Definitions
“A period of war" includes World War II (December 7, 1941, through December 31, 1946); the Korean Conflict (June 27, 1950, through January 31, 1955); the period of time between January 31, 1955, and the end of the hostilities in Vietnam (May 7, 1975); or any other campaign, expedition, or engagement for which a campaign badge or medal is authorized by the United States Department of Defense.

"Veteran" means a person who served in the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty, for reasons other than training, and has been discharged under other than dishonorable conditions.

"Eligible veteran" means:

• A veteran who served during a period of war; or
• The spouse of a disabled veteran; or
• The surviving spouse or dependent of a veteran who dies on active duty during a period of war either directly or indirectly as the result of such service; or
• A veteran who suffered a disabling injury for service-related reasons during peacetime; or
• The surviving spouse or dependent of a person who served in the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty, for reasons other than training, who dies for service-related reasons during peacetime.

Policy
When evaluating two or more candidates for employment whose academic preparation, technical qualifications, and/or pertinent professional expertise are substantially equal, the college will give preference to “eligible veterans” who are citizens of the State of North Carolina and who served the state or the United States honorably in either the army, navy, marine corps, nurses’ corps, air corps, air force, coast guard, or any of the armed services during a period of war.

If the committee is unable to reach consensus on a candidate, the Division Head meets with the committee to identify points of disagreement or concern. Following the meeting, the Division Head may direct the committee to resume deliberations, may accept a recommendation reached by majority, or may choose to identify several candidates for further consideration.

The committee’s final recommendation is forwarded, along with all required documents, through each supervisory level to the Division Head. Justification based on unique competence or experience must accompany any recommendation for a faculty position where the recommended candidate does not hold required credentials. Upon receiving the final recommendation, the Division Head consults with the Committee Chair and the Human Resources Director and may consult with other members of the Interview Committee. A minimum of three telephone reference checks must also be included, with one each conducted by the Human Resources Director, Committee Chair, and Division Head. Two of the reference checks must be made with the recommended candidate’s recent supervisors. One of these supervisors must be the recommended candidate’s present supervisor or most recent supervisor.

The Division Head conducts an interview with the recommended candidate. The purpose of this interview is to aid in determining suitability of the recommended candidate and to examine further issues or questions that may have been raised during the first interview. This meeting also provides the recommended candidate with another opportunity to ask questions about the college, the position, or the selection process. After completing this interview, the Division Head forwards the recommendation and supporting documents to the Affirmative Action Officer.

If the Division Head disagrees with the recommendation of the Interview Committee, he/she may also interview other candidates who meet the qualifications for the position. In this case, the Division Head consults with the Supervisor, the Human Resources Director, and the other Interview Committee members as appropriate to identify other qualified candidates in the pool. The Division Head also delineates the reasons he/she disagrees with the initial recommendation and includes that document with other materials assembled during the selection process.

The Affirmative Action Officer reviews the selection process. If the Affirmative Action Officer has questions about the selection process, he/she consults with the Human Resources Director, the Division Head, or others involved in the process in an attempt to resolve those questions. If those questions are not resolved to the Affirmative Action Officer's satisfaction, he/she may refer the recommendation back to the Interview Committee or the Division Head for additional consideration, may require the position be posted again or advertised again, or may take other action he/she deems necessary to ensure the college has followed internal policies and appropriate statutes. The Affirmative Action Officer may consult with any college personnel necessary in making this determination and forwards his/her recommendation for action to the President.

If the Affirmative Action Officer approves the selection process, he/she forwards the recommendation of the candidate to the President. The President acts on the recommendation.

If the President agrees with the recommendation, he/she sends an offer letter to the recommended candidate that includes salary information, type or duration of contract, selected non-salary benefits, and other pertinent terms of employment, including contract information that must be signed and returned to the college. This letter is the official offer of employment to the recommended candidate.

If the President concludes that the recommendation is not justified, he/she can refer the position back to the Division Head, the Supervisor, or the Interview Committee or take any other action he/she deems appropriate.

