MOA – Adjunct Faculty Reimbursements
MOA – Adjunct Faculty Professional Development Funds
MOA – Adjunct Faculty Summer Reimbursements
MOU – Adjunct Faculty Evaluation 2020-2021
MOU–COVID-19 Adjunct Faculty Specialized Content-Area Training
Author: oaktonafa
Emails to Membership During COVID-19
Adjunct and Part Time Faculty Survey – 2021
Watch for an email with a link to this important survey. The questions are designed to help the Adjunct Faculty Association (AFA) and the Bargaining Team understand your needs and interests so that the team can represent you better during contract negotiations.
The survey should take approximately 15 minutes of your time. Your answers will go directly to the AFA. The college administration will have no access to your survey responses.
Please answer the survey during the next week.
We need to hear from everyone!
- AFA Open Office Hours are this Friday, April 2nd, 9-10 via Zoom. Come with your questions and suggestions as we begin contract negotiations.
- Congratulations to Yasmin Cordero who will be representing us this summer at the National Education Association Regional Assembly.
- Interested in serving on a college-wide committee next year? We are collecting names now. Please email us at: afaoakton@gmail.com
- You may have noticed a new procedure this year for the re-appointment of department chairs and program coordinators. Your dean is seeking your input. Please share your thoughts. See email from your dean.
- Next AFA Board Meeting, Friday, April 9th at 10am. Contact us if you would like the link.
- Save the date, Adjunct Faculty Meeting Wednesday, August 18th, 4-5:30pm. More details to come.
March 28, 2021
Election Results for NEA-RA Delegate from the Adjunct Faculty Association at Oakton Community College, Spring 2021
39 ballots were cast in an election that ran from March 23 to March 27.
Votes by Candidate:
Mary Hope Griffin: 26 votes (66.7%)
Yasmin Cordero: 7 votes (17.9%)
Catherine Willis: 5 votes (12.8%)
Randy Felsenthal: 1 vote (2.6%) [write-in]
Mary Hope Griffin wins with 66.7% of the vote.
Call for Nominations for NEA-RA Representative
Dear members,
The 2021 National Education Association Representative Assembly, (the NEA-RA), will be held from July 2nd – July 6th, 2021. The 2021 NEA-RA will be held entirely virtually. The Oakton AFA will send one elected representative to the NEA-RA, as we have every year. Please consider nominating yourself or another member of the AFA to attend this meeting.
NEA RA delegates will be responsible for approving the NEA budget, establishing a dues amount, modifying the Legislative Platform and Bylaws and conducting other business of the Association.
The election for this position will be held electronically. You will receive an email March 23rd with a link to your secure, secret ballot. The link will remain active for you to vote until March 27th.
Before the election, we need you to nominate candidates. An AFA member may either nominate a colleague or himself/herself for this position by completing and returning the attached document OR using this online form: https://forms.gle/nSM9rvXA9dErMAjL7. Required information includes the Nominee’s name, address, phone, and email address.
To be included on the ballot, all nomination information must be sent to the AFA Elections Committee Chairperson Nelson Wainwright. You may use the online form https://forms.gle/nSM9rvXA9dErMAjL7 OR
DOWNLOAD the NEA-RA 2021 NOMINATION FORM , complete and send to oaktonafaelections@gmail.com.
All nominations must be received by March 5th. Nominations received after 11 pm on Friday, March 5, 2021 cannot be included on the ballot.
The Elections Committee recommends that should you choose to nominate someone else, please make sure he/she wants to be nominated and can attend this Assembly. The NEA-RA will be held from July 2nd – July 6th, 2021 and will be an entirely virtual conference.
The AFA needs your nominations, your votes, and welcomes your participation.
AFA Elections Committee
Nelson Wainwright
Ruth Whitney
2021 NEA-RA Election Timeline
• 2/22 – Call for nominations for AFA delegate to NEA – Representative Assembly
• 3/5 – Nominations deadline
• 3/23 – NEA – RA delegate election begins
• 3/27 11:59 pm – Last day for voting
AFA Office Hours Please join us for drop in AFA Officer Office Hours
Friday, March 5th, 9-10am
- AFA Board Meeting Friday, February 19th at 10am. Join us via Google Meet.
- Legal Advice: The AFA is part of the Illinois Education Association. As a dues paying member, you can receive free legal counsel for issues related to your employment. If you have questions about our contract, the best source of information is always an AFA Officer. No need to crowdsource!
- Covid-19 Vaccines: Please take a moment to sign this petition encouraging the state of Illinois to prioritize higher education in the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out. This is a real issue for several of our members who are currently required to teach face-to-face. Follow this link: Vaccine Petition
- Call for 12 LHE Adjunct proposals 2021-22 (1) 12LHEs are available.
