Adjunct Assignments

SCCC is the largest SUNY community college, covering three geographically distanced campuses and two downtown centers. Our current Adjunct Coordinator, Kim Ng Southard, as well as your assigned EC rep can help adjuncts navigate the numerous, complex policies and procedures at SCCC, but below are some basics that adjunct faculty should be familiar with. 

NORA Forms

After the initial semester of hire, adjuncts request work by completing an online Notice of Reasonable Assurance (NORA) form for each semester they wish to work.

DO NOT MISS THE NORA DEADLINE! 

  • The NORA form is submitted online by adjuncts in MySCCC to request assignments and indicate their availability for work in the upcoming semesters. Seniority lists are created each semester in the Office of Adjunct Services based on these online NORA submissions. 
  • If an adjunct does not submit their NORA by the posted deadline (which are sent via email as well as posted in The WORD and on our annual wall calendar), their name will not appear on the seniority list for that semester. Thus, an adjunct failing to submit a timely NORA will not receive an assignment until every other adjunct on the list has been assigned the contractual maximum number of contact hours they have requested.

Assignments Process

Each adjunct may work a maximum of 24 contact hours (9 contact hours/semester) during the academic year: fall, spring, and summer/wintersession (wintersession and summer are considered one term, so if an adjunct works during the wintersession, they go to the bottom of the seniority list for the first summer sesssion).  

While many think assignments are based on seniority, actually adjunct assignments at SCCC are determined by five factors:

  1. number of sections offered by the college
  2. adjunct certifications
  3. adjunct seniority
  4. adjunct availabilities as indicated in the NORA form
  5. adjunct campus preferences as indicated in the NORA form.

Seniority is college wide at SCCC and is calculated first upon the number of semesters worked at SCCC and then upon the number of credit/contact hours worked.

When completing the NORA form, adjuncts are asked to identify their interest in working during the upcoming semester, their available days/times for an assignment, and their choice of campus (please note that "online" is considered a campus). All of these factors, in addition to official certifications and seniority status, affect which assignments may be offered.

Other items to keep in mind:

  1. The FA contract gives adjuncts the right to an assignment, not to a particular/preferred course or assignment based on day, time, subject matter, etc. The college's obligation is met when an adjunct is offered assignments that fall within their certifications and seniority standing as well as within their stated NORA availabilities and campus preferences. 
  2. Adjunct seniority is college wide, as noted above, which means campus preference does not trump college-wide seniority. For example, say you are an A list adjunct and you select Ammerman as your first campus preference and Grant as your second choice. If Ammerman does not have an assignment to offer you, you should receive an assignment at Grant before anyone junior to you does—again, taking into account your certifications and NORA availabilities.
  3. The college may limit the assignment of an adjunct hired after 9/15/84 to one assignment or three contact hours, whichever is greater, for the first three semesters after the adjunct is inititally hired.  

A List and B List

The seniority lists at SCCC are divided into an A list and a B list. All adjuncts hired prior to 9/1/06 are on the A list and are offered up to a full complement of courses/contact hours they have requested. Adjuncts hired after 9/1/06 are on the B list and are offered assignments as the need arises. After three semesters of work, a B-list adjunct will be added to the bottom of the A list. 

Bumping Process

The FA believes in and has negotiated contract provisions to make things as fair and equitable as possible. One contract provision to this effect is that each adjunct who puts in a NORA for the semester gets one assignment before anyone gets two, everyone gets two assignments before anyone gets three, etc. 

Another provision addresses the matter of class or assignment cancellations. This process can seem complicated but it was developed in the late 1970s to ensure that in the case of class or assignment cancellations, all related contractual provisions are respected. 

The rights of adjuncts with respect to bumping are explained in the Bumping Process document. Please be sure to read the entire document, especially the introductory information in the top three paragraphs as well as the section titled "Bumping Issues Involving Adjunct Assignments." You'll notice below that, however, that even those rules have some exceptions when it involves online, honors, or special topics courses so—really—read the entire document! 

Certifications

Each fall and spring, the college announces a deadline for adjunct certification requests (advertised in the Adjunct Update in The WORD and in on the annual FA wall calendar) by which adjunct colleagues can request to be certified for more courses/assignments.

When you’re first hired, your academic chair or area supervisor certifies you for a specific assignment(s) or course(s). Afterward your chair may opt to certify you for other assignments or courses based on departmental needs and your professional training. These should be put on file in the Office of Faculty and Professional Advancement.

Adjuncts also can request to be certified for additional assignments or courses. To do so, write a letter to your academic chair or area supervisor indicating the specific assignments/courses for which you’d like to be certified. Provide a rationale for each, citing specific graduate coursework or relevant professional training. An administrative committee determines certifications based on an analysis of college needs. You should know that you may not be certified despite being qualified if the college already has a sufficient supply of faculty in that area.

Your EC rep or our adjunct coordinator can answer any questions you might have. If at any time you're unsure of whether your assignments were handled correctly, we strongly encourage you to contact us. We are here to serve you!