Colorado State Board for Community Colleges

and Occupational Education

9101 East Lowry Boulevard
Denver, Colorado 80230
(303) 595-1552
FAX (303) 620-4043

February 14, 2017

Dear Ms. Awad:

State Board Members
Thank you for the opportunity to provide additional background on CCCS
Dr. Russell J. Meyer
adjunct instructors in response to your questions. You submitted four Board Chair
questions for consideration, one dealing with the proposed 28% salary Jean White
increase, and the others dealing with concessions to adjuncts and the Vice Chair

Boards priorities. Pres Askew

Rollie Heath
The Adjunct Instructor Task Forces request for a 28% pay increase, while Jim Johnson
Richard E. Martinez,
laudable, was not implemented simply because it was not realisticor even Dr. Byron McClenney
possiblegiven the current higher education budget situation in Colorado. Theresa Pea
Ken Weil

I believe that it is important to understand the constraints under which all Leah Porter
Colorado public higher education operates. Colorado ranks 48th in the nation SSAC Representative
in funding for higher education, and has maintained a low ranking for many Candace Garrod
SFAC Representative
years. While the state has struggled to provide more funding for higher
education, those efforts have not always been successful, and even the President
successes have resulted in relatively minor increases that had to be spread Dr. Nancy J. McCallin

over the 27 public colleges and universities.

In spite of funding constraints, however, the Board is required by the State

and by our access mission (to say nothing of its members own firmly held
convictions) to keep tuition affordable and to remain flexible in responding to
the States changing workforce needs. Our colleges fulfill these requirements
in spite of having the lowest per-student State funding among all of
Colorados higher education institutions.

While the 28% increase in adjunct pay was not feasible given budget
constraints, it is important to acknowledge that the Board approved the Task
Forces recommendation that each college will annually increase average
adjunct instructor compensation by at least the same percentage as it
increases the average salary for all other employee groups. It is equally
important to note that we increased adjunct pay at a time when our state
financial support declined and when state classified employees received no
pay increase.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER

Printed on recycled stock
Ms. Awad
February 14, 2017
Page Two

Other benefits provided to adjunct instructors include payment when classes are
cancelled just prior to the start of the semester and access to and a subsidy for health
benefits for qualifying adjuncts. This benefit provides as much as an additional $21,444
in annual compensation for qualifying adjuncts. Finally, we also make payments to
PERA for the state retirement plan.

Your other questions deal more generally with the Boards priorities regarding adjuncts.
The Board uses numerous methods (one of which was the Adjunct Instructor Task
Force) to identify issues that are important to our employees. Eight of the ten
recommendations of the Task Force were implemented when they were submitted.

The Board will continue to receive input from our adjunct instructors through the adjunct
instructor survey administered every other year and other methods such as our adjunct
instructor focus group convened to follow up on the Task Force efforts. The data we
receive through these activities will be used to evaluate our processes and identify
strengths and areas for improvement. These in turn, will be used to guide the Boards
efforts.

We were gratified to find that when surveyed in 2016, 74.7% of our adjunct instructors
responded that they were extremely satisfied. As part of our strategic plan, one of our
top priorities is to create the right work environment that attracts energizes, engages,
and excites our workforce. This will continue to be a focus moving forward.

The State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education is proud of our
adjunct instructors and the role they play in educating our students. Our mission is to
provide an accessible, responsive learning environment that facilitates the achievement
of educational, professional, and personal goals by our students and other members of
our communities in an atmosphere that embraces academic excellence, diversity, and
innovation. Adjunct instructors have played and will continue to play a vital role in
achieving this mission.

Sincerely,

Dr. Russell J. Meyer

Chair, State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education

cc: Dr. Nancy J. McCallin, President CCCS

Members of the SBCCOE

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER

Printed on recycled stock