H. B. 2095
(By Delegates Longstreth, Marshall, Perry and Stephens)
[Introduced February 11, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §18B-8A-1, §18B-8A-2,
§18B-8A-3, §18B-8A-4 and §18B-8A-5, all relating to
establishing the "Faculty Excellence Act"; setting legislative
goals for full-time and part-time faculty at state colleges
and universities with specific ratios to be met by 2014;
providing that each institution of higher education establish
a "Faculty Restoration and Equity Fund" for legislative
appropriations aimed at providing the resources necessary to
accomplish the goals of the act.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §18B-8A-1, §18B-8A-2,
§18B-8A-3, §18B-8A-4 and §18B-8A-5, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8A. FACULTY EXCELLENCE ACT.
§18B-8A-1. Title.
This article shall be known as and may be referred to as the
"Faculty Excellence Act of 2009."
§18B-8A-2. Legislative findings and goals.
(a) College faculty members, full-time and part-time, are the
bedrock of the higher education system and they require adequate
compensation and basic supports to serve students and communities
effectively. Today, serious problems have arisen in academic
staffing. While an increasing percentage of the courses offered in
colleges and universities are taught by part-time adjunct and other
nontenure-track faculty hired on a temporary basis, these faculty
members too often are not provided adequate compensation and or
minimal basic professional supports including paid office hours to
meet with students. At the same time, colleges and universities
are allowing the ranks of full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty
members to fall.
The use of underpaid of part-time adjunct and other
nontenure-track faculty along with the shrinking ranks of full-time
tenured or tenure-track faculty limit the ability of the state
higher education system to provide high quality education,
research, and support for economic development. Improving the
conditions under which part-time adjunct and other nontenure-track
faculty work, and ensuring that colleges and universities employ
sufficient numbers of full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members, will result in better service for students, communities
and economy.
(b) The Legislature sets the following goals:
(1) All part-time adjunct and other nontenure-track faculty
members shall receive pay that is equal, on a pro rata basis, with
that of tenured or tenure-track faculty of comparable
qualifications doing comparable work.
(2) All part-time adjunct and other nontenure-track faculty
members shall be eligible to participate in the employee retirement
plan and all part-time adjunct faculty members teaching at least
50% of the established workload for full-time tenured faculty shall
be eligible for the same health care benefits as full-time tenured
faculty.
(3) At least 75% of the undergraduate courses offered within
each department on each campus of each public institution of higher
education, if the department has at least eight full-time
equivalent faculty positions, shall be taught by full-time tenured
or tenure-track faculty.
Each public institution of higher education shall create a
plan to meet this goal.
§18B-8A-3. Part-time adjunct and other nontenure-track faculty.
(a) Pro rata salaries. -- Each public institution of higher
education shall determine a salary standard for part-time adjunct
and other nontenure-track faculty members employed in each academic department that constitutes a pro rata salary compared to the
salaries of full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members of
comparable qualifications doing comparable work. Beginning in the
fall semester of 2009, each public institution of higher education
shall increase part-time adjunct and other nontenure-track faculty
salary by a sufficient amount to reduce the pro rata salary gap in
each department, if one exists, by the fall semester of 2014, so
that the Legislature's goal of pro rata pay shall be met. In no
year shall the pro rata salary gap between part-time adjunct and
other nontenure-track salary and comparable full-time tenured or
tenure-track salary in any department on any campus of each public
institution of higher education be diminished by less than 15% from
the previous year.
(b) Healthcare. -- If, over the course of a 12 month calendar
year, a part-time adjunct or other nontenure-track faculty member
at a public institution of higher education carries at least 50% of
the established teaching load of tenured or tenure-track faculty,
that part-time adjunct faculty member shall be eligible for the
same healthcare benefits as tenured or tenure-track faculty
members.
(c) Pensions. -- A part-time adjunct or other nontenure-track
faculty member employed at a public institution of higher education
shall be eligible for participation in the retirement plan of that
public institution of higher education.
§18B-8A-4. Full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty.
(a) Restoring the ranks of full-time tenured and tenure-track
faculty. -- Each public institution of higher education shall
determine the number of undergraduate courses taught by part-time
adjunct faculty, other contingent faculty, tenure-track faculty and
tenured faculty in each academic department. Those academic
departments with at least eight full-time equivalent faculty
positions that do not meet the goal of having 75% of the courses
taught by tenured or tenure-track faculty shall, beginning in
September 2010, and in each succeeding year, increase the share of
courses taught by full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty so that
by 2013 the Legislature's goal of 75% is met. Although public
institutions of higher education shall have flexibility in meeting
this goal, in no year shall there be in any department on any
campus of each public institution of higher education a less than
one tenth reduction in the size of the gap between the percentage
of undergraduate courses taught by tenured or tenure-track faculty
and the Legislature's goal.
(b) Consideration of current employees. -- Each public
institution of higher education shall establish a process under
which part-time adjunct and other nontenure-track faculty, after
successful completion of a probationary period, shall receive
timely notice of and priority consideration, consistent with other
institutional and state policies, for part-time adjunct and nontenure-track teaching assignments in coming terms. Each public
institution of higher education shall create a process for ensuring
that qualified nontenure-track faculty members receive preferential
consideration in attaining a tenure-track position when one becomes
available, consistent with institutional and state affirmative
action and other personnel policies. This process shall ensure
that part-time adjunct and other nontenure-track faculty:
(1) Accumulate seniority;
(2) Are notified of job openings prior to the job being posted
outside of the institution; and
(3) Have preferential consideration for appointments.
§18B-8A-5. Faculty restoration and equity fund.
Creation of a fund. -- There shall be created at each public
institution of higher education a "Faculty Restoration and Equity
Fund." The moneys in these funds shall be used to meet the goals
of this legislation. In each year subsequent to the enactment of
this article, the Legislature may appropriate funds to the "Faculty
Restoration and Equity Fund" at each public institution of higher
education in an amount sufficient to:
(1) Advance one fifth of the five-year goal of ensuring that
part-time adjunct and other nontenure-track faculty receive fully
comparable pay and benefits to full-time tenured or tenure-track
faculty; and
(2) Advance one fifth of the five-year goal of increasing the number of undergraduate courses taught by tenured or tenure-track
faculty members to 75% in each institutional department.
Nothing in this legislation shall be construed to either limit
or reduce salaries, benefits or hiring rights in existence at the
institution at the time this legislation is enacted, or
subsequently established.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish the "Faculty
Excellence Act." Under the act, legislative goals are set for
faculty at state colleges and universities with specific ratios to
be met by 2013. In addition, the bill provides that each
institution of higher education establish a
"Faculty Restoration
and Equity Fund"
for legislative appropriations aimed at providing
the resources necessary to accomplish the goals of the act.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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