Dear SDCCD College Adjunct Faculty,
If you have been teaching in the San Diego Community College District in the college credit program for five or more semesters, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of an important job security benefit the union had previously won for you called “Priority of Assignment.”
Any adjunct faculty member who has taught in the college credit program for five or more semesters is eligible to participate. All you need to do to initiate your participation in this program is to ask for a meeting with your dean and chair (an email is fine) to begin this process.
At this meeting, you will discuss with your dean and chair which courses you qualify for Priority of Assignment (POA) in. At a minimum, they must give you the courses you are currently teaching, however, we recommend that you advocate for as many courses as you feel you are qualified to teach. The more expansive your list, the better your opportunity for job security down the road.
Once you have had this meeting, two semesters hence you will begin to have re-employment rights ahead of others who are less senior than you. That means that as new sections become available, either through growth or attrition, you will be given first right of refusal before that particular course section is offered to someone with less seniority than you. However, it does not mean you get to choose your own schedule. It just means you get offered an available assignment ahead of a less senior adjunct faculty member. Seniority is determined based on the accumulated total FTEF you have taught starting four semesters back from when you request the meeting with your chair and your dean.
It is in everyone’s interest to apply to get into this program. Please let me or your AFT site rep know right away if you are being discouraged from applying from either your dean or your chair.
For more information on this program, please visit these two documents on our website: Job Security Overview Job Security FAQ’s.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or encounter any problems with securing these rights.
In Unity,
Jim
Jim Mahler, President
AFT Guild, Local 1931
San Diego & Grossmont-Cuyamaca
Community Colleges
