The employment of adjunct faculty provides expertise to enhance the educational effectiveness of Volunteer State Community College. In order to properly control the hiring of adjunct faculty, the procedures listed below will be followed.
Recruitment
It is the responsibility of the division dean to contact the Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs as the need for adjunct faculty arises, and to contact the Human Resources Office to request advertisement for new adjunct faculty. The division dean will review applications, vitae, and other materials submitted by applicants; screen; and then interview the most qualified prospective adjunct faculty. Appropriate coordinators and other faculty in the discipline are invited to participate in the interview process. All affirmative action policies will be followed in recruiting new adjunct faculty to the College. Recommendations for the appointment of adjunct faculty will be submitted to the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
Qualifications
All adjunct faculty are required to meet standards of qualification as recommended by SACS (Criterion 3.7.1) and relevant guidelines on faculty credentials. VSCC specifications of qualifications are published in the Adjunct Faculty Handbook.
Faculty teaching in technical specialty, non-university parallel courses, or co-requisite remediation courses must have academic preparation and work experience appropriate to the discipline in which they are applying to teach.
Faculty must provide to the Human Resources Office official transcripts from each college or university attended which reflect academic work and/or other certification and documentation to demonstrate preparation for teaching.
Hiring Process
The search process for adjunct faculty is provided in the Employment and Search Procedure Manual, published by and available in the Human Resources Office. After prospective candidates are recruited, screened, and the most qualified are invited for an interview, the division dean makes his or her selection. The office of the division dean is to complete an online “Faculty Load and Compensation” contract form for each adjunct instructor, and obtain the electronic signature or “acknowledgment” of the instructor. In electronically acknowledging (signing) the contract form, the prospective adjunct teacher indicates an awareness that the agreement is not valid if student enrollment is not adequate, or if a full-time faculty member needs the course to make up a full teaching load.
The Human Resources Office is responsible for obtaining all documentation and forms required for employment.
Orientation Process
All adjunct faculty are required to attend the in-service orientation program offered every Fall semester and are expected to thoroughly review the Adjunct Faculty Handbook, available online at the VSCC website. The Handbook includes, for example, important procedures and expectations regarding syllabi, attendance, academic freedom and professional ethics, evaluation procedures, and grading policy. Each adjunct instructor must affirm that he/she has read and understands the procedures and expectations in the handbook; indicated by signature on the “Faculty Load and Compensation” contract form.
Evaluation
Essential to the College’s efforts to constantly improve upon teaching and learning, adjunct faculty are regularly and routinely evaluated per VSCC Policy II:01:02 (Faculty Evaluation Process for Academic Affairs) and information is published in the Adjunct Faculty Handbook. The process of evaluation includes, for example, student evaluations and classroom observations.
The results of the evaluations will be the basis for continued employment at the institution.
VSCC Source: October 16, 1989, President; October 27, 1998, President; November 10, 2008, President’s Cabinet; January 28, 2019, President’s Cabinet
