LCC Faculty Colleagues,

Please find below updates on: Moodle 4 and funding for Summer; Fall Inservice Schedule; Insurance Open Enrollment; Support for Rep. Paul Holvey; and the Oregon Opportunity Grant.

Moodle 4 — CD Funding for Instructors this Summer

A reminder for all faculty teaching this summer — you are eligible to record up to 10 hours at the curriculum development rate for updating Moodle shells for each unique course taught this term now that Moodle 4 has been implemented  For instance, instructors teaching one section of WR121 and one section of WR 122 are eligible to record up to 20 hours because WR121 and WR 122 are two unique courses. (See full MOA below.)

Fall Inservice Schedule and Part-time Faculty Compensation

The schedule for Fall inservice will remain the same as last Fall. Faculty Connections, led by Ingrid Nordstrom, will welcome new faculty on September 12- 13, and September 14 will be the first work day for contracted faculty. You will find details of the inservice schedule below. 

Part-time faculty who are teaching in Fall are eligible for 32 compensated hours for inservice/ workshop attendance, an additional 12 paid hours if teaching in Winter, and an additional 12 paid hours if teaching in Spring for a total of 56 hours over the year. The hours can be used in the term they are “earned” or at any time later in the academic year. Eight of the hours are reserved for assessment work.

Please save the date for the afternoon of Thursday, September 21 for LCCEA’s All Faculty Meeting, which will include a special guest speaker, Professor Gary Rhoades. Gary Rhoades is Professor and Director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Arizona. He has served as President of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), General Secretary of the American Association of University Professors, and on the Board of the American Council on Education. Rhoades’ scholarship focuses on the restructuring of academic institutions and of professions in the academy, among other topics. In addition to his books, Managed Professionals (1998, SUNY Press) and Academic Capitalism and the New Economy (with Sheila Slaughter, 2004, Johns Hopkins University Press), Rhoades’ current research concentrates on the working conditions of faculty generally and of adjunct or part-time faculty in particular as he works on a new volume, tentatively entitled, Organizing ‘Professionals’: Academic Employees Negotiating a New Academy. 

1/2 day of paid class prep, plus 2 paid non-instructional days for class prep or meetings, floating	Class prep for contracted faculty to use at their discretion at any time during the year
Thursday, 9/14	all day scheduled by College
Friday, 9/15	all day class prep, no required activities for faculty may be scheduled
Monday, 9/18	all day assessment
Tuesday, 9/19	a.m. prof. dev. / p.m. sabbatical reports
Wednesday, 9/20	a.m. division meetings/ p.m. class prep, no required activities for faculty may be scheduled in the afternoon
Thursday, 9/21	a.m. all campus / p.m. LCCEA’s All Faculty Meeting with guest speaker, Gary Rhoades
Friday, 9/22	all day class prep, no required activities for faculty may be scheduled
Monday, 9/25	all day class prep, no required activities for faculty may be scheduled

OEBB Insurance Open Enrollment

Open enrollment is mandatory again this year, so all faculty who are eligible for insurance should log in to OEBB between August 15 – September 15 to complete plan selections. More information, including rate charts, will be forthcoming from HR.

As reported in June, our LCCEA Insurance Committee reviewed health plan options, and one additional medical plan (Kaiser) will be added for faculty beginning in October. Kaiser has limited providers in the Eugene-Springfield area but may be a preferred option for faculty living north of Lane County. All the other existing Moda plans will continue to be offered. Employee contributions will remain largely the same for employee only, employee plus spouse/partner, and employee plus child(ren) tiers, but for the full family tier, monthly payroll deductions will increase incrementally each year until the contractual 90% employer contribution/ 10% employee contributions threshold is reached. Faculty with full family insurance who prefer higher deductibles over payroll contributions may wish to consider Moda Plan 2 as an option instead of Moda Plan 1. 

Please read the following messages while on break.

Support for Representative Holvey

Representative Paul Holvey, who has been a long-time supporter of public education, community colleges, and labor generally is facing a recall in August. Paul Holvey, who represents part of Lane County in the Oregon legislature, is an important voice to ensure that community colleges receive sufficient funding and that students’ needs are met, among many other issues. He is also a true champion for workers, consumers, small business, and the environment.  In addition, Rep. Holvey was one of the chief sponsors of a recent bill that would have provided earmarked funding for the LCC Health Clinic. Please support Rep. Holvey by voting “No” on the recall effort.

Advocacy for Grant Funding for Community College Students

The Oregon legislature approved a record-breaking $100 Million increase to the Oregon Opportunity Grant, which is needs-based funding for students. However, the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) is planning to make changes to the grant that could result in reserving $85M for university students and leaving only $15M to community college students even though community colleges education the most low-income students of any higher ed sector in the state. You can add your voice to advocating for needs-based funding for community college students by sending an automatic message to key legislators and the Governor here. 

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