Lack of any health care support for part time faculty from PCC remains one of the most glaring difference between full and part time faculty. This fall, even after hiring 50 new full time faculty members, PCC remains part-time-faculty dependent, with 1095 part time faculty to 415 full time faculty. District estimates see Benefits and Healthcare packages for full time faculty and support staff costing $17.5 million in 2017 and rising to $22 million by 2022. At the same time, PCC budget includes about $500,000 for part time faculty health care.

To make matters worse, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates that any employer with over 50 full time employees must provide its employees with options for health care. While this looks good, unfortunately, the formula used to determine who qualifies as a full time employee almost universally excludes part time faculty, who often fall one or two hours short of the required 30 hours cut off for full time status. In fact, the college agreed in November of 2015 to offer health care options to qualified part time faculty, as required by the ACA. After reviewing who would be eligible through the ACA mandate, only about 55 part time faculty and staff met the 30 hour weekly minimum.

Looking beyond PCC, part time faculty are further penalized. Often part time faculty work at two or three schools, teaching the equivalent of a full time load of classes, yet at each college where they work they are limited by law to teaching only 67% of a full time load, they fall short of full time status.

Some schools have stepped up and made a commitment to their part time faculty. The Los Angeles Community College District and Santa Monica College District have both offered access to their health care providers for eligible part time faculty. These programs base eligibility on hours taught and length of service. On the other hand, campuses like PCC, which save money in the short term by not offering any health care support to the part time faculty, risk losing the part time faculty to these neighboring districts if they continue to take their part time faculty for granted.

Part time faculty are major contributors to the finances of the college. In the two Academic years 2013-14 and 2014-15, part time faculty at PCC were assigned 53% of the sections offered according to the CCC Chancellor’s Office. The major portion of the funding of the college comes from the state in the form of compensation for the number of FTES (Full Time Equivalent Students) the college earns. Part time faculty, who out number full time faculty by 2.5 to 1, teach over half of the sections offered. Thus, the financial contribution of part time faculty to the budget of the college is roughly equal to that of full time faculty. Yet they are paid almost half that of a full time faculty member and receive few benefits.

All faculty need to be given the resources and support they need to do their job. And full time faculty should not be faulted for the inequities of the current conditions at the community colleges. Instead, part time faculty need to be recognized by the colleges where the work, supported my full by their colleges, and fairly compensated for the essential role they play in making the California community colleges such a success.

Further, because many part time faculty work in multiple districts, their problems need to be seen as a system wide issue, not as a problem at a single campus or district. Organizations like the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges (FACCC) and the California Community College Independents (CCCI—of which the PCC Faculty Association is a member) are always advocating for improved part time rights. At the same time, part time faculty need to be stronger and more vocal advocates for themselves and need to work through their local and statewide representatives to push for more parity between full and part time faculty. A meaningful future for part time faculty in California and at PCC depends on such a united effort.