CORNING/ELMIRA, NY, August 19, 2016– As the first day of classes nears, instructors at Corning Community College are looking forward as usual to helping our students learn and succeed. However, this year we task ourselves with an additional responsibility: raising awareness with the community outside of our classrooms about urgent issues facing the college we love.
CCC faculty are proud that our school has been recognized as among the very best community colleges in the United States and #1 in New York State. We know well what a great place our school is to learn, because we see our fellow faculty members and other dedicated staff working hard for our students every day.
At the same time, faculty are increasingly alarmed by something that has become hard to miss over recent years: a clear though unspoken administrative policy of disinvestment in teaching and student services.
In contract negotiations and other venues, faculty have raised serious concerns:
- Over just the last eight years, the number of full-time faculty at CCC has been slashed by 18%. The administration has shifted so heavily to using part-time instructors that now only 33% of all instructors at CCC are full-time. This year alone, full-time faculty positions have been reduced by an additional 5%.
- Consistent with this policy of instructional disinvestment, the administration has suppressed the compensation of faculty who do work full-time for the college. Instructors at CCC earn an astounding 33% less than the average for their peers at public two-year colleges nationally.
- Among New York State community colleges, full-time faculty salaries at CCC rank among the very lowest, in the bottom 20% across all ranks. Not surprisingly, many candidates for full-time positions at CCC have declined to work at the college when presented with such uncompetitive salaries, and some faculty have felt compelled to leave the college for fairer salaries with other employers.
- Critical student services have been slashed recently, including the total elimination of all personal counseling services for students. Faculty, students, and community members spoke out for the return of counseling services at an on-campus Rally for Student Health and Safety on February 4.
As many of these problems are contractual in nature, the Professional Educators of Corning Community College (PECCC), representing all full-time faculty at CCC, proposed improvements to the faculty contract through negotiations beginning in May and continuing through the end of July.
Instead of working with faculty to address these issues, the administration’s negotiators doubled down on instructional disinvestment, insisting throughout this three-month period that faculty must receive NO raise this year and refusing to discuss any number of other issues, ranging from minimum salaries to the number of full-time instructors available for students.
Not seeing progress on key issues at the negotiating table, the PECCC has filed a Declaration of Impasse with the New York State Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in the hopes that the agency’s mediation and fact-finding assistance will facilitate talks toward a fair and responsible contract.
Formal negotiations aside, faculty understand that real progress is only possible through--what else-- education: presenting the facts, sharing our stories, and, most of all, focusing on students’ needs. We are committed to standing up for teaching and learning at CCC because we believe in our college and we care about our students.
Community members with questions or who are interested in helping faculty raise awareness are invited to contact PECCC President Ryan Hersha at 607-483-8140 or to email ryanhersha@gmail.com.