Next fall, students can expect to see new faces around campus since California implemented a new budget statewide for full-time faculty hires.
Michael Ritterbrown, vice president of instructional services, said student enrollment is the college’s primary source of income.
“We’re allocated on a basis of full-time equivalent students. We get about $45,000 per full- time equivalent student and we generally have about 15-17,000 enrolled students,” Ritterbrown said.
This year is going to be different, however. “The state is allocating funding for delayed maintenance and instructional equipment, which hasn’t been funded for a while, as well as faculty hiring,” Ritterbrown added. “There is a specific budget for full-time hiring.”
Ronald Nakasone, executive vice president of administrative services, said the statewide budget is $62.3 million.
“One of the things within the state budget was an appropriation for full-time faculty hires and out of the $62.3 million, Glendale College is expecting $823,000,” Nakasone said.
The new budget will be implemented through the college’s faculty obligation number which is the minimum amount of full-time faculty colleges are required to have.
“Our full-time faculty obligation estimate for next fall is 233. The obligation number is a minimum,” Nakasone said. “We can always have more full-time faculty.”
When a full-time faculty member retires a replacement is required, because the faculty obligation number never goes down.
“The number increases as the college grows. They look at credit student enrollment…so if our enrollment went up 2 percent, then they increase our faculty number by 2 percent,” Nakasone said. “The obligation number changes year to year and we have to hire to meet that number.”
The campus will lose funding if the faculty obligation number is not met.
The college is funded on enrollment, so for all the credit students, there are only so many full-time equivalent or not equivalent. They calculate the amount earned and subtract about $70,000 for each number below obligation.”
Nakasone said he believes there is no excuse to be penalized. “It is important for the college to meet that number. Our students are impacted and motivated through their teachers,” Nakasone added.
“It is important for us to hire these teachers to influence their students and unnecessary for us to not meet the minimum. There are always teachers looking for work.”
The new budget will not be in effect until next year. The numbers will be adjusted in fall 2016.
“We’re getting the money this year, but they’re allowing us time. It takes about three to four months minimum for us to hire full-time faculty.”
Hiring new faculty is a detailed process. According to Nakasone each department on campus does an annual program review document and within that document, they can request additional full-time positions.”
The Student Services Hiring Instructional Hiring Allocation Committee and the Student Services Hiring Allocation Committees then work together to decide who they want to hire.
“The committees get together and look over the program review data, as well as other data, to determine which divisions they feel should be allocated full time positions,” Ritterbrown said.
“The committee meets together for several months. Those recommendations are then sent to administration.”
After the committees make their decision, the hiring process begins.
“The names off the list go through the screening, job announcement, application, interview, final interview and job offer,” Nakasone said.
Ritterbrown believes the new budget will be a good change for next year.
“With more teachers, the class sizes are bound to be smaller. Students will have the opportunity to work one on one with the teacher,” Ritterbrown said.