Policies and Procedures

In order to establish English 100 students' preparedness for English 110, the English Department conducts a portfolio assessment process, as follows: All eligible English 100 students submit a portfolio of their three best essays selected from the essays written during the term (usually 5-7). The student's departmental essay exam--an essay written under timed, supervised conditions--is automatically added to the portfolio. Only students in good standing, that is, those who have completed their instructor's course requirements, are eligible to participate. English Department faculty who have been normed, that is, trained to assess portfolio essays, meet to evaluate the portfolios. Using the departmental rubric (i.e., the criteria score sheet), they review final drafts and earlier drafts, assessing the student's ability to think, plan, draft, revise and edit. Portfolios are then scored Pass/No Pass.

Portfolio requirements:

Two of the three non-timed essays must be expository. Expository essays are the following: definition, causal analysis, comparison/contrast, classification, argumentation, analysis of a text, research essay or a combination of these. 
The third non-timed essay may be descriptive, narrative or expository as defined above. Descriptive or narrative essays must demonstrate carefully considered analysis. 
The three non-timed essays must be at least 2 complete pages and no more than 5 pages long. 
There must be at least 2 drafts per essay, with evidence of instructor's input; there may be no more than 4 drafts per essay, including the final draft. All drafts must be stapled together with the final draft on top. 
The final draft must be typed and double-spaced and be free of instructors' and tutors' comments. Minor corrections neatly written in ink are acceptable. The student's name and the date should appear at the top left of page one and a title should be centered below. The instructor's name should not appear on any papers. 
Students with passing portfolios receive credit for English 100 and are eligible for English 110 if they have also fulfilled the reading requirement (that is, if they have been assessed as eligible for English 103). If not, their writing placement will be held in abeyance until they fulfill the reading requirement.

Students whose portfolios do not pass receive credit for English 100A. They may enroll in English 100 once more for credit (or no credit thereafter).

Approved by faculty vote on February 17, 2000.

Service to the department in a leadership role is a professional duty of every tenure-track English faculty member.

Eligibility. Faculty employed on a two-thirds contract or more, with a 50% load or more in the respective department, shall be eligible to be elected Department Chair. (District Policy 1311.1)

Election. District policy states that the department chairperson will be elected by a majority vote of all tenure track faculty with at least a 50% load in the department. (District Policy 1311.2)

Method of Election. On March 14, 1991, the department unanimously approved the establishment of a rotation system for electing the department chair based on seniority of all members of the department who have not previously served as chair. The top four names of eligible members will automatically appear on the election ballot unless an individual member's request for exemption has been approved [see Exemptions, below]. Additional tenured faculty may be nominated.

Exemptions. Eligible faculty members may request a temporary exemption from rotation or nomination based on the following conditions:

Pending sabbatical leave (to occur within the following two-year period). 
Pending Study Abroad program (to occur within the following two-year period). 
Existing significant temporary reassignment from the department in service to the college. 
Existing medical condition. 
Previous service as Chair of English Skills or Director of Composition. 
Exemptions may be approved by the current department chair.

Refusal/Demurral to Serve. Faculty membership in the English department includes both privileges and responsibilities. If the member does not honor her or his responsibility--in this context service as department chairperson--that member shall be denied the privilege of departmental seniority for purposes of class scheduling preferences, office assignment, and other traditional perquisites.

Co-Chairpersons. Departments desiring to split the department chair responsibilities may elect two faculty members as co-chairs. In consultation with the appropriate dean, responsibilities and compensation of each co chair shall be clearly delineated, including the designation of one co-chair as the liaison to the Office of Academic Affairs. (District Policy 1311.2)

Vote Count. The department chairperson or the director of composition and at least one other full-time English faculty member will tally the votes in an election.

Term of Office. District policy sets the term of office for a department chairperson to two years. Exceptions to the length of term must be approved by the appropriate Assistant Superintendent / Vice President. Terms may be repeated. (District Policy 1311.3)

Rev. 9/05, 10/05

The English Department's procedural provisions per SBCC's "Administrative Procedures for Implementing the District's Nepotism Policy (BP 7310)"

These procedures are agreed to by a majority vote of the English Department to provide for full rotation of faculty members into the positions of Chair and Director of Composition, and to provide for the fullest talent pool possible from which to select new English Department faculty.

In those instances where a faculty member may find him or herself in a "decision-making" or "recommending" position over a relative/partner, the activity of concern will be administered by a colleague in a position of similar authority (i.e. the Director of Composition acting for the Chair of the Department, or vice versa), or the Dean of the division, or the "appropriate assistant superintendent / vice-president."

