Bossier Parish Community College is in compliance with this comprehensive standard because the institution employs competent faculty members qualified to accomplish the mission and goals of the institution. This commitment reflects the College's vision for excellence in education by meeting or exceeding guidelines set forth by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Bossier Parish Community College embraces these guidelines and has adopted them as minimum standards when considering faculty credentials.

Processes - Procedures and Implementation Strategies

BPCC begins the process of faculty recruitment by advertisement and announcements. Copies of position vacancies are posted on campus. Relevant media outlets are utilized in advertisement where appropriate. Applications are sent to the BPCC Human Resource Office. Applications are reviewed by the appropriate academic Division Chair who checks qualifications submitted by candidates for faculty positions. Academic Division Chairs certify all candidates' qualifications and credentials. When appropriate, consultations with the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs determine whether criteria are met. Academic Division Chairs make recommendations to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, who submits them to the Chancellor. The Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board of Supervisors receives recommendations from the Chancellor for final approval.

Credentials required for Bossier Parish Community College faculty are listed in the Bossier Parish Community College Faculty Handbook 32-33, and faculty employment procedures are outlined in the Faculty Handbook 29-30. All applicants for faculty positions are required to complete the BPCC Faculty/Candidate Credential Verification Form. This form is housed in the Bossier Parish Community College Human Resources Department.

The Bossier Parish Community College-Roster of Instructional Staff documents the College's faculty qualifications. In all cases, the College is responsible for justifying and documenting the qualifications of its faculty. Faculty are required to have official transcripts on file in the Human Resource Department of all appropriate course work as stated in the Human Resource Manual 62. Faculty at Bossier Parish Community College may be credentialed by meeting the explicit COC/SACS guidelines or may receive alternative credentialing.

Explicit Guidelines:

a. Faculty teaching general education courses at the undergraduate level: doctoral or master's degree in the teaching discipline or master's degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (a minimum of 18 graduate hours in the teaching discipline).
b. Faculty teaching associate degree courses designed for transfer to a baccalaureate degree: doctoral or master's degree in the teaching discipline or master's degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline).
c. Faculty teaching associate degree courses not designed for transfer to the baccalaureate degree: bachelor's degree in the teaching discipline, or associate's degree and demonstrated competencies in the teaching discipline.

Alternative Credentialing: (as allowed under COC/SACS guidelines)

For faculty candidates not meeting the explicit COC/SACS guidelines, the College considers competence and effectiveness, which include the following: undergraduate degrees/courses, work experiences in the fields, professional licensure and certifications, honors and awards, continuous documented excellence in teaching, or other documented criteria that contribute to effective teaching, and the achievement of student learning outcomes. The academic Division Chairs, in consultation with the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, determine if faculty applicants do not meet explicit COC/SACS guidelines. Those candidates and faculty who do not meet the guidelines are referred for alternate credentialing.

Bossier Parish Community College recognizes the importance of peer review of applicant credentials. Accordingly, the College has a Faculty Credentialing Committee on alternative credentialing to review and make recommendations concerning applicant and faculty credentials. A member of each academic division at Bossier Parish Community College is represented on the alternative Faculty Credentialing Committee, which reports to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. This committee reviews credentials of faculty not meeting explicit COC/SACS guidelines to ensure faculty qualifications. Faculty members not meeting previous established explicit COC/SACS guidelines for credentialing are required to submit a Request for Faculty Alternative Credentialing form. The Faculty Credentialing Committee, composed of representatives of the faculty, reviews the information provided on the form and approves or denies alternative credentialing. The committee makes recommendations to the academic Division Chair who sends the recommendation to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Continuing education of all faculty members is encouraged and included in the annual faculty evaluation process which is outlined in the BPCC Faculty Handbook 36-37. Evidence of continuing education that is attained by faculty members is referenced by divisions in the BPCC Annual Report

Bossier Parish Community College publishes the degrees held by its fulltime faculty in its General Catalog 239 - 243. The College assumes full responsibility for justifying and documenting the qualifications of all faculty members. All faculty personnel information is housed in the Bossier Parish Community College Human Resource Department.

Bossier Parish Community College employs competent faculty who are qualified to accomplish the mission of the College. To ensure hiring such qualified faculty, the College uses a comprehensive system of recruiting faculty and then confirming applicants' credentials before recommending them for employment. The College carefully documents the qualifications of all faculty through the Roster of Instruction. For those faculty not meeting the COS/SACS guidelines, the College has established a Faculty Credentialing Committee to review and make recommendations concerning applicant and faculty credentials.