- Listen Session Follow Up: We received a follow-up email from the Council of Deans outlining the issues they heard at our Fall Listening Session. They expressed their support and gratitude for all the efforts adjunct faculty have made during the pandemic. We were also provided some data about the hiring of adjunct faculty for FT positions at Oakton. On the last 20 hires 9 were of current adjunct faculty members (3 nursing, 3 math, 1 cannabis). We asked for a more comprehensive data set as that does not seem to reflect overall or historic trends.
- Email Use: Before you hit “reply all” remember that the Faculty List has over 500 people on it. Here are the College’s guidelines on email use: Email Use Policy
- Professional Development: Please Check out the Center for Professional Development’s (CPD) list of options for faculty. There are a few Faculty Seminars still open for registration for which you can be compensated for attending. They have also added more D2L trainings. All of these count toward your required Continuing Eligibility. CPD Schedule Link
- Wellness: Check out the offerings on our website: Wellness Link
Academic Continuity and Online Learning Resources and Training
New! : Spring and Summer Professional Development
From Ray Lawson (Questions? Contact rlawson@oakton.edu):
Guidelines for Registering for ION classes:
“Faculty need my approval to register for the ION courses if they are
seeking the financial support of the Online Learning department. My
approval is required because I have a limited budget for training.
When faculty request my approval for the ION courses, I recommend
that faculty carbon copy their Division Dean and Department Chair for
information only.
2. My office pays for the 3 recommended ION courses, which are
(1) Overview of Online Instruction, (2) Instructional Design for Online
Course Development, and (3) Student Assessments for Online
Courses. Since we have many requests for these ION courses, only
one ION course per semester is approved. The summer semester
counts.
3. Here is the ION website (https://www.uis.edu/ion/) to learn more
about ION offerings.”
Oakton’s Resources:
Academic Continuity Direct Link
Instructions:
- Sign in to myOakton
- Teach and Advise in the blue column on the left side of the page
- Adjunct Faculty box on the lower right side of Teach and Advise
- Academic Continuity (first link in the box under Documents)
March 2020 AFA Newsletter: Download Here
Download PDF 2020 March AFA newsletter
Come to AFA Board Meetings You are welcome to attend the monthly AFA Board meeting. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, March 24, at 4 p.m. in Room 1264 in Des Plaines.
Spring Membership Meeting Friday, April 3, 4 to 6 In RHC The Spring AFA Membership meeting will be held in Room P103 in Skokie. Come learn about what your union has been doing, enjoy some appetizers and sandwiches, and cast your vote for the next AFA president, vice president, secretary,
and treasurer. You can also learn how adjuncts can make presentations through the CPD, resources our library has for teachers of on-line courses, and what is going on in the various committees adjuncts serve on.
Nominations for AFA Board Every three years elections are held for the Executive Board of the AFA: the offices of President, Vice-president, Secretary, and Treasurer. Nominations are needed! AFA members may nominate themselves or someone else. If you are nominating someone else, be sure to check with that person to make sure they actually want to be nominated, are able to be an active participant of the union and are aware that offices are for a three-year term beginning in the coming academic year. If nominating someone else, you’ll need their address, telephone number, and email. The nomination form can be downloaded from the AFA website at oaktonadjuncts.com; nominations are to be sent to Nelson Wainwright via his email at nwainwr@gmail.com and must arrive by midnight Monday, March 16.
More elections Each July we send representatives to the Representative Assembly of the NEA (National Education Association). This is a huge assembly of representatives from unions from all over the nation that will meet in tlanta to approve the NEA budget, set the dues amount, and modify the legislative platform and the NEA by-laws. The election for a representative to attend will be held on both campuses on Tuesday, April 21.
“Serfs of Academe”? The March 12 issue of The New York Review of Books features a lengthy review of eleven books related to adjuncts and higher education. They range from a ‘satire-cum-horror-comedy’ Adjunct
(our lives in a nut-shell?) to The Meritocracy Trap: How America’s Foundational Myth Feeds Inequality, Dismantles the Middle Class, and Devours the Elite. For those of us who still have hopes of a full-time position, the article notes that in 2017-2018, there were an average of 122 applicants for every tenure-track position open, in a system resembling “a lottery.” It states that the most obvious cause of adjuncts’ lack of security and poor salaries is the ‘decline in public support for higher education,’ noting that the state investment for each student fell by 26 % between 1990 and 2010, so that the wide gains in salary and working conditions gained by unions hardly keep up. Meet the Trustees You will have a chance to meet and talk with the Oakton Board of Trustees at a reception organized by the AFA. Administrators too often attend. It will be in Des Plaines before the regular Tuesday evening April 21 Board meeting. It is a rare to chat with the Board members one on one, to share your views and to hear theirs. More details to come next month.
