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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR:	Beam		DATE TYPED:	02/01/02		HB	HJM 53
SHORT TITLE:		Study Use of Non-tenure Track Faculty				SB
					ANALYST:		Baca

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained

Estimated Additional Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY02

FY03

FY02

FY03

NFI

(Parenthesis) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Joint Memorial 53 requests the New Mexico Legislature Council to direct the Commission on Higher Education to study the use of nontenure-track faculty in postsecondary institutions in place of full-time tenure-track faculty and to report to the appropriate interim legislative committee.

Significant Issues

The memorial focuses on two major issues:

1. concerns about the use of part-time faculty in place of full-time, tenured faculty by institutions of higher learning and,

2. concern about changes to working conditions and compensation of non-tenured part-time faculty.

The memorial requests a study of the use and compensation of part-time faculty, the development of policies designed to discourage reliance on part-time and non-tenure track faculty, and the recommendation of a minimum salary and benefits schedule indexed to tenure track faculty compensation.

According to CHE, “The Commission is currently completing a study related to full-time/part-time ratios for faculty and staff of the institutions (House Joint Memorial 072, first session, 2001). The study should be completed in April, 2002. The study envisioned in this memorial might be a continuation of the first study, adding compensation data. A 1998 study of the use of full-time and part-time faculty and part-time faculty compensation was conducted by the Commission and could possibly serve as a foundation for this study.

The CHE analysis also states that “There are issues beyond the collection and compilation of data. A review of the topic with the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE) suggests that very little information is available nationally relative to full-time/part-time faculty quality or part-time faculty compensation.”

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The Commission on Higher Education would be required to supervise and coordinate the collection of data from the institutions, compile the information, conduct an extensive review of literature, and produce the report, according to the CHE analysis.

LB/ar