Instructors are expected to start class on time, provide the required 10-minute break in the middle of class if class exceeds 90 minutes, and keep students to end of designated class time.
Faculty Attendance, Substitutes, and Guest Speakers
Faculty members are expected to meet with their assigned classes on each day of the academic semester. If an instructor cannot meet his/her assigned class due to illness, an emergency or other circumstances, the instructor must call the division office and/or center office as soon as possible. His/her class can then be notified as to the instructor’s absence. Faculty are also strongly encouraged to notify their students directly when they are canceling class via their Online Rosters or Canvas. Failure to notify the division dean of an absence may result in loss of pay.
Furthermore, faculty may not arrange for guest speakers, or others to assume responsibility for their classes without first obtaining approval from their division dean as District guidelines for assigning substitutes must be followed. Faculty should not arrange for their own substitutes unless they have authorized to do so by their deans. All substitutes must be (a) in the Faculty Service Area (FSA) of the class for which they are substituting, (b) on the district’s approved list, and (c) processed by the district office before they can be hired and paid.
Updated and approved March 2020.
This statement has been endorsed by the Academic Senate and sent to all faculty members and administrators as a statement of professional standards. Faculty are encouraged to read section 5000 of the Los Rios Board Policies and their LRCFT contract for further information.
Recognizing that, at times, students will offer us gifts or favors, we must be aware of potential implications. Any decision to accept a small gift should be directed by the student’s best interest.
Recognizing that within the context of specific curricula, where the examination and discussion of certain sensitive topics, terms and attitudes are not only unavoidable, but necessary, instructors remain responsible for cultivating and maintaining a safe and respectful learning environment. Outside of these academic parameters, direct or indirect derogatory references based on actual or perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, accent or linguistic variation, religion, age, color, gender and sexual diversity, ancestry, and physical or mental disability are considered harassment and inappropriate in the college environment.
Recognizing that instructors are concerned with the welfare and safety of students and that students will, at times, wish to share information of a personal nature, it is appropriate for faculty to listen empathetically and to mentor students. However, faculty should not reveal confidential information except as deemed necessary to honor our professional obligations as mandated reporters or to request additional support services for students. Faculty can interact with the Counseling office at any time, and our counselors should be the first point of contact when a student needs specialized assistance.
Recognizing that while amorous relationships are appropriate in other circumstances, we accept that such relationships are always inappropriate when they occur between faculty members and their students. Such relationships have the effect of undermining the trust on which the educational process depends. It is incumbent upon those with authority not to abuse, nor appear to abuse, the power with which they are entrusted. It is important to note that Los Rios Board Policy P-5178 explicitly bans romantic relationships between faculty and their students.
Instructors should never engage in or condone harassment of students or co-workers in any form. This includes sexual harassment, which is illegal under Title IX. In the academic context, the term “sexual harassment” may be used to describe a wide range of behaviors. The fundamental element is the unwelcome, pervasive, and/or targeted attention or willful neglect by an instructor who is in a position to determine a student’s grade or student employment or otherwise affect the student’s academic performance or professional future. Our District policy on sexual harassment, including definitions, is contained in Board Policy P-5173.
Updated and approved March 2020.
Faculty members should be conscious of the worth and dignity of students as whole persons. Their primary duties to their students are to present the course material intentionally, to assist student learning, and to remain responsive to their students’ varied levels of educational preparation. Importantly, faculty regularly assess for personal biases and remain dedicated to a culture of equity and fair advancement for all.
As lifelong learners themselves, they are responsible for seeking out and participating in beneficial professional development opportunities for the length of their careers. Although faculty may follow subsidiary interests, these interests must never seriously hamper or compromise their commitments to the college and the students in their care.
