. American Federation of Teachers Local 1521, the AFT College Guild, is the exclusive bargaining agent for the instructors of the District under a contract agreement between the Los Angeles Community College District and the American Federation of Teachers, College Guild, Local 1521. Under the California Educational Employment Relations Act the elected bargaining agent represents the faculty in negotiations with the Board of Trustees on all issues, which fall within the scope of collective bargaining. Go to: http://www.aft1521.org/ for more information.
• Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) is a statewide professional organization, interested in all matters pertaining to education, especially on the statewide level, including research, legislation, dissemination of information, and teacher's rights and duties. The ASCCC, like the local academic senates and district senates, is included in Title 5 of the Administrative Code for Education, as representative to the Board of Governors in all faculty matters not covered by collective bargaining. The faculty president and an elected voting delegate attend all ASCCC Sessions.
• The Faculty Association of the California Community Colleges (FACCC) is a statewide community college organization which promotes legislation on all matters relating to community colleges and the professional recognition of community college teachers.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM

Educational Programs

• Transfer: Four-year universities require students to complete certain requirements for the Bachelors Degree. Among these are general education and major requirements. Los Angeles Valley College offers transferable courses, which are equivalent to the lower division (i.e., Freshman and Sophomore) requirements at many colleges and universities.
• Transfer Alliance Program: The Los Angeles Valley College Transfer Alliance Program offers academically motivated students an opportunity to enhance their community college education through special honors classes and enrichment activities. Courses provided in the Transfer Alliance Program meet general education requirements for the Associate Degree and for transfer to most four-year universities and colleges, including the UC and CSU systems.
• Associate Degree (AA/AS): The Associate Degree (AA/AS) can be earned in conjunction with preparation for transfer or an Occupational Program. It can also be pursued as an educational end in itself.
• Occupational Certificate: The Occupational Certificate is a sequence of courses leading to a specific area of employment. It is designed for those students who have limited time to pursue their formal education and who wish to specialize in a particular employment oriented area.
• General Education: A program of general education comprised of planned experiences which develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for the student to be effective as a worker, family member, and citizen.
• Continuing Education: Opportunities are provided for individuals who are interested in improving their occupational competence or personal growth that may supplement formal full-time college attendance.
• Community Services: The Community Services Program is authorized (In the most recent statement of the mission of the California Community Colleges by the State Legislature three priority levels are established: 1. primary; 2. essential and important; and 3. authorized) by state law and is directed toward meeting the educational, social, economic, recreational, cultural and civic needs of the people in the service community of Los Angeles Valley College. Sec. 6. Sec. 66701 (Ed Code). At present, the program is divided into four service areas:
  • Cultural and Special Programs: Programs in this area provide the community with opportunities for cultural awareness, enrichment, and appreciation through musical programs, educational and documentary films, lecture series, travelogues, and dance performances.
  • Educational Programs: Educational programs offer the community an opportunity to explore a variety of personal interest, non-credit areas of learning; to update individual knowledge on recurring social problems; and to participate in observation and study of natural phenomena. The programs include non-credit on-campus classes, and planetarium lectures.
  • Physical Recreation Programs: This service area offers opportunities for the community to participate in such recreational activities as non-credit short-term classes in dance, martial arts, physical fitness, gymnastics and sports; and a variety of self-directed recreational programs.
  • Workshops, Conferences and Seminars: This area designs, plans, and implements workshops in general interest areas, specialized interest areas and in public service areas.
• Course Outlines: An up-to-date course outline for each class offered in the college is on file in the library, the Office of Instruction, and in the department. Department chairpersons are responsible for submitting these outlines for classes offered in their departments. (Five copies of each outline are to be placed on file in the Office of Academic Affairs, two copies in the office of the department chairperson, and one copy in the library.)
• Textbooks:
  • Selection: Each semester the Bookstore provides computer printouts showing the texts ordered for each instructor. Instructors should check these carefully to ensure accurate and adequate text orders. Department Chairs should ensure that books are ordered for unstaffed sections. Textbooks for courses are selected by instructors and/or departments. It creates severe problems for the bookstore if texts are not used for more than a single semester. When instructors plan to change texts they should notify the bookstore by the published deadline date.
  • Courtesy Copies: An instructor may usually secure a courtesy copy of a text from the publisher for the classes s/he teaches. If the instructor desires, the bookstore manager may provide forms for requesting a book and give the instructor a copy from the book inventory. When the instructor receives the book from the publisher s/he should return it to the bookstore to replace the "advanced" copy. Forms to order required and recommended texts are available in the Office of Academic Affairs.
• Tests and Examinations: The final examination must be given at the time and place stipulated in the official final examination schedule. No instructor may change the time and place of the examination without the prior approval of the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
• Credit by Examination: Students interested in obtaining credit by examination should contact the Office of Admissions and Records early in the semester for a petition. In order to petition to establish credit in a course by examination, the student must be currently registered at Valley College with a minimum grade point average of 2.0.
• Credit/No Credit Grades: A student may take no more than one course in any given semester on a "credit/no credit" basis; a maximum of 15 units of "credit" work may be applied toward the Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degrees. A student must be currently registered and in good standing at the college, with a minimum 2.0. grade point average in all work attempted at the college before being allowed to take a course on a "credit/no credit" basis. Certain classes may be designated by a department as credit/no credit. The Office of Admissions and Records has a complete list of the regulations governing "credit/no credit" grades. Interested students should be referred to the Office of Admissions and Records. There is a deadline. Requests, once granted, for CR/NC cannot be reversed.
• Major Religious Holidays: Administrative Regulation B3 states: "On major religious holidays students shall not be required to register or attend classes." Faculty and staff have the option of observing religious holidays without penalty. This same courtesy is extended to our students who should not be penalized in any manner for observing major religious holidays. However, it is the responsibility of the student to find out what assignments, if any, will be, and/or have been, missed and to make up any required work.