February 2013

 Dear Colleagues,

This Spring, the NCCCFA is working with faculty, administrators, and the System office on challenging issues and initiatives. With the legislature in session, budgets and bills affecting community colleges may be at the forefront of our interests. Here is the "Help Wanted" notice developed by the System Office. It lists and explains the budget priorities requested by the NC Community College System. These are talking points we all can use as we communicate with our elected officials:

 HELP WANTED

Help North Carolina Community Colleges train and educate citizens in pursuit of a better job and a more prosperous quality of life by supporting:

Funding for YearRound Targeted Instruction -- $15.8 million recurring: North Carolina employees need workers year round. North Carolina workers need yearround training to get the skills they need ontime and ondemand to fill open jobs.

 Currently colleges are only funded to teach for nine months. Imagine a business being in production for nine months but having 12 months of demand. By funding colleges for summer instruction in technical education, healthcare, developmental education and STEM related programs, students pursuing credentials for indemand jobs can complete their programs faster and those working on developmental education courses can get a jumpstart on their requirements.

 PerformanceBased Funding by Restoring PerformanceBased Funding by Restoring Management Flex Cut -- $7.5 million recurring: The management flexibility cut, which has grown to $83 million since 2009, has impacted our colleges' ability to provide the quality instruction and support services students need. Restored management flex funds will be allocated to colleges through a performancebased formula that rewards colleges both for success rates (quality) and the number of successful students (impact).

 Restructure NC BacktoWork -- $5 million recurring: Supplement $5 million of General Fund appropriations with funds from the Worker Training Trust Fund to support pre-employment training projects for business and industry that have unfilled jobs in North Carolina.

Investments in Technical Education Infrastructure -- $33 million nonrecurring:Employers want skilled workers with handson training, meaning our colleges must have modern equipment for classrooms and labs. Using nonrecurring funds to invest in North Carolina's technical education infrastructure will position our state well for new and expanding industries hiring the next generation of technicians.

We'll be posting links to this document as well as to the budget report cards as budgets are released by the Governor's office, the Senate, and the House. As usual, we will keep you informed about bills as they are introduced and move through the legislative system.  

Thank you for responding to surveys, calls for participants, and other requests that have come your way this fall. You helped NC-Council of Resource Development and NC-NET by completing  the Employability Skills Survey, and more than 20 of you responded to the call for participants in the College Articulation Agreement Committees that will soon be discussing course offerings with our counterparts from 4-year institutions. 

Increasingly, faculty are called upon to share their expertise in committees, focus groups, and other venues. We'll inform, encourage, and help you be ready to add your knowledge and voice to the conversation.

March marks our Spring membership drive; be sure your membership is up to date, and recruit a friend to join, too! We will continue to

• represent you on state committees
• communicate with legislative representatives on your behalf, advocating for program funding and salary increases and encouraging you to add your voice to our call for action
• keep you informed about legislative developments 
• provide professional development workshops
• foster communication and collaboration

Thank you for all your efforts in the classroom and throughout your communities to support excellence in education to North Carolina. Join or renew now, and add your voice to the NCCCFA!

Sincerely,

Benita Budd, President 

Our Mission
The mission of the North Carolina Community College Faculty Association is to promote excellence throughout the North Carolina Community College System. To fulfill this mission, the North Carolina Community College Faculty Association is committed to but not limited to the following goals: ·   To foster professionalism among community college faculty. ·   To provide professional development opportunities and resources focused on teaching excellence and student success. ·   To promote cooperation among these groups in identifying and acting to meet the needs of community colleges and their faculty. · To raise awareness of the critical role that North Carolina's community colleges and their faculty play in meeting the education and training needs of the state's residents. · To advocate policies and legislation--from the local level through state level--that allow colleges to attract, employ, retain, and reward highly qualified faculty. ·   To establish and maintain an organization active in representing full-time and part-time community college faculty interests and concerns at the state level.
Why Join?
Professional Development ·   Biennial conference with many first-rate workshops and nationally known speakers  ·  Faculty Scholarships to the NC Great Teachers Conference · Faculty Grants for special projects Public Awareness Efforts ·       Point-of-view articles about community college needs ·       TV and radio appearances by NCCCFA leaders  Legislative Advocacy of Faculty Issues ·  Meetings with NCCCS President to develop legislative strategy ·  Meetings with legislators and presentations to legislative committees ·  Meetings with the Governor and his/her aides ·  Organization of Legislative Network throughout state for local advocacy