As teachers and mentors, faculty members encourage the free pursuit of learning in every student. They demonstrate respect for students as individuals with varied world-views, backgrounds, and goals, and they adhere to their proper role as intellectual guides and counselors. They encourage the use of support services outside the classroom such as tutoring, EOPS, RISE, MESA, UMOJA, Puente, and various learning cohorts, and they honor the integral role that student services play in the educational process.
Faculty make every reasonable effort to foster honest academic conduct and to assure that their evaluations fairly reflect each student’s course performance. They respect the confidential nature of the relationship between faculty member and student; this includes FERPA regulations, which prohibit sharing grades or other indicators of performance with anyone but the student. At all times, faculty avoid any exploitation of students for their private advantage.
As colleagues, faculty members have obligations that derive from common membership in the community of scholars. They respect and defend the free inquiry of their associates. In the exchange of criticism and ideas, they show due respect for the opinions of others. They acknowledge their debts to the academic work of others and strive to be objective in their professional judgment of their peers.
Faculty accept their share of legal responsibility for the participatory governance of their institution as defined in California Title V and in the LRCFT contract; and, in order that faculty voice is continued to be heard, they commit the necessary time and energy to fulfill this important obligation.
As members of their institution, faculty members seek to be effective teachers and scholars. Although they observe the stated regulations and policies of the institution, provided they do not conflict with academic freedom, they maintain their right to criticize and seek revision for these regulations and policies.
Faculty determine the amount and character of the work they do outside their institution with due regard to their paramount responsibilities within the college. When considering a planned interruption or termination of their service, faculty recognize the effect of their decision upon the institution and give due notice of their intentions.
As members of their community, faculty members have the rights and obligations of any citizen. They measure the urgency of these obligations in the light of their responsibilities to their discipline, to their students, to their profession and to their institution. When they speak or act as private persons, they avoid creating the impression that they speak or act for their college. As citizens engaged in a profession that depends upon freedom for its health and integrity, faculty members have a particular obligation to promote conditions of free inquiry and to further public understanding of academic freedom.
Updated and approved March 2020.
A faculty member’s ability to make professional judgments related to teaching unaffected by pressures from a political or social climate lies at the heart of academic freedom. The importance of this freedom is highlighted where all members of the academic community are committed to recognizing and celebrating the uniqueness of each of its members and to honoring open and inclusive inquiry, change, and innovation.
Academic freedom at Sacramento City College is essential for the fulfillment of the educational mission of the college and for the ability of faculty members to perform their professional duties. In addition, academic freedom ensures faculty members’ rights and obligations of professional protection, autonomy, and responsibility.
Faculty members shall be protected from censorship, restraint, or dismissal in their ability to study, investigate, present, interpret, or discuss the relevant facts and ideas within the assigned curriculum and outline. They shall also be protected from extraneous considerations such as a faculty member’s gender, gender identity, ethnicity, race, religion, political beliefs or affiliation, sexual orientation, or disability being considered in evaluations of professional performance. The core principles in this section are derived from AAUP’s 1940 statement on academic freedom.
Education Code §87660 et seq. set forth the requirements for the evaluation of faculty. The legislative intent, as stated in AB 1725, provides that a faculty member's students, administrators, and peers should all contribute to his or her performance review, but the faculty should play a central role in the performance review process and, together with appropriate administrators, assume principal responsibility for the effectiveness of the process.
All matters relating to the performance review process are of a confidential nature and members of the review team have the responsibility of maintaining this confidentiality. The faculty member being reviewed, however, is encouraged to utilize all available college and District resources in responding to any performance team recommendations, including working with an Academic Senate-appointed mentor.
For more information, please refer to your respective Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Faculty Hiring
Adjunct Faculty Hiring
The hiring process for adjunct faculty is different than our other positions. Learn more about how to apply to adjunct pools and view immediate adjunct hiring needs.
Faculty Hiring Manual (PDF)
A high-quality faculty is critical in establishing and maintaining the excellence of an educational institution. It follows, therefore, that the selection of new faculty members is one of the most important functions undertaken by a college or District.