The position is not considered filled until an official offer letter is sent and the college receives a letter of acceptance. After a letter of acceptance is received, the Human Resources Director contacts the new employee to discuss issues relevant to employment. The Human Resources Director also notifies the Committee Chair and the Division Head that the college’s offer has been accepted and shares the starting date of the new employee. The Human Resources Director then sends letters to all other candidates in the applicant pool to indicate the position has been filled.

No employee is authorized to commit Durham Technical Community College to an employment arrangement or to inform an applicant of an employment recommendation without the President’s prior and specific approval. In the event the President so authorizes another employee to offer employment, the Human Resources Department must be notified in writing of the details of the authorized offer. The President is the final authority in all personnel recommendations.

1. Establishing and Maintaining a Pool of Applicants for Part-Time Faculty Positions
   • Prior to the start of a new semester, the Human Resources Department advertises for applicant résumés for upcoming part-time teaching positions;
   • Postcard acknowledgments of résumés received are sent to applicants;
   • Human Resources staff evaluate, assemble, and file résumés by subject area;
   • An Applicant Profile Sheet summarizing the applicant’s demographics, credentials, and experience is prepared by Human Resources staff and attached to each résumé;
   • Data from the Applicant Profile Sheet is entered in a computer file organized by subject area; and
   • Durham Technical Community College is committed to an Affirmative Action approach to employment; thus, attempts are made to ensure adequate representation of all minority groups in the résumé pool and that fair hiring practices are followed.

2. Recruiting and Hiring Part-Time Faculty Using Data from the Résumé Pool
   • Immediately after the semester schedule is finalized, hiring personnel start the process of selecting and contracting part-time faculty;
   • Hiring personnel review résumés from the applicant pool and select applicants for interviews;
   • Hiring personnel make the hiring decision and complete the Employment Authorization and Credentials Verification form; and
   • Hiring personnel initiate the contract process with Instructional Services staff.

3. Hiring Procedures for Part-Time Faculty
   • Hiring personnel direct the applicant to the Human Resources Department to complete the application;
   • Human Resources staff secure payroll documents and signed acknowledgment of required documentation; exceptions to this procedure may be granted only by the Human Resources Director; and
   • All required documentation must be received by the Human Resources Department within 30 days of the employee’s start date and before a paycheck can be processed.

Summary
All faculty members are employed on nine-month base contracts. Faculty members may be offered supplemental contracts for summer employment based on instructional demand, other college needs, and availability of funds. Hourly supplemental contract pay rates are calculated by dividing the base salary by 41 (for the number of weeks in the nine-month period) and further dividing by 40 (for the number of hours in a typical work week). Faculty members employed on or before January 31, 2002, and whose former contract status enabled them to accrue sick leave and annual leave during the summer shall continue to accrue and use these benefits while employed under full-time (40-hour per week) supplemental summer contracts. Faculty members employed after January 31, 2002, and teaching on summer supplemental contracts can neither accrue nor use annual or sick leave during the summer.

Background
In 2001, the N.C. General Assembly enacted legislation that required community colleges to “convert all faculty contracts to nine-month contracts covering the fall and spring semesters.” This legislation further stipulated that faculty members who are employed for more than nine months “shall be placed on supplemental contracts for the summer term” (Section 30.6 of Ratified 2001-2003 Budget Bill, introduced as S1005). In addition, prior to 2001, Durham Technical Community College faculty members were either employed on 11 ½-month contracts or 9 ½-month contracts. Faculty members employed on 11 ½-month contracts both accrued and were permitted to use sick leave and vacation leave during the summer term. Further, some faculty members employed under 9 ½-month base contracts were also employed during the summer under supplemental contracts that ranged from 10 hours to 40 hours per week. These individuals neither accrued nor used earned (annual) leave during the summer. In addition, all full-time college employees were required to expend annual leave during the winter break at the end of December when the college was closed. Particularly for newly employed faculty members, the practice of charging leave during the winter break was problematic because it left individuals with negative leave balances. In some cases, individuals were asked to "repay" negative leave balances at the conclusion of the contract year based on findings from the State Auditor. Therefore, the Board of Trustees adopted the following policy so that the college would be in compliance with the Special Provision noted above and to provide an alternative to the charging of leave during a period the college is closed for business.