Those activities of concern are defined as: faculty evaluations, student complaints, and sabbatical support letters.

Further, it is agreed that being partnered with another member of the department who is in probationary status will legitimately excuse the senior member from candidacy during chair elections.

approved 11/02

Re-Hire and Scheduling

Part-time instructors will be re-hired in order of seniority and will be assigned classes based on the combination of seniority and strength of evaluations and in consideration of courses available to be assigned. After six years of satisfactory service, a part-time English instructor shall receive "senior status" and once classes are assigned cannot be "bumped" by another part-time instructor. 
Any part-time instructor with "senior status" who needs to change his/her schedule (once the schedule has been built but prior to publication of schedule) must select from among those part-time instructors' classes who have taught here fewer than six years. "Need" is to be understood here as prompted by circumstance such as an assignment change at another campus of employment or a "trickle down" assignment change effected by a full-time assignment change. 
When two part-time instructors teach the same class level during the same time and one of the sections is cancelled, the instructor with the most seniority will receive the class assignment. 
A part-time instructor's schedule may not be changed after three weeks before the upcoming semester by any factor except a full-time unexpected shift in teaching assignment. 
The order of re-hire for part-time English instructors who have taught six years or less at SBCC, and so do not have "seniority" status, should be based on the number of semesters teaching experience accrued, and satisfactory evaluation and fulfillment of professional requirements such as flex time. Each instructor will receive one class assignment, beginning with the most experienced down to the most recently hired. After that, second classes will be assigned as available, again beginning with the most experienced on down. 
Part-time English instructors who take a leave of absence from teaching at SBCC should be re-hired at the same seniority status and the same point of evaluation cycle as long as he/she returns within three years and during that time has accrued more teaching experience. Instructors who return after a longer time or who have not taught since leaving SBCC are re-hired at a seniority level according to the chair's discretion; in addition, these instructors return to the beginning of the evaluation cycle. 
Evaluation

Instructor should receive a notification of evaluation and a clear explanation of the process early in the semester, well in advance of the evaluation visit. Evaluation process materials should provide a clear breakdown of evaluation scoring/points. 
Date and time of evaluator's visit should be negotiated with the part-time instructor and be convenient for both. 
A fulltime instructor shall and a part-time instructor may visit the classroom and evaluate the instructor. 
If the evaluator has any concern regarding the instructor's teaching this should be stated clearly and specifically. 
Unless the evaluator has a "very serious concern" regarding the instructor's competence, instructors who receive a less than satisfactory evaluation should be allowed a second evaluation the following semester. The instructor should receive clear advice for improvement from the evaluator. The instructor may receive mentoring from one or more colleagues. 
An instructor who receives a second less-than-satisfactory evaluation will conference with the English Chair regarding re-hire. 
New part-time instructors whose re-hire is dependent on completion of evaluation should have the class visit completed by the 9th week of the semester (before re-hire process begins for the following semester). 

Approved 10/17/03
Revisions approved by adjunct faculty 4/07/04
Revisions approved by English department 9/09/04

Department Position on Hiring Fulltime Faculty

Forward to the Superintendent/President only those names that we want to hire. 
If the position cannot be filled in a timely fashion, it should be carried forward to next year and a temporary contract should be used in the interim. 
If none of the recommended candidates accept the job it should be filled by temporary contract and re-advertised the next year. 
Every effort will be made to have the interview pool include qualified candidates that represent a diversity in ethnicity, age, experience, and present
employment status, i.e., part and fulltime. 
Part of the interview process should be a ten-minute teaching demonstration to the interview committee. 
Consider requiring a writing sample from each interviewee. 
Arrange to have the interviewee be greeted by a faculty member and escorted to the interview site. 
Interview committee should include the Department Chair, the Director of Composition, the Division Dean, a minority faculty member, and a recently tenured member of the department.

October 1989

The cart will be stored in IDC 318 storeroom when not in use. It must be returned to IDC 318 immediately after each use. Please make sure the door is securely locked. 
The cart must be reserved in advance by filling out the reservation booklet on the shelf near the cart. The reservation booklet must then be placed in plain sight in the storage room sot hat the whereabouts of the cart may be known at all times. 
The cart is not to be taken out of the IDC building. Heavy vibrations or hard knocks will certainly damage the delicate components. 
The cart is not to be left unattended at any time (components can be removed easily). 
The present configuration of components and cables must not be changed. 
Create a folder with your name on it to store your files or programs. After you have finished using the computer, delete any temporary files you have put on the hard drive. 
Please promptly report any cart malfunction or irregularity to the department chair (or, if the need is urgent, to the Computer Help Desk at ext. 2215. 

