February 18, 2002

Joyce has taught at ARC for four years and 3 semesters at the Folsom site.

The student population at ARC is more diverse than at Folsom.  Joyce believes such students benefit her classes and the students in them because of the different perspectives these students bring.  Challenges occur with such students, particularly if they are ESL; they can have problems with the writing of papers in her courses.  She attended a workshop for faculty that gave information about the resources available to such students (tutoring, ESL and remedial classes), which she was able to pass along to her students. “I’ve found that the students want to write well and speak well, and they’re willing and ready to take these classes/assistance in order to get help.  They’re conscientious. Students who aren’t conscientious weed themselves out.  I’ve had some students take a class from me, thinking that a child development course would be ‘easy.’  They stop showing up when they find out it’s hard work!” Joyce also commented that the diversity of the students extends to age as well.

“Community colleges are affordable and they encourage someone who might not want to pursue college to try it and see if it works for them.”

FACULTY SUPPORT
Joyce has found “good support” from other full-time faculty.  “They’ll say, ‘Here are some ideas for you.’  Any questions I would have were answered, even the small details, the mechanics of getting started.  The Early Childhood Dept. at ARC has been very supportive.  I knew where to go to get answers.  I think because ARC has been around awhile, they know how to encourage and include adjunct faculty.”

Since Joyce has taught at another site, I asked her to compare her experience between the two campuses.
“Compared to other community colleges (I also had a brief experience with El Dorado Hills), I think ARC is better.  When I started teaching at ARC, I didn’t have to ask as many questions:  they were already thought of, the information was available—they had anticipated everything.  And they’re better than others with keeping faculty abreast of what’s going on [by offering] classes/workshops.  At the El Dorado site, I spent weeks preparing for a class I was asked to teach.  I called to check on how many students were enrolled and couldn’t get the information.  I finally had to drive out to the site —quite a ways!— the day before the class was scheduled to begin and I was informed that the class had been dropped!  They had ‘forgotten’ to tell me that no one had signed up for it—after all that time and effort I spent preparing!”

Joyce acknowledged that she’s had similar situations at ARC, but that happened when a full-time faculty member’s course didn’t “carry” and she/he was assigned to teach one of her courses.  “I can understand that.  They have seniority/rank over me.  But ARC told me about it in advance.  I just want to be treated with respect, that’s all I ask.  American River College does that.”

Joyce said that it’s rare that a class is cancelled because of lack of students at ARC.
“Speaking for my department anyway, they’re pretty careful about offering classes that they’re pretty sure are going to have enough people to carry.  That’s a benefit and I don’t worry about that at ARC. Overall, I would say that ARC’s strengths with regard to faculty is that they have better communication, are more organized and they are more conscientious than other campuses.”

SEEKING FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT
Joyce has interviewed twice for a full-time position with ARC.  “It’s very competitive.  Actually, that’s true for the whole Los Rios District.  The problem I’ve had is people within the system are moving around. And they get priority, of course. I made it to the 2nd interview at ARC once and it was filled by another full time person from another campus. You have to know what’s going on—keep your ‘ear to the ground’ during the application process.  I’ve lately considered taking a full-time position at a less desirable community college (for me)  so I can have those transfer options later.”

I discussed with Joyce the fact that faculty members at other sites might consider ARC a good place to be and that’s why it’s difficult to get on full time there.  “I agree. When you treat staff respectfully like ARC does, word gets around.  And they’ve been doing this a long time. They’re more experienced than some other sites.”

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
Joyce has taken advantage of staff development workshops and classes.  “I took ‘What You Need to Know to Apply for a Full-Time Position’, which is offered every semester.  I also took one on accommodating different learning styles with students you teach. The ones I attended were very worthwhile.”

Joyce maintains that there is a strong emphasis on Staff Development at ARC.  “It’s important to have in order to keep abreast of what’s going on in your field.  Also, it helps to attend State and National conferences for this reason.  Committee work, as well, keeps you informed of the issues—what’s really going on locally in your field.  But it takes time to keep up—to go to these meetings and be an active member on them.”
Joyce claims that ARC’s ECE Department  is very involved in Early Childhood organizations in the county.  “Up until this semester, they were the only community college represented at the Child Action meetings [one of the largest early childhood organizations in Northern California].”

