6.1 Full-time Faculty

The institution employs an adequate number of full-time faculty members to support the mission and goals of the institution. (Full-time faculty)

√  Compliance   ____Non-Compliance

Narrative

St. Petersburg College (SPC) employs a systematic approach to monitor the adequacy of the number of full-time faculty necessary to support the institution’s mission and goals, and to maintain the quality and integrity of its Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Certificate, and Baccalaureate programs.

The College’s approach to determining adequacy includes the following factors: 1) support of the College Mission and Strategic Plan; 2) faculty definitions and job description expectations that emphasize both teaching and professional academic responsibilities; 3) a full-time faculty evaluation system that addresses teaching, college engagement and support, and professional development; 4) systematic processes to assess faculty sufficiency both internally and in comparison, to other institutions in the Florida College System; and 5) a budgeting process that focuses on instruction and academic supports.

“Adequacy” is defined by St. Petersburg College as having a critical mass of full-time credentialed faculty to provide academic oversight and teach a majority of the student semester hours (SSH) within each modality, across campus locations, and within each academic discipline.  The College’s institutional goal is to reach and maintain a 55/45 full-time to adjunct faculty ratio, and the process is described below.

College Mission and Strategic Goals

During the 2021-22 academic year, the College employed 329 full-time faculty members and 787 adjuncts to support SPC’s mission – “to empower our students and community to achieve success and economic mobility through academic excellence and engagement”.

The mission statement, and supporting visionary commitments of academic excellence, economic mobility, and community engagement, form the pillars upon which the 2021-2024 Strategic Plan was designed.

SPC Pillars

Faculty support these pillars by serving on the strategic plan pillar committees and subcommittees. Each committee provides bi-annual updates on the work accomplished and planned next steps to the Board of Trustees (see Spring 2022 updates).

Definitions of Faculty Types, Job Expectations, Evaluation, and Supporting Policies

Definitions

When reviewing the adequacy of full-time faculty, SPC uses these definitions for the different types of faculty per Board of Trustee Rule 6Hx23-1.01 (attachments below are links to sample job postings):

  • Full-Time Faculty – Contractual instructional personnel paid according to the Faculty Salary Schedule and the Supplemental Salary Schedule for courses in addition to contractual loads.
  • Instructor-In-Charge– Full-time faculty who are responsible for the supervision and evaluation of adjunct faculty at the campus level and are paid according to the Faculty Salary Schedule, including an academic stipend. Formerly Academic Chair.
  • Adjunct Faculty – Part-time, temporary instructional personnel paid according to the Adjunct Salary Schedule.
Organizational Structure

The organizational structure of the academic departments at SPC begins with the President of the College, who is authorized to hire instructional staff per Florida Statute 1001.65 and Board of Trustees Rule 6Hx23-2.201. Each of the College’s academic programs are organized by Career and Academic Communities and overseen by one of the eleven Deans, who report to the Vice President of Academic Affairs.  The Vice President of Academic Affairs reports directly to the President.

Full-time faculty report to their Academic Dean. Deans work with their Associate or Assistant Deans and Instructors-in-Charge to construct course schedules, recruit full-time or adjunct faculty and develop their departmental budgets.  The Deans play a critical role in supporting the full-time faculty in their divisions, making sure they have the resources and access to information that allow them to fulfill their responsibilities to the students and the College.  Instructors-in-Charge provides the same support to the adjunct faculty in their department areas.

Faculty Work Loads Based on Contract Type

Contracted full-time, associate-level instructors generally maintain a load of 36 credit hours each academic year, representing teaching during the three academic semesters –  fall, spring, and summer – unless otherwise indicated on the job posting. Contracted faculty may elect a load of 30 credit hours each academic year with a salary adjustment for the reduced load. Each full-time baccalaureate-level faculty member maintains a load of 42 credit hours. (Baccalaureate-level faculty are hired using a 12-month contract that includes required academic advising for students, which accounts for their larger credit hour load.)

In addition, full-time faculty may voluntarily request approval from their Dean and the Vice President of Academic Affairs to teach an additional 6 supplemental credit hours (2 classes) per semester, with an additional 3 credit hours (1 class) approved in special circumstances each semester, for a total of 15 maximum credit hours (5 classes) over the three semesters each year. Overloads above the normal requests may occur in cases when it is difficult to hire additional adjuncts, unexpected vacancies, unexpected increases in enrollment, or departmental needs.  These additional overloads must also be approved by their Dean and the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Instructors-in-Charge are considered full-time faculty with release time from their workload provided to accomplish their administrative duties assigned by their department.  Instructors-in-Charge are expected to teach 24 credit hours each academic year in addition to their administrative responsibilities, but the hours may vary depending on departmental needs.