Policy
Effective July 1, 2002, all faculty members will be employed under a base contract that coincides with the fall and spring semesters of the academic calendar. The Board of Trustees adopts the annual academic calendar after the specific contract dates are determined. Faculty members will accrue sick leave and annual leave during the term of the base contract. Faculty will not be required to expend annual leave during the winter holiday break (which is defined in the academic calendar and typically falls at the end of December).

In addition, the college may extend an offer for supplemental summer employment to any faculty member, based upon the needs of the institution (as determined by the President or his/her designee). Summer supplemental contracts may be for any time period but shall not exceed 40 hours per week. Compensation for supplemental summer contracts shall be prorated from the salary in the base contract in effect at the start of the summer term. Salary increases typically will go into effect at the start of the base contract. Faculty members will neither accrue nor use sick leave or annual leave while employed under supplemental contracts.

Any faculty member employed on or before January 31, 2002, and whose former contract status enabled them to accrue sick leave and annual leave during the summer shall continue to accrue and use these benefits while employed under full-time (40-hours-per-week) supplemental summer contracts. Should a faculty member covered by this exception resign, retire, or otherwise be separated from employment with the college, this exception shall not apply to any subsequent term of employment.

Establishing overall work assignments is the responsibility of the program director or discipline chair. In cases where a faculty member is assigned to more than one program or discipline, responsibility for establishing the work assignment rests with the director or chair of the area of primary responsibility (as designated on the college’s staffing chart). In such cases, the primary supervisor should coordinate assignments with the secondary supervisor.

Full-time faculty members should expect to spend a minimum of 32 hours per week on the college campus or at their assigned off-campus teaching locations or clinical sites. This expectation includes meeting all classes for their full duration and at least eight hours of posted office hours per week must be listed. In addition to their teaching schedules and office hours, faculty members are expected to be available for consultation with colleagues, for meetings, and for other work activities as requested by their supervisors or by the college during times the college is in operation.

To facilitate the offering of distance education, full-time faculty members who are teaching hybrid or online classes may elect to post a portion of their 32 hours per week schedule as virtual contact hours to reflect the often unusual times required for electronic communication with distance education students. The hours that may be listed as virtual (not necessarily on campus) contact hours would follow the following formula: 

• The instructor may post one-half of their online contact hours as virtual contact hours, with a maximum of 9 virtual contact hours of the 32 posted hours for an instructor with 18-21 online contact hours.

While such a schedule offers some flexibility for online instructors, each faculty member teaching online must, of course, meet the obligations of each of their courses and of all advising/registration duties.

To provide all students with access to full-time faculty members, instructors, and program directors who teach in disciplines or programs that have evening course offerings should expect to teach at least one evening section per academic year. This expectation may also be satisfied by teaching at least one weekend section per year, or two sections per year scheduled off-campus (at a location other than the faculty member’s primary work location). In addition, all full-time faculty members must accommodate requests from evening students for advising appointments. It is the responsibility of deans and department heads to evaluate adequate coverage of evening classes.

At the start of each semester a faculty member should provide to his/her supervisor a weekly schedule that includes all contractual hours (teaching assignments and scheduled office advising hours along with other times the faculty member plans to be on campus during a typical week). Once this schedule is posted, the faculty member may make occasional and minor variations to the schedule. Examples include revising the weekly schedule to attend a meeting or a professional development activity or to attend to personal business. Faculty members should notify their supervisors of such modifications and should make arrangements for making up instructional activities (if needed). Otherwise the instructor should obtain the supervisor’s approval before modifying the weekly schedule and post the altered schedule for those hours on his/her office door. In addition, supervisors (including department heads, division heads, or other college administrators) can require faculty members to make occasional modifications to the schedule that may result in the faculty members’ presence on campus in excess of the 32-hour minimum noted above.

Under normal circumstances, faculty members are required to be on the college campus or at the location of their teaching assignments for a minimum of four days per week or on specific days of the week to carry out necessary work responsibilities. Faculty supervisors may, in consultation with the department dean, modify this requirement as needed to meet the needs of the department and the college.

