Calling Haven...

[mayerling]

Hi Haven,

I'm looking into the option of finding work at a community college in the future.

Do you have any info on what they look for? I presume the requirements are not like finding work at universities (in terms of publications, grants, etc.), but I don't really know.

Also, what kind of degree would I need (in terms of level) and what are the working conditions like?

Thanks!

 

[Haven]

Hi, mayerling!

If Elmorton is around, she also teaches at a CC and has been FT for a while, so hopefully she'll chime in as well.

Do you have any info on what they look for? I presume the requirements are not like finding work at universities (in terms of publications, grants, etc.), but I don't really know.

This answer depends on your area of specialty, of course. In general, community colleges look for candidates with teaching experience, involvement in your professional field (either with professional organizations, research, publishing, presenting, etc.), and of course, graduate level degrees in your content area.

From what I learned talking to people at my school and reading various higher ed forums, the biggest difference between university and CC positions is the amount of time you spend teaching and researching. It looks like the typical CC professor spends half of her time teaching, and the other half researching and otherwise, while the typical university professor spends about a third of her time teaching and the rest researching and working in her field. Now, that information is based solely on what I've read and been told by colleagues who moved from university positions to CC positions, and certainly a person's particular workload will vary based on her school, background, and personal preferences, I imagine. I do know that in the CCs in my area, a full teaching load is 15 hours per week, with 10 scheduled office hours. The rest of our time is devoted to other pursuits. I couldn't tell you what a typical teaching load is for a university professor, however.

I'm not sure what your background is, but I do know that the CCs in my area are very protective of their positions. By that I mean they are a bit biased against university professors who want to make the transition from a four year school to a CC. There are many reasons for this, but it's something to be aware of, in case you currently teach in a four year school. The division dean from my last school was a university professor for a number of years before he decided he preferred CC, and it took him quite a long time to make that transition. Of course, that could just be the CCs in my area, as that is my only experience.

Also, what kind of degree would I need (in terms of level) and what are the working conditions like?

Typically, CCs look for a master's level degree or higher in the area of specialization. I began teaching while I was still earning my first master's, but I only taught non-credit courses at that time. Most of the instructors at the two schools with which I am familiar went on to earn a PhD after they began teaching, if they did not already have one.

As for working conditions I can really only speak to the two schools in which I've worked, of course. I'm in Illinois, where the first CC was established, and I can tell you that everyone I've met in the CCs around here is very proud of her school, and her job, and they rarely leave. Most of the CCs in my area are around 40 years old, and we are seeing huge waves of retirees leaving each year because these are people who started working shortly after the schools were established, and never left. My own department will be losing six professors to retirement over the next two years, which is really a large number. I think it speaks to the quality of the working conditions that so many people stay, and most of them stay past the number of years they need for a full retirement.

I taught high school full-time for three years while also teaching CC as an adjunct. I chose to make a career at the CC level for many reasons, but the sum of those reasons is that I am just plain happier teaching in a CC. I've gained a lot of career autonomy in making the switch, and I am very grateful that I now work in a school that values my continued involvement in literacy research. I barely had time to attend conferences while teaching high school, let alone do actual research.

I believe you're moving to the U.S. from another country, yes? My recommendation would be to get a position teaching as an adjunct at your local CC. The majority of CC instructors are adjuncts, so it's very likely that there will be positions available in your area, assuming you have the required background to teach.

Also, if you haven't already, check out the Chronicle of Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/ The articles are extremely helpful, and the forums are great. I learned a lot about the interview process on those forums.

I realize everyone wants something different out of a teaching position, but I can tell you that teaching at the CC level is my sweet spot. I teach gifted children in K through 8th grade, and I taught high school, and I'm currently teaching grad students, but my heart remains in the CC.

If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask! I'm fresh off the interview process, as well, so if you find yourself on that circuit I'd be happy to share what I learned.

 

[mayerling]

Thanks for the info

Hi, mayerling!



I'm not sure what your background is, but I do know that the CCs in my area are very protective of their positions. By that I mean they are a bit biased against university professors who want to make the transition from a four year school to a CC. There are many reasons for this, but it's something to be aware of, in case you currently teach in a four year school. The division dean from my last school was a university professor for a number of years before he decided he preferred CC, and it took him quite a long time to make that transition. Of course, that could just be the CCs in my area, as that is my only experience.

Hopefully, this won't be an issue for me. I'm only a postdoctoral researcher now, meaning I got my PhD a couple of years back and now I work on a research project, so I don't have a tenure-track position.

I've looked for vacancies at various community colleges and it seems they only pay by the hour. Is that standard or do they hire FT people. Also, what's the pay like for somebody starting off?

Thanks again!

 

[Clio]

I'm not sure what your background is, but I do know that the CCs in my area are very protective of their positions. By that I mean they are a bit biased against university professors who want to make the transition from a four year school to a CC. There are many reasons for this, but it's something to be aware of, in case you currently teach in a four year school. The division dean from my last school was a university professor for a number of years before he decided he preferred CC, and it took him quite a long time to make that transition. Of course, that could just be the CCs in my area, as that is my only experience.

I've taught (briefly) at a community college and served on a faculty search committee at another cc.

