Recently, I attended a DEqCC meeting along with Hayley Schwartzkopf, Director of Labor Relations, and Nick Mortaloni, Dean of Student Life & Judicial Affairs to dialogue with the committee and guests on the topic of microaggressions and the processes in place for addre...

Photo by Headway on Unsplash

Are you a first-year faculty member who's wrapped up your first tenure cycle?
Are you eagerly looking towards your second tenure cycle and thinking, "Pshaw, I got this in the bag!"? If so, then let me bring you down a notch: governance...

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing many fellow faculty in one of the FLEX workshops related to pensions, retirement, and sick leave/banking LHE. However, because there are so many good workshops during flex week, I wanted to pass alon...

The FA Council continues to set a conservative fiscal course for the FA that emphasizes building reserves and cautious spending. At our October meeting, the FAC reviewed and unanimously approved the Budget and Benefits Committee’s proposed budget. To see line items and...

Dear Scotty,

There seems to be some problems with the way I bank my hours for overload, and I wanted to see if you could give me some insight. I got an email from payroll with something that looks like a spreadsheet with my banked hours on it, and now I’m confused. For...

One of the most important responsibilities of faculty in higher education is the commitment to mentor, support, and appraise our colleagues through the tenure review and evaluation process. Currently, we have 54 tenure candidates, including 10 in their first year, 18 i...

First, Some Basics About Paid Parental Leave

When I first joined MiraCosta College in Fall 2017, we did not have paid parental leave. As of July 1, 2018, Paid Parental Leave took effect, offering eligible faculty members their full salary for the first four workwee...

Dear Scotty,
 

I’m pretty new to MiraCosta and was just wondering if you have any advice about how to blend in better. Currently, when I go to events, I use the “My Name Is” sticker name tag that I got at a recent conference so everyone knows who I am. Unfortunately, it...

If you haven't had a chance to meet all of the 2019 full-time faculty hires, here's an opportunity to learn a little bit about your newest colleagues! Below are some things they were excited to share with you.

"Tell us how you came to MiraCosta!"

Veronica Bloss, Counselo...

Dear Scotty,

I’m crushed! It’s now March and I had money left over in my account to use for medical expenses, but I didn’t spend all of it by December 2018. Your letter to Hain Quilliams in November said that all the money goes back to the District at the end of the yea...