For accounting purposes, absence from campus for a day should result in submission of an employee absence report for eight hours (regardless of the number of hours the faculty member posts for the day in question).

Instructors who teach on overload contracts should submit a weekly schedule that reflects at least 40 hours of college-related activity in addition to the overload course or courses. This expectation also applies to faculty teaching curriculum courses, continuing education courses, or basic skills courses on overload.

A faculty member on a probationary contract must develop the work schedule with his/her immediate supervisor.

An instructor may receive an overload contract when he/she is teaching more than 21 contact hours per week as part of the regular teaching load and when his/her annual average teaching load exceeds 18 credit hours or 21 contact hours per week. A program director may receive an overload contract to teach a full course when he/she is teaching 15 or more contact hours per week as part of the regular teaching load and when the annual average teaching load meets or exceeds 12 credit hours or 15 contact hours per week. A dean may receive an overload contract to teach a full class when he/she is teaching eight or more contact hours per week and when the annual average teaching load meets or exceeds six credit hours or eight contact hours per week.

Program directors who wish to employ a full-time or continuing part-time employee under an overload contract first submit an Overload Request Form identifying the employee, the term of overload employment, and the course or courses to be taught under the overload contract. The program director also indicates the reason or reasons for requesting the overload contract. If the employee is a faculty member with a contractual teaching responsibility, a list of the classes taught as part of the employee's regular responsibilities is also included, as well as a copy of the employee's faculty schedule showing at least 40 hours of weekly scheduled activity carried out in addition to the overload teaching assignment.

When requesting or endorsing an overload contract for any employee, the employee's supervisor should carefully consider whether the overload assignment will impair the employee's ability to carry out his/her regular responsibilities. For faculty members, this means not only the regularly contracted teaching assignment but also any other tasks or duties assigned to that individual. Faculty members who have approved reductions in teaching responsibilities to carry out special assignments may not be employed under overload contracts. Overload contracts will not be issued for portions of a class. (For example, if an instructor's contractual teaching load is 15 credit hours and he/she is assigned four classes of four contact hours each to meet that load, the faculty member is not eligible for a one-hour overload contract.) Employees assigned to complete a class begun by another instructor may be eligible for an overload contract.

If an employee is offered an overload contract outside the primary work assignment area, the requesting program director must obtain the prior endorsement of the employee's supervisor before requesting an overload contract. If an employee has more than one work assignment as indicated on the college's Staffing Chart, the primary assignment is the position on the Staffing Chart where the employee's name does not appear in parentheses.

Requests for overload contracts must be submitted for approval sufficiently prior to the beginning of class to provide an opportunity to make another assignment should the request be denied. Once submitted and endorsed, overload requests will remain in the office of the chief instructional officer. Overload contracts should not be prepared until the program director receives a copy of the overload request with all required signatures. A copy of the employee’s schedule should accompany the Overload Request Form. The Overload Request Form will be submitted to the Human Resources office along with the signed overload contract.

Criteria for Creating an Overload Contract

• When there is an emergency situation (e.g., another instructor is leaving the college or has become too ill to teach), full-time employees can take on last minute or mid-semester additions more easily than part-time instructors. Overloads should be considered if the faculty member is already teaching the maximum number of credit hours (18) or contact hours (21).
• When the Corporate and Continuing Education Division has a need to hire full- and part-time college employees to teach Customized Training programs, based on the capacity-building directive from the NCCCS Office for Continuing Education, Corporate and Continuing Education program directors are encouraged to hire current college employees. Because of this, the division is able to receive bonus money for hiring college employees.
• In a situation when a class requires specialized training to be taught or when hiring managers cannot recruit specialized adjunct faculty, this may warrant hiring full-time employees with the necessary specialized credentials.
• On the occasion when a class is particularly difficult to staff due to scheduling needs, hiring full-time faculty or staff may be the best way to fill the need. For example, a part-time instructor is unlikely to be willing to come to campus (or to one of our off-campus sites) in order to incorporate a one-hour class into his/her regular off-campus job work schedule (i.e. Career and College Promise).
• When classes are added to accommodate high enrollment at the last minute, this may make it difficult to find an adjunct instructor to teach them so an overload contract may be necessary.
• When specialized courses require knowledge of the college’s policies and procedures in addition to course content, an overload contract may be necessary. For example, instruction at an off-campus sites like Blue Cross/Blue Shield and for certain courses like ACA 122 may require such knowledge.