The adjunct faculty combine strong academic credentials with substantial, professional work experience. Adjunct faculty are hired to teach specific sections of the course catalog based upon need. Full-time employees who can be credentialed for a discipline can apply to teach courses at SPC as adjuncts if they receive approval from their supervisor.

SACSCOC Logo

SITE MAP

Part I: Signatures Attesting to Integrity

Part II: Institutional Summary Form Prepared for Commission Reviews

Part III: Fifth-Year Compliance Certification

Part IV: Follow-Up Report (not applicable)

Part V: Impact Report of the Quality Enhancement Plan

Supporting Documentation

Job Expectations

Florida Statute 1012.82 specifies that all full-time faculty in the Florida College System shall teach a minimum of 15 classroom contact hours per week.  This provision allows for sufficient time, beyond faculty workloads, to engage in professional development and other activities that support the College Mission.

At SPC, in addition to their full-time teaching load (or primary function of instruction, coaching, and student development), full-time faculty are expected to assist in the development and oversight of programs and courses, provide service to the college, and participate in continuing professional development.  These activities directly tie to the College’s mission and strategic pillars by ensuring ongoing academic excellence, supporting economic mobility, and fostering community engagement.

Oversight of programs and courses includes ongoing development and modification of courses and programs through the Curriculum & Instruction processes, online course revitalization, Curriculum & Instruction Workflow Process, and program assessment processes. Service to the college includes participation in college initiatives (such as those identified in the Strategic Plan), college or departmental committees, departmental meetings, community service, as well as participation in graduation ceremonies. Professional development includes new faculty participation in a two-year cohort experience provided by the Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), Introduction to MyCourses (learning management system), Teaching Online (for asynchronous faculty assignments), as well as optional participation in a host of ongoing professional development opportunities provided by the Instruction, Design, Education and Support department and CETL, including certification in online instruction through ACUE.  These expectations are outlined in the job postings they apply to (see position summary and expectations), provided in the faculty manual (pertinent areas highlighted), and discussed during faculty onboarding meetings and ongoing departmental meetings.

To ensure that all full-time faculty have the resources needed to perform these functions, the College provides direct support through the Department of Curriculum Services, the Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning, the Department of Instruction, Design, Education and Support, and the Department of Institutional Effectiveness.

Faculty Evaluations

All full-time faculty expectations are evaluated annually using a teaching ePortfolio.  Faculty provide evidence of achieving the defined expectations as outlined in the Faculty Manual and Board of Trustees Procedure 6Hx23-2.10, reflect upon their pedagogy, and determine a professional development and improvement plan each year. Criteria for full-time faculty include effectiveness as a faculty member, contribution to College effectiveness through out-of-class support, duties outside the classroom, involvement in college service, and participation in professional development. These categories allow faculty to share individual successes in scholarship, curriculum development, participation in student success measures outlined in the Strategic Plan and departmental initiatives, participation in program assessment, and involvement in other college-wide committees and activities.  All faculty evaluations are reviewed by the Deans and discussed with the Vice President of Academic Affairs annually.  Those who are seeking continuing contracts and have met the criteria set forth during the review are brought forward to the Board of Trustees each year for confirmation and approval (see BOT Agenda June 2022 Contract Memo)

Governing Policies

The College has created the Board of Trustee Rules and Procedures to codify the processes and expectations of full-time faculty regardless of the modality of the courses they teach and include Dual Enrollment faculty.  Control of the academic programs clearly resides with the full-time faculty per Board of Trustees Procedure P6Hx23-3.04. All faculty members are credentialed the same, regardless of full-time or adjunct status per Rule 6Hx23-2.022 Qualification of Instructional, Administrative, and Professional Personnel. Faculty are evaluated with end-of-course evaluations, regardless of full or adjunct status. In addition, adjunct faculty are evaluated specifically to ensure they meet the same SPC teaching expectations as full-time faculty per P6Hx23-2.10 Evaluation of College Personnel. Additional policies include P6Hx23-2.141 weekly hours for Faculty (sections VI-VIII) and Rule 6Hx23-2.23 Employment Adjunct and Supplemental Personnel.

Process Used to Determine Adequacy of Full-time Faculty

“Adequacy” is defined by St. Petersburg College as having a critical mass of full-time credentialed faculty to provide academic oversight and teach a majority of the student semester hours (SSH) within each modality, across campus locations, and within each academic discipline.  The College’s institutional goal is to reach and maintain a 55/45 full-time to adjunct faculty ratio.  Student semester hours are defined as the number of course credits multiplied by the student enrollment of the particular course.  This ratio is determined by calculating the number of student semester hours (SSH) taught by faculty counted as full-time as compared to the total number of student semester hours (SSH) in any semester in all credit-bearing courses.  Because SPC faculty teach across disciplines and course credit hours range from 1-4 depending upon the course/program, SSH provides a better overview of actual student contact within a given semester than the more traditional faculty/student course-based ratio shared as a comparison point later in Table 6.1.4.

