Administration of Eligibility Lists

Value Statement

The Austin Community College District’s foremost consideration in hiring and staffing faculty is to ensure that instruction systematically meets high standards of effectiveness.

Administrative Rule

This Administrative Rule provides the guidelines for the administration of Eligibility Lists and assures that:

• Adjunct Faculty are added to the Eligibility Lists as appropriate.
• Adjunct Faculty are assigned appropriate staffing priority within Eligibility Lists based on teaching effectiveness.

Each course offered in the College shall have a corresponding Eligibility List which identifies members of the Adjunct Faculty who are eligible to teach that course. Department Chairs are responsible for the creation and maintenance of Eligibility Lists, which are reviewed and certified each semester by the appropriate Dean.

1.  Recruitment of Applications for Eligibility Lists

1. Qualifications for Consideration
   1. Adjunct Faculty must possess the credentials required by the Southern Association of
   2. Colleges and Schools (SACS), the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
   3. (THECB), and other applicable, specialized program accreditation organizations.
   4. Applicants selected for an interview may be required to demonstrate teaching capability, communication, and presentation skills, and adequate knowledge of the subject matter.
   5. Individuals may not be excluded from an Eligibility List for a course at the introductory level based exclusively on the absence of either prior teaching experience or Master’s degree in the discipline if they otherwise meet the SACS credentials requirements.
   6. Exceptions to teaching credentials may be approved in accordance with SACS guidelines for documentation, but are expected to be rare and will require the approval of the President.
2. Department Chair Responsibility
   Department Chairs must ensure that:
   1. Applications for Adjunct Faculty positions are reviewed in the order received by Human Resources, and
   2. Applicants will not be excluded from placement on an Eligibility List for reasons unrelated to:
      • qualifications
      • departmental needs
3. Special Recruitment Needs
   An active advertising and recruiting program shall be established to seek adjuncts to teach in areas for which there is a need. Special recruiting efforts will be undertaken:
   1. For courses for which exceptions to the workload limits specified in Administrative Rule 4.0401.04, Adjunct Faculty Workloads were exceeded during the previous semester.
   2. For courses classified as “difficult-to-fill”.
   3. Prior to the assignment in a given semester of teaching responsibilities in excess of the workload limits specified in Administrative Rule 4.0401.04, Adjunct Faculty Workloads.

 2.  Creation and Maintenance of Eligibility Lists

1.  Additions
   1. Placement of new applicants on an Eligibility List occurs, at the discretion of the Department Chair:
      • when there is need.
      • using data gathered through the official ACC teaching evaluation process, when applicable.
   2. Adjunct Faculty who are on an Eligibility List in a department may request to be added to the Eligibility List for additional courses in that department. Such requests should be made in writing to the Department Chair and should include justification for placement on the given Eligibility List (for instance, documentation of completion of additional education or professional development, related additional experience external to ACC, etc.). The Department Chair will evaluate the request based on the criteria in Part 1. If the Department Chair approves the request, the member of the Adjunct Faculty making the request is added to the Eligibility List for that course.
   3. A separate eligibility list may be maintained by departments for Early College Start/Early College High School courses. Placing a qualified applicant who is employed by the secondary institution at which the applicant will teach on the Early College Start/Early College High School eligibility list does not result in eligibility for general e-staffing. All other provisions of this Administrative Rule apply.
2. Removals
   A member of the Adjunct Faculty may be removed from an Eligibility List when he or she:
   1. receives a rating of “unacceptable” on a portion of the faculty evaluation process.
   2. does not teach in the department at ACC for three consecutive semesters, resigns, or requests to be removed.
   3. is removed for just cause by the Dean, upon the recommendation of the Department Chair.
3. Exceptions to Eligibility List Administration Procedures
   1. Requests by Independent School Districts to consider high school faculty who may be qualified to teach Early College Start classes will be processed quickly. To meet scheduling emergencies within thirty days of the start of the semester, individuals may be added to Eligibility Lists, following a review of teaching credentials, without a formal, in-person interview by the department. Any member of the Adjunct Faculty added by this provision is subsequently subject to all conditions noted in this Administrative Rule.

 3.  Highest Priority to Hire Status

Highest Priority to Hire (HPTH) is a designation given by the Department Chair to some members of the Adjunct Faculty on a given Eligibility List in recognition of the documented quality of their teaching of that course or their unique qualifications to teach that course. Adjunct Faculty holding HPTH designation will be afforded priority in the staffing process (see Administrative Rule 4.0401.02, Staffing of Adjunct Faculty).

1. Minimum Qualifications for HPTH Designation
   Members of the Adjunct Faculty, whose summary teaching evaluations, when last evaluated, were very good or excellent in all categories and who receive an acceptable evaluation with respect to administrative procedures may be considered for the HPTH designation.
2. Guidelines for HPTH Designation
   Department Chairs must ensure that:
   1. The number of Adjunct Faculty who hold the HPTH designation on a given Eligibility List reflects:
      • the number of sections of the course taught by adjuncts.
      • the proportion of HPTH adjuncts who might teach the course.
      • the number of HPTH adjuncts who were not staffed in previous semesters.
   2. The number of available HPTH designations for each Eligibility List is published in advance of the decision.
   3. The criteria used to determine which members of the Adjunct Faculty will receive the HPTH designation is published in advance of the decision.
   4. The criteria used to determine which members of the Adjunct Faculty will receive the HPTH designation is applied in accord with professional judgment.
   5. The process of determining HPTH designation includes review of faculty evaluation results and other relevant information concerning teaching effectiveness.
      Departments that choose not to use the HPTH designation must publicly document the procedures by which they, in accord with Board Policies DDA and DJ, select the most qualified Adjunct Faculty. Approval of these procedures by the Dean and appropriate Vice President is required.
3. Removal of HPTH Designation
   Members of the Adjunct Faculty who have been designated HPTH may have that designation immediately removed for just cause by the Dean, upon the recommendation of the Department Chair who must provide a written justification to the affected Adjunct Faculty and the Dean.

4.  Review of Administration of Eligibility Lists

Any member of the Adjunct Faculty who believes that this Administrative Rule has not been properly implemented may request a Procedural Review in accord with Administrative Rule 2.0703.04, Review of Adjunct Faculty Administrative Rules.

Each course offered in the College shall have a corresponding Eligibility List which identifies those members of the Adjunct Faculty who are eligible to teach that course. Department Chairs are responsible for the creation and maintenance of Eligibility Lists, which are reviewed and certified each semester by the appropriate Dean.