Paper vs Screens The current issue of on-line AdjunctNation features some research on comprehension differences between reading on paper vs reading on digital media. Students certainly prefer reading on their screens, and of course there are benefits to less use of paper. However, in three studies, students were asked to read text in print and on a device. They were then asked to report the main ideas of the reading, list the key points, and give any other information they thought was important. They were also asked how well they thought they had done. They did indeed read faster on screens and felt that their comprehension was better. When questions were general – questions such as what the main idea is – the students’ comprehension was better
on the screens. On the other hand, when students read the printed texts, they comprehended more when asked specific questions.
Email your senators Email your senator to support S. J. Res. 56, a bipartisan resolution introduced by Dick Durbin that has passed the House in Washington and is now headed to the Senate. According to NEA, this bill would undo Betsy DeVos’s policy of making “it more difficult for students defrauded by unscrupulous colleges to cancel their federal student debt.” If passed by the Senate, it will take effect on July 1 of this year. DeVos’s policy puts the burden of proof on students and ends automatic loan relief for students whose colleges close before they graduate.
Wedding Bells are ringing over Spring break for English lecturer Kate Magnuson. Congratulations, Kate!
Submit a Nomination for the AFA Board by March 16, 2020. All-Member Meeting and Election: CANCELLED: April 3, 2020, 4-6pm, P103, Skokie Campus
Submit a Nomination for the AFA Board by March 16, 2020
CANCELLED: All-Member Meeting and Election: April 3, 2020, 4-6pm
AFA Board Nominations – Spring 2020
The election for the Adjunct Faculty Association (AFA) Board positions will be held
at the spring member meeting on Friday, April 3rd , 2020.
You may submit a nomination for an AFA member for one of the AFA board
positions: President, Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer
Nominations must include the following information.
Nominee’s Name: ____________________________
AFA Board Position ____________________________
Nominee’s Address: ____________________________
____________________________
Nominee’s Phone: ____________________________
Nominee’s Email Address: ____________________________
Send this information to Nelson Wainwright, via email – nwainwr@gmail.com
by Monday, March 16, 2020.
A member may either nominate a colleague or himself/herself for a board position.
The Elections Committee recommends that if you nominate someone else, be sure
the nominee wants to be nominated,
the nominee can be an active participant in AFA activities, and
the nominee knows that the term for a board position is 3 years.
To be included on the ballot, all nomination information must be sent to Nelson
Wainwright via email to nwainwr@gmail.com.
Deadline for Nominations: midnight on March 16, 2020
Nominations received after the March 16 th deadline cannot be included on the ballot.
The AFA needs your nominations and welcomes your participation.
DOWNLOAD NOMINATION ANNOUNCEMENT AND FORM HERE
Nominate an AFA member or yourself for the 2020 NEA-RA. Nominations due February 24 @ 11pm
Dear members,
The 2020 NEA-Representative Assembly (NEA-RA) will be held from July 2nd – July 6th, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Oakton AFA will send an elected representative to the NEA-RA as we have every year. Please consider nominating yourself or another member of the AFA to attend this meeting.
NEA R.A. delegates will be responsible for approving the NEA budget, establishing a dues amount, modifying the Legislative Platform and Bylaws and conducting other business of the Association.
A member may either nominate a colleague or himself/herself for this position by providing the information on the attached form. Required information includes: Nominee’s name, address, phone, and email address.
The Elections Committee recommends that should you choose to nominate someone else, please make sure he/she wants to be nominated and can attend this Assembly. The NEA-R.A. will be held from July 2nd – July 6th, 2020. The NEA-R.A. will be held in Atlanta, Georgia
To be included on the ballot, all nomination information must be sent to the AFA Elections Committee Chairperson Ruth Whitney, via email – aruthwhitney@gmail.com or drop the nomination form off at the DP Library care of Ruth Whitney.
The nomination form is attached to this email. Additional copies of the nomination form can be downloaded from the AFA website at https://oaktonadjuncts.com/.
Nominations received after 11:00 pm on February 24, 2020 cannot be included on the ballot.
The election for the AFA delegate to the NEA Representative Assembly will be held on the Oakton Community College campus on Tuesday, April 21st.
The AFA needs your nominations, your votes, and welcomes your participation.
Deadline Approaching: Complete the Faculty Professional Development Team Survey on Orientation Week Evening Sessions by February 24th!
Note: This survey is generated in a Google Form and may ask for a gmail login. If you do not have one, you can still complete the survey by entering Google Forms through my.oakton.edu. If you have any questions about how to do this, please contact Gwyn Stupar at gstupar@oakton.edu.
From Mary Johannesen-Schmidt, Faculty Professional Development Liaison for the Faculty Professional Development Team
Dear Adjunct Faculty:
The Faculty Professional Development Team is exploring new options for orientation week offerings, and we would like to hear from you regarding your interest/availability in attending evening sessions during August 2020. Please complete the following brief survey to let your thoughts be heard.
https://forms.gle/qipFCvKYuwgVhYxf6
I promise you it is brief! Kindly submit your thoughts by February 24 so that we may consider them our meeting the following week.
As always, I look forward to hearing from you.