For the past ten years, St. Petersburg College program administrators have reviewed their full-time/adjunct (part-time) faculty SSH ratio each fall to determine the percentage of SSH taught by full-time faculty in order to make recommendations to the Vice President of Academic Affairs regarding the need for full-time faculty positions in specific areas of study. The goal of this process is to ensure that full-time faculty in any academic year teach a sufficient number of student semester hours to maintain the critical mass and still be able to fulfill the basic faculty functions that support the College mission – developing curriculum and providing oversight, maintaining currency and scope of subject matter, teaching and assessment of student learning outcomes, contributing to College student success initiatives, and participating in service to the College, department, and profession.  SPC ensures there is at least one highly qualified full-time faculty member teaching in each academic degree program, who serves as the Program Coordinator.

As part of the College’s mission, all Florida State Colleges are mandated by the state to focus upon workforce degree programming (FS 1004.65).  As such, it is committed to providing students with an equitable academic experience that blends theory with practice.  Utilizing workforce practitioners as adjuncts, who bring real-world, current experience, and practical application into the classroom, is the driving force behind the maintenance of a 55/45 full-time to adjunct faculty ratio.  Most cases in which this split has not been reached can be attributed to the newness of a program, low enrollment of a program, or fast growth of a program.  Additional full-time faculty are added to these programs as enrollment grows; however, if the program is not sustainable, it is put on teach-out status.

Adequacy of Full-Time Faculty

The following tables show the number of semester hours taught by full-time faculty and the number of semester hours taught by part-time faculty by location, delivery mode, and degree type for the 2021-22 academic year. In cases where the 55% full-time/ 45% adjunct goal is not met, explanatory notes are provided after each table.

Table 6.1.1 – Full-Time Faculty/ Part-Time Faculty Percentage of Student Semester Hours (SSH) Taught by Location

Full-time Faculty
Full-time Faculty
Part-Time Faculty
Part-Time Faculty
Campus
All Student Semester Hours
SSH taught by F/T Faculty
% taught by F/T Faculty
SSH taught by P/T Faculty
% taught by P/T Faculty
Allstate Center
15
-
0%
15
100%
Bay Pines
121
52
43%
69
57%
Clearwater Campus
31,745
18,766
59%
12,979
41%
Downtown Center
3,032
1,680
55%
1,352
45%
Epicenter
8,616
7,851
91%
765
9%
Health Education Center
39,325
25,588
65%
13,737
35%
Midtown Center
1,281
641
50%
640
50%
Open Campus (HS dual enrollment
2,257
-
0%
2,257
100%
Seminole Campus
14,284
8,227
58%
6,057
42%
St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus
29,696
18,054
61%
11,642
39%
Tarpon Springs Campus
25,143
11,384
45%
13,759
55%
Distance Learning
321,641
196,986
61%
124,655
39%
Grand Total
477,156
289,229
61%
187,927
39%

Note: Allstate Center offers primarily clock-hour programs which utilizes workforce professionals in police/corrections areas. Bay Pines is a specialty community campus with very few course offerings and is not subject to meeting the ratio goal. Open Campus is SPC’s designation for Dual Enrollment offered on High School campuses, taught by K12 credentialed teachers. Tarpon Springs is the home to the College of Education and many (4,268 SSH or 90%) of the internship/practicum courses are taught by adjunct supervisors working with students and teachers within the K12 institution. Without these SSH, the ratio is 55% FT faculty / 45% adjuncts.

Table 6.1.2 – Full-Time Faculty/ Part-Time Faculty Percentage of Student Semester Hours (SSH) Taught by Delivery Mode

Full-time Faculty
Full-time Faculty
Part-Time Faculty
Part-Time Faculty
Instructional Modality
All Student Semester Hours
SSH taught by F/T Faculty
% taught by F/T Faculty
SSH taught by P/T Faculty
% taught by P/T Faculty
Distance Learning
321,641
196,986
61%
124,655
39%
Face-to-Face
137,678
81,309
59%
56,369
41%
Blended - Hybrid
17,837
10,934
61%
6,903
39%
Grand Total
477,156
289,229
61%
187,927
39%

Table 6.1.3 – Full-Time Faculty/ Part-Time Faculty Percentage of Student Semester Hours (SSH) Taught by Degree Level

