1. What steps can we take to make it easier for us to deal with the new lecturer categories in planning our hiring for this fall?
   1. Start by putting some order into data about all lecturers who have taught in your program during the past six or seven years -- a list, matrix, or other notes including for each
      • date of first hire;
      • academic and/or professional qualifications;
        
      • all courses s/he has taught, with a one-word evaluation summary for each course ("excellent," "good," and so on), basing your descriptor on evaluations of classes or other work for which the person is hired -- supervision, advising, research, and so on, information on the Temporary Faculty Evaluation Form you complete each spring;
        
      • other courses s/he is qualified to teach;
        
      • other information you think relevant (from peer observation, letters in the file, contributions to the department or profession, any other relevant stuff)

   When you look at all the puzzle pieces as gathered in this way, the resulting picture should be very instructive.

   2. Make a 'do' list: What kind of evaluation process can you devise that is simple and fair, doesn't overburden other program faculty, and meets professional standards? Who in your program can be
      asked to devise a ranking system for hiring purposes, and what should it 'look like'? When can you implement that system and process?
   3. Although most of us would prefer a world in which all faculty know clearly by the end of spring what they'll be teaching in fall, at a time of major turbulence you may not know by then. It would be more honest and humane to say gently but clearly that until the budget is finalized you cannot guarantee what the course schedule will look like in August. If you have developed a coherent plan for hiring lecturers, it will be easier to predict (not promise) how you'll proceed when you have a clear sense of what courses will remain on the books for fall.
      
      
2. What happens if a "preferred-status" lecturer (one with a three-year contract) has a class that is low-enrolled at Touch Tone?

   The same thing that would have happened before the new language came into being: you will probably be asked to cancel it.

   The new language does not obligate programs to offer courses they can't afford or in which

   Touch Tone enrollments are low. It would make sense to assign the lecturer to another course that s/he is qualified to teach if such a course is being offered (you may have to 'bump' another less senior lecturer in order to do so).

   What the contract says is this:
   
   12.29

   • In the event that the department determines that a need exists to assign new or additional work to temporary faculty unit employees, said work shall first be offered to incumbent temporary faculty in the department who:

1. Hold less than a "1.0" time base;
   
2. Hold three-year appointments in the department or equivalent unit;
   
3. Have previously satisfactorily taught the course at any CSU campus or are otherwise qualified to perform the work in question; and
   
4. Have performed their work in a satisfactory manner.

• If new or additional work is still available, incumbent temporary faculty who meet all criteria in (a) above except that they do not hold a three-year appointment shall next be offered the work.
• Following the procedure described in subsections (a) and (b) above, if new or additional work is still available for assignment to temporary employees in the department, said work may be offered to qualified temporary faculty or applicants who have not previously worked in the department.
  
  
3. What if we want to offer a class that our most senior lecturer isn't qualified to teach?

   As a chair or director, you need to make sure your course offerings preserve program goals and the integrity of degree programs. If you need to offer a course required for a major, minor, certificate program, or GE, you should schedule it. The goal is to staff it with the most-qualified person available to teach it, so you will want to appoint someone with the appropriate qualifications. Assuming that tenured/TT faculty are already scheduled, take a close look at the qualifications and experience of your lecturer pool and make the best choice you can. In other words, follow the procedure described in article 12.29, above.

4. We're in the midst of several tenure-track hires and won't finish for another month or so. What should we tell our lecturers?

   Tell them the truth: that you can't yet say with any certainty how many lecturers you'll be hiring for 2002-2003 and will let them know as soon as the searches conclude. If you believe that only some of the newer lecturers may be affected by a search, you may want to talk with them so they have a sense of what's happening. They would rather hear from you than the ubiquitous rumor mill.

5. What am I supposed to do if the budget shortfall goes to 10% and we have to reduce course offerings?

   Good question. If you have prepared a 'what if?' plan, you'll know which courses remain on the books and which ones don't. That information should make it possible for you to notify both tenured/TT faculty and lecturers about possible changes in fall offerings.

6. I don't know how to explain the new health benefits eligibility language. What should I be telling lecturers in my program?

   The good news is that lecturers appointed at .40 for both semesters of an academic year will again be eligible for health benefits (including vision and dental). The bad news is that the new provisions are written in legalese. Human Resources should be able to help straighten out individual cases or queries. In highly simplified language, here's what you need to know, starting with the fact that eligibility will occur in two stages.

   Group A will be eligible "after the close of business on June 30, 2002." Individuals in Group A will have to certify that they are not presently covered by health insurance.