Haven's advice is spot on, at least in my experience. The one difference lies in the quoted material above. In my experience, faculty members from 4-year schools made very attractive candidates for FT cc posts, as long as the 4-year school was teaching oriented rather than research oriented. Community colleges are generally looking for instructors who are strong, committed teachers, but they'll happily take people who also have strong research when they find them.

As for degrees, my sense is that it varies based on discipline. My experience is in the humanities, and more and more community colleges are hiring PhDs - even as adjuncts. There is a huge glut of humanities PhDs out there, so schools can be choosy. When I was on the search committee, the school hired two FT faculty members, and both were PhDs who were teaching at 4-year schools. In fact, everyone they interviewed had a PhD. Other fields may be very different.

Most of the community colleges I've come across have a teaching load somewhere around 5/5 (5 classes each semester; how many of these will be new preps can vary). Summer teaching may be required, a nice option, or impossible to get, depending on the institution.

At 4-year institutions, the teaching load varies based on how much emphasis the school places on research vs. teaching and even on a faculty member's individual arrangement's with the institution, but 2/2 - 4/4 is the normal range.

If you're interested in doing research, it can be challenging because the teaching load is high, but it is possible. My agency gives many grants to community colleges every year.

In my experience, community colleges have paid adjuncts by the course and FT faculty members are on salary. I've never seen cc faculty paid by the hour, but my experience is nowhere near universal.

I second Haven's recommendation of the Chronicle of Higher Education. Try Inside Higher Ed as well.

 

[mayerling]

At 4-year institutions, the teaching load varies based on how much emphasis the school places on research vs. teaching and even on a faculty member's individual arrangement's with the institution, but 2/2 - 4/4 is the normal range.

If you're interested in doing research, it can be challenging because the teaching load is high, but it is possible. My agency gives many grants to community colleges every year.

In my experience, community colleges have paid adjuncts by the course and FT faculty members are on salary. I've never seen cc faculty paid by the hour, but my experience is nowhere near universal.

I second Haven's recommendation of the Chronicle of Higher Education. Try Inside Higher Ed as well.

What does 2/2 and 4/4 mean?

I realise that FI might have to move there for work and I know that professorships are hard to come by so I've pretty much given up on the research idea, but I'd still like to stay within the academic community somehow, which is why I'm looking into CCs.

 

[Clio]

2/2 would be teaching two classes in the fall semester and two classes in the spring semester. 4/4 would be four classes each semester.

 

[Haven]

Clio--I'm glad you found this thread.

You are absolutely correct that professors from teaching-oriented four year schools do make attractive candidates to community colleges. I should have noted that in my original response, though to be honest I didn't even think of that distinction. We have a lot of research-oriented universities here in Chicago, and for whatever reason there has been an influx of professors from those schools applying for positions at my former CC. In a meeting with our Vice President, who was kind enough to give me some of his time to help me prepare for an interview with another school, he discussed this issue with me and it really stuck out in my mind as something I never would have thought to be true.

On an interesting side-note, we now have a local university that offers master's degrees in education specifically designed for individuals who hope to teach in a community college. The program sets up internships with local CCs where the students basically teach as adjuncts, and I think the popularity of that program is a testament to just how important it is to CCs that their instructors are strong teachers.

ETA:

I just saw your last response about finding a position, mayerling. One thing I learned is that it is almost necessary to have some adjunct experience before you will be considered for a CC position. There aren't a lot of FT CC positions out there because the majority of instructors are adjuncts, so I'm not sure it's that much easier to obtain a FT spot. HOWEVER, now is the time to look for one because (at least around here) we are seeing waves of retirees leaving each year.

ETA2:

Regarding pay, Clio is correct that adjuncts are paid by the hour, and FT instructors are paid salaries. Around here adjuncts earn between $720 and $850 per credit hour taught per semester. The pay varies based on experience and the school. Our time as adjuncts counts toward our eventual retirement, here, which is nice, but that does mean that 9% of our pay goes into SURS, the State University Retirement System. I've earned a couple extra years of service toward retirement by teaching part-time, which I know I'll really appreciate once that gets closer.

I took a significant pay cut in my FT salary moving from HS to CC. The salary schedule for our local CCs begins in the low 40s for instructors with a master's and no teaching experience. It looks to be about a 2K increase for each year of experience. I'm not sure what the difference is for a doctoral degree, but it isn't as significant as it could be, IMO. You can earn more (in my school at least) by teaching an overload during the school year, and by teaching summer school. My school also pays you an additional 12% of your annual salary for teaching 6 hours in summer school.

My former HS started kids right out of college with a bachelor's and no experience 46K, and you earned a 10K increase for a master's degree, and about 2K per year of experience, so you can see that the difference was pretty big.

I'm not sure if this is the norm everywhere, just in my area. Regardless, I love what I do and I'm very grateful to have a FT job for the fall.

 

[mayerling]

ETA:

I just saw your last response about finding a position, mayerling. One thing I learned is that it is almost necessary to have some adjunct experience before you will be considered for a CC position. There aren't a lot of FT CC positions out there because the majority of instructors are adjuncts, so I'm not sure it's that much easier to obtain a FT spot. HOWEVER, now is the time to look for one because (at least around here) we are seeing waves of retirees leaving each year.

I do have some teaching experience from being a TA while doing my PhD, but I'll definitely try to get some more if I want to pursue CC teaching seriously.