Note: Exception for ACA 122 overloads — Faculty/staff who meet their minimum credit/contact hours will be eligible for consideration to teach ACA 122. For teaching load purposes, ACA loads are one credit and two contact hours.

Process/Procedure for Administering Overload Contracts

• Course/instructor evaluation scores will be considered in selecting instructors for overload contracts (e.g., history of scores of four or higher).
• Supervisors will require instructors on overload contracts to take annual leave when they miss departmental meetings, advising commitments, and other regular duties as assigned (possibly for other reasons than teaching).
• The number of classes an instructor is teaching as a part of his/her regular load as well as the number of students in each course will be taken into consideration when approving an instructor for an overload.
• Instructors must receive permission for one overload assignment before processing a second overload assignment. Likewise, instructors must list on the Overload Request Form, courses in the regular load as well as the courses on the overload.
• The Overload Request Form must be accompanied by the employee’s weekly schedule that shows his/her current work week along with how the overload fits into his/her schedule before it can be approved by the supervisor, division head, or the president.

Education and experience listed on the application form are important factors in the decision to interview and/or employ an applicant. These same credentials are also taken into consideration when calculating a starting salary prior to offering employment. The employee is responsible for ensuring that verification of any appropriate credentials is sent to Human Resources for inclusion in the employee's records.

For these reasons, Durham Tech requires that all appropriate credentials for full-time and continuing part-time employees be verified within the first 60 days of employment for full-time employees and within the first 30 days of employment for part-time employees. Failure to provide satisfactory verification of education and experience claimed on the application can result in the following: extending the probationary contract, issuing a new probationary contract, reducing the salary to the level for which official verification has been provided, or terminating employment immediately or upon expiration of the probationary contract.

The following credentials normally require official verification and documentation:

• Minimum education and work experience requirements which are listed on the job description and advertised during the recruitment process;
• Additional education and work experience which was pivotal in the employee's or candidate's selection for employment over the other applicants;
• Any certifications, licenses, or other competencies which have been requested on the Required Credentials form;
• Unique experience and demonstrated competence which have been substituted for advanced academic preparation;
• Any records which document prior state service to apply to calculations for longevity or annual leave or to transfer accumulated sick leave; and
• Any additional education, skills, or credentials obtained while employed at Durham Tech which may qualify the employee for a pay increase.

Acceptable verification of academic credentials is a transcript, bearing the institution's official seal, mailed directly to the Human Resources Department from the verifying institution. Normally, acceptable verification of work experience is that which is mailed directly to the Human Resources Department from the verifying agency/employer.

Unofficial transcripts of grade reports are accepted from employees as required documentation of completing educational leave. However, whenever credits obtained qualify the employee for a pay increase, an official transcript is required for the employee's personnel file.

In some specific instances, a photocopy of an official document may be acceptable if it is impractical to require originals for the employee's file. Examples are forms such as release or discharge from active military duty (DD 214), teacher's certification, licensure, specific skills certification, or tax forms when used in verifying certain types of work experience.

Consistent with the Principles of Accreditation of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Durham Technical Community College employs competent faculty members qualified to accomplish the institution's mission and goals. In determining faculty qualifications, the institution gives primary consideration to the individual's highest earned degree in the discipline but also may consider such factors as undergraduate and graduate coursework or degrees, related work experience, professional licensure or certification, honors and awards, documented excellence in teaching, or other demonstrated competencies or achievements. In cases where factors other than the individual's highest earned degree are considered, the prior written approval of the Senior Vice President/Chief Instructional Officer is required. This approval is then forwarded to the Human Resources office and included in the employee's personnel file.

