Welcome to the 1998-99 academic year. As we begin this New Year, many things come as welcome change.

As many of you are aware, the Association in Support of Non-Tenure Track Faculty set forth its mission statement last spring in hopes of improving the quality of life for NTTFs. First and foremost on our list for improvement was the issue of pay, but many other issues were also identified. On May 13, 1998, the Executive Committee of the Association In Support of Non-Tenure Track Faculty met for an exchange of ideas over dinner with representatives of the administration. Those attending were: Michael Adams, Susan Adams, Clark Baughan, Mary Jo Beresford, Sandy Easton, Paul Gaston, Darlene McElfresh, Rogers Redding, Jerry Warner, Steve Wilkinson, and James Votruba.

We discussed many ideas. We talked about the need to compensate non-tenure track faculty competitively; providing health and other benefits in line with other area universities; ways to utilize the talents of non-tenure track faculty more effectively; ways to recruit and retain good adjunct faculty, and the need for more effective orientations both for non-tenure track faculty and for their chairs at NKU.

The Committee presented the Administration with the following five-year Development Package for Non-Tenure Track Faculty, complementing Dr. Votruba's Voices Visions and Values statement.

• Increase salaries to become competitive with UC and Miami's over a five-year period
  
  
• Offer health benefits, preferably through the Consortium, by January 1, 1999
  
  
• Develop a university-wide roll-over policy (Fall 1998 on-going) as follows:

If over a three-year period, a department can show part-time enrollment equivalent to a full-time teaching load, then twelve hours of part-time should be rolled over into a temporary lectureship.

If the enrollment holds up for a further three years, then the temporary lectureship should be rolled over into a permanent lectureship or tenure-track position.

• Appoint senior part-time faculty to continuing three-year contracts (Fall 1998 on-going)
  
  
• Devise a "Grow Your Own" Approach to Adjunct Faculty (Fall 1998 on-going):

Make sure that NKU positions that have come open are advertised widely among NKU adjunct faculty by having Personnel send information to department chairs to distribute to their part-time faculty and lecturers (positions such as those in advising, student affairs, out-reach programs such as the Grant County initiative, etc.); announce positions in the Campus Digest; and send appropriate job openings to every adjunct faculty member on campus. Give priority placement to adjuncts for such positions.

Revise jobs as they come open and create new positions to include a teaching requirement of one or two courses (such as advising positions).

• Work on creating joint positions with other universities in the Consortium (Fall 1998 on-going)
  
  
• Educate department chairs through a Fall 1998 Orientation Session (in conjunction with the Association in Support of Non-Tenure Track Faculty): in treating adjunct faculty as colleagues to achieve consistency, fairness, and collegiality; including adjunct faculty in department discussions of curriculum, pedagogy, etc.; and giving adjunct faculty fair and competitive access to travel and other operating funds in every university department
  
  
• Offer tuition remission for adjunct faculty (Fall 1998 on-going)
  
  
• Provide access to university e-mail accounts and computer facilities for adjunct faculty in every department and/or college in the university (Fall 1998 on-going)
  
  
• President Votruba indicated that the administration is aware of the problems of part-time and non-tenure track faculty at NKU, committed to dealing with these issues, and willing to develop a multi-year plan to increase compensation and opportunities for part-time and non-tenure track faculty.
  
  
• Other important outcomes resulted from this initial meeting. The Association will begin gathering up-to-date data on NKU's part-time and non-tenure track faculty. President Votruba will place members of the non-tenure track and part-time faculty on a number of Task Forces as part of his Voices, Visions and Values plan. The Administration will make the SACS report on part-time faculty available to the Executive Committee of the Association. Provost Gaston will discuss providing health benefits for non-tenure track faculty with the GCCU Consortium Academic Officers and will discuss state policies on part-time usage with his counterparts throughout Kentucky. Finally, President Votruba and Provost Gaston agreed to co-sponsor a fall forum on these issues with the Association in Support of Non-Tenure Track Faculty.
  
  
• Over the summer, the administration addressed our issues and began to resolve some of them. Other issues will take more time to resolve. Prior to the beginning of the term, Provost Paul Gaston issued a memorandum reporting the progress made over the summer. Below is a summary of the changes.
  
