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2.8     The number of full-time faculty members is adequate to support the mission of the institution and to ensure the quality and integrity of its academic programs. Upon application for candidacy, an applicant institution demonstrates that it meets the comprehensive standard for faculty qualifications. (Faculty)

  ✔    Compliance             Partial Compliance         Non-Compliance

Summary

Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) is in compliance with this core requirement.   Although there are no statewide standards on full-time to part-time faculty ratios, FTCC has a 17.8 student-to-faculty ratio, with 74% of contact hours taught by full-time faculty.  The normal faculty workload of 18-24 contact hours per week teaching and 5 hours per week of office hours allows for the balance of a 40-hour work week to be spent for class preparation activities and addressing other duties as assigned.  In addition, the process of validating the credentials and evaluating the instructor’s performance annually ensures the continued quality and effectiveness of instruction.

Narrative

Fayetteville Technical Community College has an adequate number of faculty members to support its mission. To demonstrate our process, an analysis was conducted for the 2007-2008 school year which indicated FTCC had 300 full-time and 519 part-time curriculum faculty members. With an enrollment of 14,455 students, this equates to a student-per-faculty member ratio of 17.8. 

Upon further examination, this ratio equates to 13,431 contact hours taught by full-time faculty and 4,745 contact hours taught by part-time faculty or 74% of our class hours taught by full-time faculty.

FTCC has an adequate number of full-time faculty members to ensure the quality and integrity of its academic programs. According to the Organizational Handbook, the main duties of FTCC faculty are to provide quality instruction to students and to maintain awareness and currency in their field.  In addition, full-time faculty support the mission of the college in several ways, including advising students and giving input to administration on curriculum developments and equipment modifications or additions needed for program success, as well as serving on various committees.  FTCC provides time for these faculty-related administrative duties to be achieved, according to the Faculty Handbook (Curriculum); the average workload is 18-20 contact hours for technical and general education faculty members and 20-24 contact hours for vocational  faculty members.  For the 2007-2008 school year (Fall, Spring, and Summer), the average full-time contact hours by semester is depicted. Recognizing the dramatic growth in enrollment due to the recent downturn in the economy and because of numerous students enrolling to academically prepare for alternative career paths, FTCC's full-time faculty agreed to temporarily teach overload hours to ensure that the needs of all students were met.  

In addition to these teaching hours, each FTCC faculty member is required to maintain a minimum of five office hours per week to meet with students individually on both academic and administrative issues.  To ensure the quality of curriculum programs, each division chair is given a reduced workload to effectively manage the administrative areas of the curriculum and to have adequate time to evaluate teaching quality within divisions.   

FTCC has an adequate number of faculty members to demonstrate that it meets the core requirement for faculty qualifications. FTCC's division chairs document and review each faculty member’s credentials as part of the annual performance review process.  In addition, as described in the Performance Appraisal Manual, all employees, including faculty, are evaluated annually. This appraisal includes a review of the job description, establishing specific objectives for the appraisal period and performance attributes that are most critical to the function of the position. Additionally, the performance appraisal process includes an analysis of student course evaluations, supervisor's classroom observations, individual professional development goals, and other relevant input data.

These components of credentials, workload, and evaluation bring together the checks and balances required to ensure the quality and effectiveness of instruction.  Quality of instruction remains a continuous and ongoing priority at FTCC and has been incorporated into the internal culture of the institution.  FTCC's dedication to quality is evident by the Graduate Survey, which shows that 96.1% of graduates were satisfied with the quality of instruction received at FTCC.

Supporting Documentation

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