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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2009)
ie Clackamas Print online at TheClackamasPrint.com First copy FREE, additional copies 1^ Clackamas Print independent, student -run 3s Community College, Oregon City, OR liege banks 2,250 in late ystration fees newspaper since Wednesday, April 29, 2009 1966 ASG Meet and Greet Thursday April 30 Community Center room 127 from noon- 1 p.m. Volume 42, Issue 19 At least we’rè recycling... n John Hurlburt Clackamas Print Last Tuesday 18 boxes of new computer paper fill a recycling bin near McLoughlin Hall. The source of the dis carded paper is unknown, but the wasted paper would have cost $2357.82 according to Officemax.com. Part-timers experience shadowed losses John Hurlburt News Editor ■HMiM I ) I IMMii Many part-time faculty members through out campus have been experiencing a full- time problem, as the average number of hours they work has either dropped or been reduced to zero, in the category 5 storm o f budget woes striking at the core of Clackamas. In a survey sent out to all of Clackamas’ part-time facility members by the Part-Time Faculty Association (PTFA), it was discovered that out of foe 73 people who responded to foe survey, 26 percent said they had less work than in spring 2008 ,and 15 percent said they had no work compared to spring 2008. PTFA President Rosemary Teetor knows that budget cuts are foe reason behind foe slump, but said that the problem of diminished hours isn’t apparent in foe school’s budget “There is an impact to part-time faculty from mid-year budget cuts that are virtu ally invisible unless you are a part-timer,” said Teetor. Part-time faculty cuts don’t show up like foe 20 full-time positions that were removed by Clackamas administrators during foe recent budget slashes. Instead, since part timers are hired at foe department level and not by human resources (HR), part-time faculty numbers are not kept on foe books in HR, according to Jan Godfrey, Clackamas vice president. Godfrey commented that by sending out foe survey foe PTFA were “trying to figure out •what foe impact of foe budget reductions were for all of Clackamas.” Teetor said that foe cuts were definitely noticeable to those who were employed as part-timers. During fall term, CCC boasted a squad of about 350 part-timers supplement ing full-time faculty on campus. Now during spring term that number is down to about 305. Scott Giltz, Dean of foe Technical Career Education Division and a former part-time member himself, sees part-time faculty mem bers as an indispensable part of the college for a variety of reasons. “They’re incredibly valuable,” Giltz said. “Part-timers bring the most relative and up to date trends into the classroom.” Many part-timers in Giltz’s department hold jobs outside of the college and this allows them to bring what is going on in the real world into the classroom. Without them, he believes that there is “no way” his depart ment could offer the same level of education without them. “We have many programs offered only because of part-time staff,” Giltz commented. Another advantage, according to Giltz, to having part-time faculty members working for foe college is that it allows foe college to get a presence in outside corporations and build mutually beneficial partnerships. Teetor said that a part-timer is anyone who has not been formally hired full-time. At Clackamas, this means that part-timers can work the equivalent of fill 1-time but without John Shufelt Clackamas Print Part-timer Tim Pantages helps stu dent Brett Sanchez. foe advantage of full-time benefits. This is almost unique to CCC, many colleges don't let part-timers work more than a certain num ber of hours. Although these freelancing teachers are beneficial to foe college, their situation can seem unfair, Teetor mentioned. “There’s an inherent unfairness in foe whole part-time faculty situation,” Teetor said, emphasizing that it’s not just at Clackamas but at all colleges. Much in foe way grease fills the spac es between bearings, letting a wheel turn smoothly, part-time faculty fill foe gaps in curriculum without the school having to hire full-time employees. “We are the budget balancers,” Teetor expressed. At Clackamas, part-timers have worked up to 30 years and some also work equivalent hours as full-time instructors but without foe benefits. Even with this much service, they have not been offered an official full-time position. “If there were an option to be hired on full-time, I think half to two-thirds of my people would take it,” Teetor expressed, add ing logically, “You get benefits!” Giltz views foe situation a little differ ently. “I guess it depends on your perspec tive. I always knew there were no guaran tees as part-time staff,” Giltz acknow ledged. “Sometimes it seems unfair ... but that’s foe gig you sign up for.” Although there are downsides to being a free-lance instructor, upsides are to be found in foe status. “It’s foe flexibility that’s attractive to them,” Giltz said about part-timers in his department. Whether or not foe part-time instructor situation is fair or not, Giltz acknowledges their value. “I don’t really know how rtiuch I can emphasize how valuable they are to our divi sion,” Giltz expressed with gratitude.
