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A Wednesday recruitment effort highlights how Umpqua Community College is pushing to fill the demands created by an increased number of students for winter term.
Monday was the first day of registration, and classes are filling up quickly again.
From 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, there will be a career fair at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in the Conference Hall that officials hope will help fill the growing need for part-time instructors.
“We're in pretty new territory, and as a result we don't have the number of faculty that we need,” said Pete Bober, director of work force development.
Requirements for becoming instructors haven't changed — a degree may be required for some positions; for others it may not.
Instructors for some classes, such as English, would still need a master's degree to teach. However, people with specific work experience, journeyman status or degrees in professions such as welding, law or automotive might fit niches in UCC's career and technical programs.
Community education classes are open to enthusiastic professionals or hobbyists looking to share their passion.
The goal of Wednesday's event, Bober says, is to seek out people who might not learn about UCC's employment opportunities through traditional means of advertising in newspapers or online. Those avenues reach an audience already looking for work but not those who may already have jobs or are retired.
“The whole approach has been seeking out people who haven't been actively looking for employment,” he said, adding that often people have a knack for teaching and may be holding back because they weren't sure of how to apply with UCC.
Representatives from UCC departments will be available Wednesday so people can chat about the possibilities. Though all ideas and people are welcome, there may be some limitations as to who can be hired for what immediately.
Other faculty and people from the human resources department will be on hand to answer questions and guide people with the application process.
There will be an emphasis placed on getting qualified instructors for key areas such as science, math, computer information systems and other technical fields, where enrollment is high.
Bober said he's already had people contact him. Other UCC officials are hoping that's an early indication that UCC will have the success of other Oregon colleges that have already tried the career fair approach this year.
Ross Tomlin, vice president of instruction, said UCC had to hire several dozen new adjunct teachers for fall term to teach a student population that, at final count, was almost 30 percent higher than fall term in 2008.
Tomlin said he'd received an e-mail from the registrar that classes were closing at a pace the office hadn't yet seen.
“If that's any indication, we're going to be in for another wild ride for winter,” he said.
Tomlin said the part-time status wouldn't qualify people for UCC's health and insurance benefits. Pay will be based on number of classes taught and will vary between credit classes and community education classes.
Credit classes, based on contact hours, start out at about $500 per credit load, which would make a three credit class pay about $1,500, he said.
In most cases, Tomlin said new teachers will be plugged into classes with ready lesson plans. They'll receive support and mentoring from department heads so they can “hit the ground running,” he said.
Javier Ayala, dean of curriculum and instruction, said although need is great, employment with the college wouldn't be automatic.
During fall term, Ayala noticed the college had benefited from the funding misfortunes of the K-12 schools and hired several laid-off teachers.
“It's bad for the economy in terms of unemployment, but in terms of meeting student needs, we're able to hire people because of the economy,” he said.
He added that the career fair may show people opportunities with the college that could last beyond the recession, benefiting both part-time instructors with supplemental income and the college with a larger cache of experienced instructors.
• You can reach reporter DD Bixby at 957-4211 or by e-mail at dbixby@nrtoday.com.
Monday was the first day of registration, and classes are filling up quickly again.
From 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, there will be a career fair at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in the Conference Hall that officials hope will help fill the growing need for part-time instructors.
“We're in pretty new territory, and as a result we don't have the number of faculty that we need,” said Pete Bober, director of work force development.
Requirements for becoming instructors haven't changed — a degree may be required for some positions; for others it may not.
Instructors for some classes, such as English, would still need a master's degree to teach. However, people with specific work experience, journeyman status or degrees in professions such as welding, law or automotive might fit niches in UCC's career and technical programs.
Community education classes are open to enthusiastic professionals or hobbyists looking to share their passion.
The goal of Wednesday's event, Bober says, is to seek out people who might not learn about UCC's employment opportunities through traditional means of advertising in newspapers or online. Those avenues reach an audience already looking for work but not those who may already have jobs or are retired.
“The whole approach has been seeking out people who haven't been actively looking for employment,” he said, adding that often people have a knack for teaching and may be holding back because they weren't sure of how to apply with UCC.
Representatives from UCC departments will be available Wednesday so people can chat about the possibilities. Though all ideas and people are welcome, there may be some limitations as to who can be hired for what immediately.
Other faculty and people from the human resources department will be on hand to answer questions and guide people with the application process.
There will be an emphasis placed on getting qualified instructors for key areas such as science, math, computer information systems and other technical fields, where enrollment is high.
Bober said he's already had people contact him. Other UCC officials are hoping that's an early indication that UCC will have the success of other Oregon colleges that have already tried the career fair approach this year.
Ross Tomlin, vice president of instruction, said UCC had to hire several dozen new adjunct teachers for fall term to teach a student population that, at final count, was almost 30 percent higher than fall term in 2008.
Tomlin said he'd received an e-mail from the registrar that classes were closing at a pace the office hadn't yet seen.
“If that's any indication, we're going to be in for another wild ride for winter,” he said.
Tomlin said the part-time status wouldn't qualify people for UCC's health and insurance benefits. Pay will be based on number of classes taught and will vary between credit classes and community education classes.
Credit classes, based on contact hours, start out at about $500 per credit load, which would make a three credit class pay about $1,500, he said.
In most cases, Tomlin said new teachers will be plugged into classes with ready lesson plans. They'll receive support and mentoring from department heads so they can “hit the ground running,” he said.
Javier Ayala, dean of curriculum and instruction, said although need is great, employment with the college wouldn't be automatic.
During fall term, Ayala noticed the college had benefited from the funding misfortunes of the K-12 schools and hired several laid-off teachers.
“It's bad for the economy in terms of unemployment, but in terms of meeting student needs, we're able to hire people because of the economy,” he said.
He added that the career fair may show people opportunities with the college that could last beyond the recession, benefiting both part-time instructors with supplemental income and the college with a larger cache of experienced instructors.
• You can reach reporter DD Bixby at 957-4211 or by e-mail at dbixby@nrtoday.com.
