RVCC 2019 NECHE Self-Study

September of 2018 and the OTA program was removed from probationary status in
December of 2018.
A change that has recently impacted faculty as a result of the new CBA (2017-2019) is the
clause that states that faculty are to remain “available and accessible” to students. In the
past, advising time was considered “non-instructional” time. The updated CBA includes
teaching, planning, evaluating, tutoring, advising, assisting students, curriculum/program
development, academic contributions, and availability and access for students under the
“instructional time”. This is a change from the old standard of holding 5 hours per week of
office availability. With the increased use of technology for advising, faculty across CCSNH
identified that the concept of an “office hour” was outdated as many faculty are
communicating with their advisees through email exchanges and the use of the Learning
Management Systems to discuss relevant advising. The change to the new standard of
being “available and accessible” to students has improved the faculty at River Valley’s
communication with students particularly in light of covering three academic locations. It
was not always possible for a student to travel to the faculty’s location for advising and not
always possible for the faculty to travel to one of the other Academic Center. Giving more
flexibility to the faculty for student support has been a welcome change. Another welcome
change was the arrival of the new President, and his commitment to filling vacant positions
and stabilizing the organizational chart. Additional improvements will come as a result of
assessing and updating advising procedures to include all faculty, not just Program
Directors, in advising and implementation of Degree Works, an advising software.
At River Valley, some faculty serve as Program Directors, and thus advisors, for multiple
programs. Some Program Directors also serve as Department Chairs in addition to their
faculty role. A number of faculty in the Allied Health department hold the role of Clinical
Coordinator (or equivalent) in addition to their teaching responsibilities. Per the Faculty
CBA, it is standard at River Valley that all Department Chairs receive a one course
reduction each semester. In Spring of 2018 Department Chairs updated the workload
forms to better meet the release time requirements outlined in the updated CBA, and
discussed how Department Chair release time would be managed consistently across
departments. As of Fall 2018, all Department Chairs are expected to hold a workload
between 8-10 contact hours with the remainder of their workload time being dedicated to
the responsibilities that are outlined by their role as Department Chair. As this is a new
process, it will need to be evaluated and updated by the VPAA and Department Chairs
after Spring 2019.
Strengths
The College’s hiring practices ensure a faculty with a variety of degrees, specialty
licenses, professional backgrounds and experiences.
Adequate support for academic staff is assessed via minutes from program or
department meetings, Department Chair meetings, or Faculty Forum meetings.
Changes to the CBA have allowed faculty more freedom in how they utilize out of
class time to support students.
Challenges
The College’s faculty and staff represent somewhat limited ethnicity, but this is
reflective of the state’s demographics, of the regions that RVCC serves, and of the
student population.
Course release time for faculty has not always been consistently applied.
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