Priority (9)
Priority terms specify who gets priority in the assignment of distance education courses. All of these terms give priority either to union members, full time faculty or the course developer. Since the terms often seem designed to prevent the displacement of traditional faculty members or union members, this term was included as a part of the Displacement category. Nine colleges chose to include this term in their negotiated agreements. Priority would be a permissive term for bargaining in nearly all states included in this study. Illinois, specifies class scheduling as a mandatory term for negotiating. Priority in course assignments is arguably a component of class scheduling and thus would be a mandatory topic for bargaining in Illinois.
Examples
Observations. When campuses first begin offering distance education courses, there is often a fear that distance education courses will displace traditional courses. The majority of contracts included in this study included terms to prevent the distance education related displacement of full time faculty. Priority in course assignments is one more way to insure that full time faculty and union members are selected before courses are given over to adjunct faculty, particularly those not previously associated with the college.
Additionally, this clause frequently provides protections for the faculty who initially design the course, whether full or part time. Given the large amount of work that can go into the initial offering of a distance education course, priority assignments in subsequent terms can be an added benefit for faculty.