Washington Revised Code Title 28B. Higher Education § 28B.50.4892. Part-time academic employees--Best practices compensation and employment--Task force--Report

(1) The legislature finds that community colleges and technical colleges have an obligation to carry out their roles and missions in an equitable fashion. The legislature also finds that governing boards for community colleges and technical colleges have a responsibility to provide leadership and guidance to their colleges in the equitable treatment of part-time faculty teaching in the community and technical colleges.

(2) The state board for community and technical colleges shall convene a task force to conduct a review and update of the best practices audit of compensation packages and conditions of employment for part-time faculty in the community and technical college system conducted in 1996 and reported on in 1998. The task force shall include but need not be limited to part-time faculty, full-time faculty, members of the state board, community college administrators, and members of community college and technical college governing boards. In performing the review and update of the audit, the task force shall focus on the employment of part-time faculty, and shall include the following issues in its deliberations: Salary issues, provision of health and retirement benefits, the implications of increased reliance on part-time rather than full-time faculty, the implications of workload definitions, and tangible and intangible ways to recognize the professional stature of part-time faculty.

(3) The task force shall report its findings to the state board, local governing boards, and other interested parties by December 1, 2005. The report shall include recommendations on a review of the status of the set of best practices principles for the colleges to follow in their employment of part-time faculty developed in 1996. The state board for community and technical colleges shall adopt and periodically update a set of best practices principles for colleges in the community and technical college system to follow in their employment of part-time faculty. The board shall use the best practices principles in the development of each biennial operating budget request. The board shall encourage and, to the extent possible, require each local governing board to adopt, revise, and implement the principles.