MEMBERSHIP 

The TMCC Chapter of the Nevada Faculty Alliance has more than doubled in size in the last year. A majority of academic faculty members have now joined, and our recruitment efforts continue. We hope more of you who have been considering membership will join us. Our new online application form makes it very easy.

But, in our discussions with prospective members, we have learned that faculty  sometimes have similar questions or misconceptions.

Answers to two of the most frequently-cited concerns are below. For those of you who have lingering questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to one of your TMCC-NFA officers.

I don't have time to join another committee - TMCC-NFA is not a committee; it's a labor organization, and joining doesn't increase your on-the-job time commitment unless you want it to. Members are not required to do any committee work or attend frequent meetings. We hold two meetings or events each semester and encourage all members to attend, but it is not mandatory, and there is no penalty for not attending. As a member, you will get a few more email messages from TMCC-NFA than you get as a non-member, but the vast majority are informational. We do hope members spend a bit of time reviewing contract language proposals and provide input on issues that affect them. For those who do want more involvement, we have committee work, and of course, we encourage all members to consider running for one of the chapter offices.

Tenure-track faculty put their tenure at risk by joining NFA - Not only is this not true, but it would be illegal if it were happening. The administration does not know who belongs to the NFA and who doesn't. The only people with access to our membership list are the chapter officers, and we keep that information strictly confidential. All TMCC faculty enjoy the protections negotiated by TMCC-NFA, but members have added benefits, including access to legal advisors and guidance on what's permissible or prohibited under both the contract and institutional policies. We believe that membership in TMCC-NFA actually reduces the risk for tenure-track faculty. We never ask non-tenured faculty to engage with the administration on contentious issues.

There is strength in numbers, and it was evident last year when hundreds of NFA members responded to our call to write letters to Regents, engage student leaders, and appear in person to speak in favor of COLA during the Public Comment portion of the Board of Regents meetings. That call to action was pivotal in securing the historic cost of living adjustments we are now enjoying. If you're not a member yet, we hope you will seriously consider joining.

 DUE PROCESS 

At the November 30, 2022, Board of Regents meeting, TMCC President Karin Hilgersom  voiced strenuous complaints about the periodic evaluation process for NSHE presidents, saying it suffered from "inconsistency" that she characterized as "potentially damaging to the future of one's career." But a current round of 360° evaluations of senior administrators and supervisory administrative faculty is causing concerns about consistency at TMCC since the administration is not utilizing the fully established confidential survey system developed in Web Services. 

TMCC President Karin Hilgersom

Instead, the President's office has purchased its own copy of Survey Monkey software to administer the evaluation surveys and bypass Web Services. Since a member of the President's staff is the license holder, they likely have advanced controls including the ability to see names with responses. Multiple administrative faculty members who are expected to complete a survey about a supervisor or coworker have contacted TMCC-NFA with serious concerns that their responses will not remain confidential, exposing them to possible retaliation.

Compounding this concern is the timing of evaluations in Student Services. While being the subject of a 360° evaluation, the Vice President of Student Services and Diversity is simultaneously conducting 360° evaluations of her direct reports; the same people who are being surveyed by the president's office to provide feedback for the VPSSD's evaluation. Without ironclad assurances of confidentiality, it is likely that those subordinates are reticent to give honest constructive criticism out of fear of retaliation, leading to an evaluation that is invalid because it falsely skews to the positive.

READ Double standards and evaluations >>

 SHARED GOVERNANCE 

Incremental changes to the NSHE code over the last decade have resulted in a policy that prioritizes appointments to fill executive vacancies over the well-established standard of national searches. NFA contends the appointments minimize the role of shared governance, and diminish the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The resolution asserts that the standard practice of requiring national searches to fill faculty vacancies at all NSHE institutions should be the minimum standard for filling executive vacancies, especially presidents.

The resolution strongly urges the Regents revise the code to restore national searches as the preferred method for filling executive vacancies, and to take the initial steps to conduct a national search for the next TMCC president no later than May 2024, with interviews occurring during Fall Semester 2024, and a final selection early in Spring Semester 2025. The timeline is appropriate for a new president to assume the role on July 1, 2025

 SHARED GOVERNANCE 

 ACADEMIC FREEDOM 

At the February 9 meeting of the TMCC Faculty Senate, Senator Martha Johnson-Olin will introduce a statement affirming the College's commitment to academic freedom, shared governance, diversity, and faculty rights, and denouncing the principles expressed by the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal at a recent workshop held by the Board of Regents. At the time, the Nevada Faculty Alliance and Faculty Senate chairs denounced the group's invitation and called on the Regents to cancel the workshop, to no avail. TMCC-NFA strongly supports Johnson-Olin's proposed statement: 

Johnson-Olin explains that prospective faculty may find the BOR meeting notes while researching the position, dissuading them from applying for a position in a system that appears to have aligned itself with the Martin Center's ideological extremes. A statement by the College disavowing those principles would help allay such fears. We urge all faculty senators to vote in favor.

 IN BRIEF 

Revisions to the TMCC-NFA Bylaws will soon be completed and members will be asked to vote to approve them. The Bylaws, which have not been changed since their adoption in 1992, must be updated to reflect our affiliation with AFT and align it more closely to the State NFA bylaws. We anticipate a vote before the end of the month. Members should watch for a ballot from ElectionBuddy.com

As we enter the second half of the academic year, we remind all faculty members that Article 6 of the TMCC-NFA Contract guarantees you the right to take one paid personal day off per year. Academic faculty cannot cancel their classes for a personal day and personal days are not allowed on commencement, but it is a benefit that we encourage everyone to take advantage of.

TMCC-NFA Officers

Jim New, President

Amy Cavanaugh, Vice President

Julia Hammett, Secretary

Lars Jensen, Treasurer

Cheryl Cardoza, Past President