A colleague who wishes to rotate into a course should request the desired course a year in advance (no later than the preliminary schedule building) from the chairperson, who shall notify the current instructor. A schedule showing which faculty members are assigned to which courses in the year's sophomore offerings and how many terms they have taught those courses will be published at the beginning of every fall semester. 

Sophomore courses will be assigned to those who have academic preparation in the field, demonstrated by advanced course work, independent research and/or prior teaching in the field. 

If two or more instructors wish to rotate into a course at the same time, seniority (i.e., years of service) will apply. 
An instructor has the right to continue teaching a specific sophomore course for three consecutive offerings. 
New faculty are expected to teach courses exclusively in the composition sequence (which is defined as English 100, 110, and 111) for a minimum of two years, unless there is a need for someone to take an unassigned sophomore course, and the new instructor wishes to teach it. 
Emeritus faculty, temporary contract and part-time faculty may teach sophomore courses if there is a need, after full-time faculty have their assignments. 

An instructor will not be assigned more than one sophomore course or more than one section of a specific sophomore course unless there is a need, either because of an emergency or because no one else wants to teach the assigned course. 
Sophomore courses put into the Schedule of Classes on a standby basis, because of their unreliability, will be excluded from the above distribution. Persons who wish to teach those courses on a standby basis may do so irrespective of the conditions in #7 (above). 
The chair shall consider all of the above factors and endeavor to create schedules that are fair as well as beneficial to the department. 
This policy was voted into effect Spring 1994

Revised April 2003

Those meeting the deadline for summer school requests will be considered first. 
Of those, fulltime faculty will have priority in assignment according to seniority. 
Each person will be assigned to one section unless there are more sections to be offered than faculty requesting assignment. 
If 1-3 have been met and more people have requested classes than there are sections available a rotation system will be applied, where people who have not taught summer school will have priority over those who have, with recency of teaching summer school placing one at the bottom of the list. 
If there are sections left unassigned when all requesting fulltime faculty have been assigned, then remaining sections will be assigned to part time instructors. 
Instructors teaching summer session classes in other departments shall not be assigned additional classes in the English Department until all fulltime instructors requesting classes have been given teaching assignments. 

3/93

GENERAL:

Since the composition program encompasses all levels of writing from Essential Skills through English 111, the Director should be conversant with all those levels. Since the Eng. 100 Portfolio Program is under his/her supervision, the Director should teach Eng. 100 regularly and should have taught several other levels of composition as well.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

Evaluation of Part-Time Faculty - evaluate or oversee the evaluation of all new and continuing part-time faculty. (Number of evaluations done in recent semesters--10-13) 
assign evaluators & send notices to all parties involved 
send instructions and forms to all evaluators 
conduct evaluations of 4-5 of the evaluatees 
follow-up on incomplete or late evaluations 
Oversight of the Eng. 100 Portfolio Program 
plan and conduct norming sessions (2 in fall, 1 in spring) 
plan and conduct portfolio grading sessions (1 each semester) 
prepare budget for Dean (yearly) 
keep records of attendance for part-timers' stipends 
chair, Portfolio Committee 
member, Assessment Committee--select readings & anchor papers, set up dates for each semester's program 
gather data from administration, conduct surveys, troubleshoot, keep up with portfolio research, etc. 
serve as consultant re student complaints and portfolio overrides 
Orientation of New Faculty 
conduct an orientation meeting at the beginning of each semester (a much easier process now that the New Faculty Handbook is done) 
update the New Faculty Handbook every two years 
be available for consultation on an on-going basis 
Ad Hoc Committees 
Selection Committees 
Curriculum Development Committees (e.g., Eng. 100 Redesign) 
Textbook Selection Committees 
Miscellaneous duties 
work with Deanna to prepare Textbook List each semester 
organize the Buddy System each semester 
consult regularly with the English and Essential Skills Chairs on departmental issues 

It shall be a convention of the English Department for all instructors to require standard MLA formatting for required written assignments submitted in their courses, as can be found in most current handbooks.

A. Make-up of Committee

The committee will consist of the Director of Composition or a tenure-track member of the English Department and the evaluatee.

B. Evaluatee's Responsibility 

To provide copies of course syllabi for all courses. Also desirable: copies of assignment handouts and other representative teaching materials. 
To provide a set of 5-6 marked student essays from each course (not class) being taught. 
To conduct a scantron survey of students in the class that is not observed. 