Persons considered for employment or promotion are selected on the basis of training, experience, and other characteristics which best suit the individual to the job and best meet the needs of the college.

When employing relatives of college employees, the college will not hire, promote, or transfer an individual to occupy a position that has influence over an immediate family member’s employment, promotion, salary administration, or other related management or personnel considerations. Immediate family members include wife, husband, mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, grandmother, grandfather, grandson, granddaughter, step-relations, half-relations, in-law relations, guardian, or ward.

Job applicants who know of a family relationship (regardless of the distance of that relationship) must notify the college of the nature of the relationship when submitting an application for employment, and employees with a known family relationship (regardless of the distance of the relationship) with a job applicant should bring this fact to the attention of the Human Resources Department prior to any form of interviewing by employees of the college. Failure to disclose a family relationship may result in dismissal from the college.

Definition
“Secondary employment” is defined as compensated work performed for an employer other than Durham Technical Community College. It includes self-employment as well as work performed as an employee or as an independent contractor. It does not include unpaid volunteer efforts or other activities that do not result in direct or indirect benefit to the employee.

Policy
Each employee who signs a full-time or continuing part-time contract with Durham Technical Community College is expected to devote his/her entire time and attention to the duties and responsibilities of the position to which he/she has been appointed and shall engage in no other secondary employment except with the prior written consent of the President. The President must receive approval from the college’s Board of Trustees to engage in secondary employment.

The purpose of this approval process for engaging in secondary employment is to determine that the secondary employment does not have any adverse effect on the primary employment with Durham Technical Community College.

When considering or requesting consent to engage in secondary employment, employees must recognize that their specific hours of employment are variable and that the college maintains and reserves the right to adjust individual employee work schedules to address the college’s needs.

Failure to obtain prior written consent of the President before engaging in secondary employment may be grounds for dismissal from the college.

Procedure
The procedure for full-time or continuing part-time employees to notify the college that they are not engaged in secondary employment or to request consent before engaging in secondary employment is as follows:

1. Notification that the employee is not engaged in secondary employment takes place when the employment contract is signed at the beginning of employment with the college and again annually with the employee’s signing of a new contract; and
2. Before engaging in secondary employment, the employee must complete the Secondary Employment Request form to request prior written consent of the President, through the supervisory chain and with the endorsements of the direct supervisor, department head, and division head, to affirm that engaging in the secondary employment will not interfere with the employee’s ability to devote proper time and attention to the employee’s college assignment.

Overload contracts with the college do not need approval as secondary employment because the overload contract request process includes an approval process to ensure the additional contract does not conflict with the employee’s full-time contract. See Excess Teaching Load and Overload Contracts for more information.

Earned academic degrees, specific professional or technical credentials, full-time related work experience, and specific job responsibilities are factors considered in determining the beginning annual salary of new regular contract employees. Available financial resources, position allocation values in the college’s annual appropriation of state funds, and prevailing wages for certain occupational categories in the Triangle employment market are additional factors considered when determining starting salaries. The President makes the final determination for all salaries.

Once a beginning salary has been established, the employee may expect his/her salary to remain the same during the first year of employment. Adjustments to salary may be made in the following circumstances:

• The employee fails to provide complete verification of either stated or required education and experience;
• The employee assumes responsibilities above and beyond his/her regular job responsibilities or relinquishes additional responsibilities;
• The employee receives a promotion by moving from one position to another position with new responsibilities and a new job title; or
• State funds decrease.

Special teaching or non-teaching assignments for additional compensation may be requested for full-time employees assuming new or additional responsibilities. The Senior Vice President/Chief Instructional Officer and/or appropriate Division Head must endorse or approve the request. The request must then be authorized by the President. See Overload Contract form and Excess Teaching Load/Overload Contracts for additional information.

After the initial salary has been determined, subsequent annual increases are based on the salary increase funds appropriated by the N.C. General Assembly. Salary increases may also be granted if an employee is promoted or assumes certain additional responsibilities.

Durham Technical Community College
1637 Lawson Street
Durham, NC 27703
919-536-7200

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