“It’s great that ARC offers so many opportunities for its staff through workshops and classes, but you [the instructor] have to make the commitment---committees included-- or you won’t know what’s going on and your students want to know.”

“I believe that the classes and workshops offered to faculty by ARC are good quality and helpful for instruction.  These classes also put you in contact with other faculty and staff—people you’ve never met, or might never meet, if you hadn’t enrolled in a class.”

“Some staff development time, you’re paid for.  But conscientious staff will continue to take those classes whether they’re paid or not.”

TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
Joyce has not taken any of the courses/workshops related to technology at ARC.  “I basically use my computer and I email my students and they email me.  I also have the students go on the internet to find an article and tie it into our class discussions.”

Joyce takes her students during one class period to the Career Center where a resource person there shows the students the software, tools, and resources available to them as they plan for their careers.  “The resource person was extremely accommodating and helpful.  She stayed after hours, because I was teaching a late class, in order to help the students in my class.”

FREEDOM TO TEACH
“You’re expected to follow the course outline; there are certain objectives , certain things you have to cover for the class.  I use the text chosen by the full-time faculty when I teach a course.  They’ve done the homework on what’s best, so I’m happy to go a long with their expertise.  But I have a lot of flexibility and freedom to focus on the things that I feel are important—to add things I’ve found to be helpful for the students.”

INTERACTION WITH OTHER FACULTY
At the beginning of each semester there are faculty meetings and throughout the year there are monthly meetings.  “I’ve found that these are very helpful and they give you an opportunity to share ideas. The ones at the beginning of the semester are set up so you can ‘network’ with other faculty, which is nice.”

LEARNING PARIDIGM APPROACH
 “If I lectured, I wouldn’t have students,” Joyce told me.  “Students expect to interact, they expect dialogue---something else besides somebody standing up there lecturing.  And even if they don’t expect it, I expect it!  I expect them to participate.  If you show up to class, you’ve got to participate, you’ve got to think!  If you just show up and sit, you’re not really learning, as far as I can tell.  I do a lot of hands-on, interactive group work in my classes.  The class I took on students’ different learning styles at ARC was very helpful with this.”

SHARED GOVERNANCE
“I can only speak for my department [ECE].  Responsibilities are divvied up.  For instance, one person will serve for 2 years on the Hiring Committee, then another person gets a chance.  It’s more equitable that way.  My feeling is that ARC faculty has a voice, they listen to you.  They give lots of opportunities for people to express their views.  I’ve seen that first hand.  Now whether or not it’s carried to the next step, as adjunct faculty, I’m less aware of that process.”

CHALLENGES/CONCERNS
 “As an adjunct faculty member, I am paid only for my hours in the classroom.  There’s a lot of prep time---a tremendous amount, especially if you are teaching ‘beyond lecturing.’  If you want quality instructors, then you’ve got to pay for them.  Teaching involves much more than just your ‘contact time’ with students.”

ARC’s STRENGTHS
 “American River College’s main strengths are that they are supportive of staff, have a lot of experience and are innovative—they’re always looking for new ways to grow:  new opportunities for students’ learning. And they are constantly looking for ways to keep up with everything that’s going on in our field.”

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
“We often get the students who are right on ‘the edge.’  They’re not sure about this whole college thing and you—the instructor—can be a deciding factor in whether a student will continue or decide, “No, college is not for me!”  While you want to nurture that desire, you also want to let them know that college IS different from high school and that there are expectations.  One student called me after the class was over, wanting to know why she got an “F” in the class.  ‘I showed up for every single class,’ she told me.  But she hadn’t turned in any assignments and didn’t show up for the final.  And that’s what I told her. ‘There’s more to it than just showing up. I’m glad you were there, but there’s more to it than just showing up.’ ”