C. Class Visitation

Between the 7th and 9th week of the semester, the evaluator will observe at least one regular class for at least thirty (30) minutes. 
The instructor will leave twenty (20) minutes for the student survey:
a. Students will first fill out the scantron survey.
b. Students will answer the last two questions of the survey in writing.
c. Evaluator will then conduct an interview of the class. Some sample questions: 
Has this been a representative class meeting? 
What do you like best about the course? 
What do you find most challenging? 
Is the class well organized? 
What would you suggest to improve the class? 

D. Faculty Responsibilities Checklist

The evaluator will give the Faculty Responsibilities Checklist (Adjunct Faculty) to the Department Chair to complete and return to the evaluator.

E. Follow-up Conference

The follow-up conference should take place no more than two weeks after the observation. Prior to this, the evaluator will look at the set of marked essays, the syllabi, the teaching materials, and the scantron forms. The evaluator will then type and print the students' comments and write a brief (one page) report of his/her observations. The report must address the instructor's adherence to Criteria 1, 2, and 3 of the Performance Criteria Guidelines.

At the follow-up conference, evaluator and instructor will discuss the day's presentation, the graded essays and teaching materials, the scantron totals and students' written comments, the Faculty Responsibilities Checklist, and the written report.

The evaluator will give the instructor a copy of the entire evaluation report: scantron tally sheet; typed copy of students' written comments; Faculty Responsibilities Checklist; evaluator's written report.

F. Faculty Evaluation Summary

The instructor and evaluator will sign the SBCC Faculty Evaluation Summary. One copy of the entire report will be forwarded to the Department Chair and a second copy filed in the English Dept. Office.

rev. 9/7/02

The English Division recommends the following practices for effectively commenting on student essays:

General Guidelines

Try to comment in an honest but positive and encouraging voice. 
Be sure to use written comments; oral comments are soon forgotten. 
Build ways for students to reflect upon and respond to your comments in your assignments.
Share evaluative criteria with students: in English 100 and English 80, the portfolio rubric; in English 110 and 111, the department grading standards or standards specific to the assignment.

Early Drafts

Marginal Comments 

Focus first on higher order concerns such as level of analysis, thesis statement, development, and organization.
While marginal comments should be primarily concerned with the content of the paper, note major patterns of sentence level errors and briefly explain in the end comment.

End Comments

Address positive comments to the writer, negative comments to the paper (e.g. "You do a good job of..." "The last paragraph lacks..."). 
Address the student by first name to make him/her feel acknowledged. 
Concentrate on one or two major problems with the paper in an effort to avoid overwhelming the student. 
Make reference to the grading criteria for the class.

Later Drafts

Assess the student's success at revising according to your previous comments, again emphasizing content and organization. If the same problems exist, direct the student back to your original comment. A conference may help in this situation. 
Address grammar and mechanics but avoid correcting all errors. Instead, try the following: 
Mark the first few instances of a recurring error; then draw attention to the type of error in your end comments.
Mark all errors in a paragraph as a sample; then mention that there are many unmarked errors throughout the essay.

(Some ideas borrowed from "Grading As a Teaching Strategy" by Derek Soles and UC Davis "Writing Center Guidelines.")

Santa Barbara City College
2002

At a special tenured-faculty meeting on January 29, 1998, the following policy was adopted:

According to college guidelines, a new faculty selection committee shall consist of six to seven faculty members with the following designated members: the Dean, the department Chairperson, and an ethnic minority representative.

It was voted and passed that the serving Director of Composition shall be a departmentally-designated member of any selection committee.

Given that, the remaining members-at-large will be chosen in this way:

"Department members shall nominate their colleagues or themselves and the Chair will select from that list, keeping in mind variety of expertise and balance and, when possible, rotating willing nominated members. Probationary faculty may be nominated."

As an advisory, the department generally agreed that nominees should be members who are contributors to the department's activities and who are interested in the future make-up and dynamics of the department.

proposed by Composition Research Team S06
approved by English Dept. 4/28/06

(CRT has a basic shortcuts list--it will be handed out at training)

Pre-writing/outlining
Highlight/color font
Use of tables
Outline view

Composing 1st draft/evaluating
Insert comment
Split window plus
(Highlighting/color font)

Peer sharing/evaluating
Insert text box
(Highlight/color font)
(Insert comment)
(Split window)

Revision
Find & replace
Image insert 
(Highlight/color font)
(Split window)
(Text box)

Editing
Spell check/grammar
(Find & replace)
(Text box)
(Image insert)

Publication
Header
(Text box)
(Image insert)

composition research team (12/14/05)
MS Word & composition
revised after pilot team sessions plus 3/28/06
revised again 4/11/06; rev. 4/18/06, 4/27/06
approved 4/28/06