  
• All part-time faculty received a 10% pay increase. While this may seem inadequate, it is by far the largest raise we have received in some years, which illustrates Dr. Votruba's commitment to improving the conditions for NTTFs.
  
  
• Part-time faculty will now have access to direct deposit banking following one semester's service at NKU through all subsequent semesters.
  
  
• It has been recommended that all part-time faculty be paid according to the bi-weekly schedule. This is in the process of being set up.
  
  
• Payment of part-time faculty according to the biweekly schedule will also enable such faculty to avoid the 28% flat tax on summer earnings. (This does not apply to those who are paid on a supplemental payroll.)
  
  
• Vice President for Administration, Carla Chance, is considering a new procedure that would automatically provide part-time faculty teaching nine hours or less with a free courtesy parking pass for the academic year employed.
  
  
• Through the appointment of some non-tenure track faculty members to Reform '98 Task Forces, part-time faculty and lecturers will now contribute to discussions of curriculum and other issues.
  
  
• Department chairs have been requested to notify part-time faculty and lecturers directly when a tenure-track position is advertised.
  
  
• Part-time faculty will not be solicited by the University for the United Way, the Fine Arts Fund, etc.
  
  
• The need for adequate office space for part-time faculty and lecturers will be considered during discussions of the renovation of the current science building.
  
  
• Department chairs and deans have been asked to ensure that all NTTFs are provided with the basic instructional supplies.
  
  
• NTTFs who do not have access to computers within their departments may obtain such access at Steely Library or in the campus's public computing laboratories.
  
  
• All NTTFs can obtain an e-mail address through the Academic Computing Office.
  
  
• Part-time faculty should apply for a photo ID at the University Bookstore. This identification will qualify them for a bookstore discount and for access to Albright Health Center.
  
  
• The issue of health benefits and retirement options for part-time faculty will be addressed this fall with the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities.
  
  
• All NTTFs are now eligible to join the Credit Union.
  
  
• Provost Gaston has established four $250 grants for part-time faculty development. This is a pilot program and level of participation and quality of proposals will determine whether the program is continued and, perhaps, enhanced.
  
  
• The Faculty Task Force of Reform '98 will be asked to consider the advantages of cross-functional appointments that could combine part-time teaching and part-time staff work (student recruitment, advising, etc.) in full-time positions that would offer access to a wider range of benefits.
  
  
• All NTTFs will be welcome to attend the Fall Convocation and march in Commencement exercises.

All of the above represent improvements. In addition, a further positive development is a creative working relationship with Dr. Jerry Warner, Chair of Chairs Council, and his group. Still more remains to be accomplished. Unrealized Association goals include:

• Health benefits need to be implemented
  
  
• Development of a university-wide roll-over plan needs to be addressed
  
  
• Continued appointment of senior part-time faculty to continuing three-year contracts
  
  
• Development of the "Grow Your Own" Approach to Adjunct Faculty
  
  
• Development and implementation of joint positions with other universities in the Consortium
  
  
• Continued cooperation with department chairs as noted above
  
  
• Implementation of a tuition remission plan for adjunct faculty

The work continues toward the five-year plan the Executive Committee presented at the May 13 meeting. Changes like those we've requested won't happen over a summer. But we have a new administration, with new objectives, and an industrious Association all working toward the same goals.

The Association will be forwarding a survey to all non-tenure track faculty. This will help us establish statistical data for the Administration. If you do not receive this survey by the end of September, 1998, please contact any member of the Executive Committee: Darlene McElfresh McElfreshD@nku.edu, Susan Adams Kissel@nku.edu, Michael Adams Adamsm@nku.edu, Mary Jo Beresford Beresford@nku.edu, Steven Wilkinson Wilkinson@nku.edu, and Clark Baughan Baughan@nku.edu.

The Association in Support of Non-Tenure Track Faculty continues to grow. If you are not already a member, please join us. By contributing on a sliding scale (Tenure-Track Faculty & Administration $10 - $1), you, too, can become a member of a small association helping to make big changes here at NKU.