Full-time Faculty
Full-time Faculty
Part-Time Faculty
Part-Time Faculty
Instructional Degree
All Student Semester Hours
SSH taught by F/T Faculty
% taught by F/T Faculty
SSH taught by P/T Faculty
% taught by P/T Faculty
Associate Degrees
395,366
240,161
61%
155,205
39%
Baccalaureate Degrees
81,790
49,068
60%
32,722
40%
Grand Total
477,156
289,229
61%
187,927
39%
Comparisons to Peer Institutions

To ensure the College is in alignment with its sister institutions in the Florida College System, the Florida Department of Education Fact Book allows us to conduct annual comparison reviews of several key factors: full-time faculty/student ratios, qualifications of full-time faculty, average salary, and budget expenditures for instruction and academic support.

Faculty/Student Ratio

St. Petersburg College’s faculty/student ratio compared to many of its peer institutions.

Table 6.1.4 – Faculty/Student Ratio Comparison

Institution
Enrollment Fall 2022
Full-Time Faculty
Ratio
St. Petersburg College
24,543
320
77:1
Broward College
30,947
369
84:1
Florida State College–Jacksonville
20,717
338
61:1
Hillsborough Community College
19,198
354
54:1
Miami Dade
44,002
735
60:1
Palm Beach State College
24,151
312
77:1
Valencia College
43,599
856
51:1
Hiring Highly-Qualified Faculty

The College’s faculty hiring process ensures that faculty are qualified to accomplish the mission of promoting student success while focusing on academic quality. When determining the qualifications of its faculty, each program administrator or Dean completes a faculty credentialing form listing the highest earned degree in the discipline as well as related academic experiences in the field and other demonstrated competencies and achievements that contribute to effective teaching and successful student learning outcomes.

St. Petersburg College maintains a more highly credentialed faculty when compared to the Florida College System’s average, according to the Florida Department of Education 2021 Fact Book.

Table 6.1.5 – SPC Full-Time Faculty Percentages Holding Doctorate Degrees versus State Average Fall 2021

College
Doctorate Degree Number
% Holding Doctorate Degrees
SYSTEM TOTAL
2,111
34%
BROWARD COLLEGE
151
41%
FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE AT JACKSONVILLE
131
39%
HILLSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
91
26%
MIAMI DADE COLLEGE
300
41%
PALM BEACH STATE COLLEGE
96
31%
St. PETERSBURG COLLEGE
154
48%
VALENCIA COLLEGE
260
30%
Average Full-Time Faculty Salary

SPC’s faculty salary schedules help to attract the number of faculty necessary to support the College’s mission and academic integrity.  The full-time faculty salary schedules exceed those of the Florida College System average.

Table 6.1.6 – SPC Average Full-Time Faculty Salary versus State Average Fall 2021

College
Number
Salary
SYSTEM TOTAL
6167
$ 58,544
BROWARD COLLEGE
369
$ 60,755
FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE AT JACKSONVILLE
338
$ 57,043
HILLSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
354
$ 58,367
MIAMI DADE COLLEGE
735
$ 67,296
PALM BEACH STATE COLLEGE
312
$ 58,601
St. PETERSBURG COLLEGE
320
$ 62,598
VALENCIA COLLEGE
856
$ 55,205

Budgeting to Support Adequacy

Finally, through its budget development process, SPC monitors the percentage of the annual budget spent on direct instructional costs.  According to the Florida Department of Education 2022 Fact Book, SPC expended 45.7% of its budget on Direct Instruction, comparable to and slightly exceeding as the Florida College System average of 44.2%. The College allocated 2.3% more on academic support than the System average as well. This comparison places it well within the parameters of the most similar institutions in the Florida College System.

Table 6.1.7 – Budget Allocation for Direct Instruction and Academic Support

College
Direct Instruction
% of Total
Academic Support
% of Total
SYSTEM TOTAL
$955,827,336
44.2%
$243,210,895
11.2%
BROWARD COLLEGE
$69,970,138
43.2%
$19,298,070
8.9%
FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE AT JACKSONVILLE
$53,242,514
39.1%
$23,783,729
17.8%
HILLSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
$54,973,896
46.0%
$10,907,293
9.1%
MIAMI DADE COLLEGE
$149,099,076
45.0%
$33,858,729
10.2%
PALM BEACH STATE COLLEGE
$48,336,060
41.0%
$21,136,985
17.9%
St. PETERSBURG COLLEGE
$56,741,111
45.3%
$18,055,559
14.4%
VALENCIA COLLEGE
$108,304,468
50.8%
$24,111,214
11.3%

Based upon the data supporting these five factors, SPC employs an adequate number of full-time faculty members to support the mission and goals of the institution.