   Individuals in Group A must fit this profile:

   Appointed at a time base of at least .40 for an academic year
   Not presently covered by "alternate health insurance"
   Meet the other criteria for eligibility.

   Group B will be eligible "with the first appointment after the close of business on June 30, 2003."

   Individuals in Group B differ from those in Group A only in that they are now covered by health insurance, hence the one-year delay in eligibility.

7. How will the 3-year contracts and the "right of first refusal" on courses affect our ability to hire t/t faculty? To revise our curriculum?

   Both CSU and CFA have said that hiring new tenure-track faculty is a major priority. SFSU is firmly committed to this goal.

   The problem: When you hire a new tenure-track faculty member, during his/her first year you will be drawing on department funds that have previously been used to pay lecturers, so may see a temporary reduction in courses available for lecturers. And, as you know, enrollments at SFSU have been unpredictable. In fact, hiring of new tenure-track faculty is much more likely to be affected by the salaries and workload in CSU -- especially in high cost-of-living areas like the Bay Area - than any other factor.

   If you are fortunate enough to hire new tenure-track faculty, there may be a short-term reduction of work for lecturers: it may turn out that you no longer have funding for both the new faculty member and for lecturers who have taught in the past. The new contract language does not require you to offer work you cannot afford to offer. (The 'contingency' language governing lecturer employment remains in the contract.) It does, though, require you to hire for the available sections in the order of priority stated in 12.29 (above).

8. Will lecturers file a grievance every time the department tries to improve its program to do new hires, to revise the curriculum?

   They may want to (it isn't very pleasant finding out that your job is in jeopardy), and a few may even try to do so. The vast majority will not.

   Programs intending to make internal changes or curriculum revisions should do so openly, so that any faculty who have a stake in the matter can participate in the decision-making process from the first stages of that process and are fully informed about what you're doing and how it may affect them.

   The reality here is that no faculty member is encouraged to file a grievance that CFA believes to be frivolous. If a faculty member has a basis in the contract, campus policy, or established practice, s/he may be encouraged to file in order to protect time lines - his/her right to file a grievance on a matter within specified deadlines - and the matter investigated afterward.

9. How can I avoid being trapped into hiring people that I don't want to hire?
   
   The very best way to avoid this situation is to develop clear and appropriate hiring criteria and procedures; establish a hiring pool and a ranking system; publish department criteria for hiring lecturers; conduct open and fair evaluation of lecturers.

   While some last-minute 'emergency' hires may fall short of your expectations, a well-designed evaluation process that includes responsible peer observation as well as student evaluations is your strongest guarantee of high-quality faculty in all categories and ranks.

   There are several models on the SFSU campus for 'state of the art' hiring and evaluation procedures (the English Composition program and the History Department are two). While these procedures do take some time, they can be designed to honor the needs and pre-existing responsibilities of the evaluators and the lecturers alike. In the long run they will conserve faculty time and energy, reduce the chances of vexing conflicts, and improve faculty morale.

10. Can FERP faculty teach during summer session?

    Another good question. The answer is that there is no universal answer. A FERP faculty member who is prepared not to teach in other sessions may be able to teach during the summer, but each case seems to be slightly different . . . . The crucial language specifies the total number of days a FERP faculty member can work.

11. What does the contract say about general-fund-supported summer session (YRO)?

    Very little (see below). The terms of YRO still have to be bargained.

    40.1 Effective beginning with the summer 2004 term, faculty teaching regular credit courses shall be compensated on the same basis as in other academic terms. This provision shall apply to those campuses with state-funded summer sessions.

    40.2 The parties shall continue to meet to develop the final language on this subject,
    including the protection of temporary faculty rights and benefits.

12. Do twelve month chairs who get paid both for teaching and for being chairs get any raise on the portion of their chair's salary as against the 2% increase they will get
    on the portion of their salary that comes from teaching? In other words, do 12 month chairs get a 2% increase on their whole salary?

    Yes. Department chairs remain members of the bargaining unit, that is, Unit 3 faculty. As such, they get a 2% GSI for their entire salary.

13. What are the agreements made reguarding lecturer eligibility for benefits?

On a semester campus, in order to get benefits a lecturer needs to:

• Qualify by having completed, or completing, an initial appointment period of one semester in the prior academic year;
  
• Have an appointment of at least 6 months plus one day -- in practical terms, have a one-year contract;
  
• Have a total time-base of .40 or more (which can be aggregated if the lecturer teaches at more than one CSU campus).

If they meet these criteria, lecturers in Group A (individuals who are not now covered by health insurance) will be eligible to apply as of July 1, 2002; lecturers in Group B (who do have health coverage at present) will be eligible to apply as of July 1, 2003.