Community Education Faculty Handbook

Pathway To Lifelong Learning

The staff of Community Education is proud to welcome you to our outstanding group of instructors that teach lifelong learning classes for Community Education. We hope this handbook will acquaint you with how Community Education classes are managed and how we can help you provide our students with the best class experience possible. Community Education staff want to assist you - please feel free to call on us with any questions or concerns.

About Community Education

Supported by Santa Fe College, in cooperation with the School Board of Alachua County, we have won the National Community Education Association's Most Outstanding Organization award in 2016. Our classes and program have also won many state awards. Classes take place at the college's Northwest Campus, Andrews Center (Starke), Davis Center (Archer), Watson Center (Keystone Heights), and Blount Center (downtown Gainesville) campuses, as well as Gainesville High School, Westwood Middle School, and several area businesses.

Community Education Staff

Each site also has a site specialist and/or a site facilitator. The site specialist is usually a faculty member from that school site and is responsible for maintaining the program during the Community Education term. The site facilitator assists the site specialist.

Instructor Information

The Hiring Process

Instructors are hired in two ways: either a course is proposed by the instructor, or the course coordinator/specialist creates a course and hires the instructor.

Course Proposal Form

If you are interested in creating a new course or redesigning your present course, submit a course proposal form (call 352-395-5193 for a copy or go online at sfcollege.edu/cied/communityed) to the course coordinator/specialist for consideration. The proposal will be reviewed and you will be notified regarding its status. New courses are selected according to the perceived needs of the community and in consideration with currently-offered courses.

Instructor Application

Complete the Santa Fe College application as soon as possible and return it to the Human Resources office. If you have any problems filling out the form, you may contact 352-395-5185.

  • NOTE: Regulations implementing the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 require this form to be completed within three (3) days of being hired. Failure to provide documentation will result in automatic termination.
Every Semester

In preparation for each term, you will receive the following materials and notices. Each must be attended to in a timely fashion to insure the accuracy of your course listing and to confirm your intention to teach. Not responding to the following letters may indicate that you are not interested in teaching and another teacher may be found. Please return these documents to the course coordinator/ specialist as soon as possible.

Invitation Letters

These are sent approximately eight weeks prior to the next term. Invitation letters allow you to make adjustments to the class time, day, maximum number of students, and provides a date by which any course description changes must be completed. You may also choose to decline to teach or request a teaching position in a different term. You may also attach new course ideas to the intent letter. Please, return the letter before the deadline.

Confirmation Letters/Contracts

You will receive these two weeks before the term begins. Confirmation letters include term and payroll information. You will also receive a contract for each class you teach. Review your contract for accuracy, sign and return them to the human resources specialist before the deadline date. Keep the second copy for your records.

Registration

Registration is held at Santa Fe College's Center For Innovation and Economic Development (CIED) for two-three weeks before classes begin. Students may register by telephone with a MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express, walk-in at CIED, Room DB-114, or fax in their registrations, as well as register online. Students may also register at the first class at the class site if space is available. A staff person will come to your classroom to register students or you will be provided with registration materials.

Drop/Add and Refunds

Students may drop a course and receive a refund during the first week of classes by calling the phone numbers listed in the class brochure. Students may also choose to add a different section of the same class, or a different class and transfer payment if space is available. The Community Education staff at your site or the main office should handle this. Please see the Enrich brochure or our website at sfcollege.edu/cied/communityed for more information on our refund policy.

Seniors

Community Education allows students over the age of sixty to waive the registration fees of some classes providing the following criteria are met:

  • The student may not register during pre-registration.
  • Space must be available in the class.
  • The class must meet its minimum number of paid students to cover expenses.

Seniors registering during pre-registration or for a class designated only for seniors must pay full price for their class. They are not permitted to drop the class and re-register under the waiver policy.

Waiting Lists

Each term a number of classes will "fill" during pre-registration. In many cases, waiting lists are created with the names and phone numbers of all additional people who would like to enroll in these classes. If your class is filled, please do not over-enroll your class before obtaining approval from your site specialist. It is important to give precedence to those on the waiting list.

Cancellation of Courses

A course must have a minimum number of students enrolled or it may be cancelled. The course coordinator/specialist or your site specialist will make the decision on whether or not the class will continue. There are two ways that classes are cancelled:

Cancelled night of class: Class will meet the first night in hopes there will be some on-site registration. This typically occurs when only one or two students are needed to meet the minimum numbers required. If after the first hour there is still insufficient enrollment, the site specialist will cancel the class and you will receive pay for one hour of your time.

Class is cancelled in advance: The class is cancelled before the first meeting due to low pre-enrollment. You will be contacted in advance so that you do not need to come to the class. You will not receive any pay. The course coordinator/specialist will contact enrolled students and inform them of the class cancellation.

Class Rosters

Your roster of students lists only the names and phone numbers of students who have pre-registered before classes begin. You may pick up this roster when you check in at the Community Education office at your site, or it may be delivered to your classroom. Different sites handle this differently and you should check with your site specialist.

  • There may be additional students in your class who have just registered at the office and their names will not be on your roster. You should check to be sure each student is registered by taking roll and by checking registration receipts. Anyone who is not properly registered must do so before attending class.
  • Students are registered in the classroom. A staff member will come by to welcome your students, explain where to find things on campus, and handle any registrations. Please be prepared to start your first class a few minutes late.
Checking In

Many sites require that you check in at the Community Education Office before going to your classroom. This allows the staff to pass on any messages or information, and to make sure everything is going well. Please check with your site specialist to see if this is their preferred method.

Classroom Maintenance

Classroom upkeep is of the utmost importance. We try to select the most comfortable rooms for your classes. In order to keep good relationships with the SBAC and SF teachers and custodians that use and clean these rooms, we ask that you leave the room the way you found it. If you rearrange any furniture, please return it to its original position. Take a minute to pick up any paper or supplies that might have been left behind. Please turn off the lights and close the door when you leave. There is no eating, drinking, or smoking in any classroom.

Course Evaluations

Course evaluations are used as a tool to improve both the administrative aspects of our program and the quality of your class. It is an effective way to receive positive feedback from our customers - the students. Evaluations are conducted differently at different sites. Sometimes evaluations will be given in class to the students. We ask that you make time for this in your classroom schedule and leave the room while the evaluation is being given.

We will notify you when the evaluation is to take place and will make sure that you get a compilation of the results. At other sites, students are telephoned and asked for an evaluation of your class. We evaluate classes to help you and your students and to get general information regarding the Community Education program.

Meeting Times

You are expected to arrive early enough prepare yourself and your classroom and to check in at the office if that is the procedure at your site. If you may be arriving late, please take a moment to call your site specialist so that your students may be informed. Excessive tardiness will not be tolerated.

Payroll

The Community Education payroll is submitted approximately every 15 days. The first payroll period covers the first one or two weeks of the term and comes approximately three weeks after your first class. Your second paycheck will come approximately five weeks after the term starting date. Pay dates are specified in the letter that comes with your contracts. Paychecks are automatically transmitted to your bank account. If you have any problems with your paycheck, it is important that you contact the Human Resource Specialist at the SF Community Education office at 352-395-5193. Please do not contact SF's Human Resources Department.

It is important for both your site specialist and the office staff at SF to have your correct mailing and email addresses so that checks and correspondence may be mailed to you without delay. Please call the human resource specialist to notify Community Education of any address or phone number changes.

Photocopying and Audio-Visual Equipment

Photocopying should be done well in advance of your class. Please allow at least a week for photocopies and bring your originals to your coordinator. Money for photocopies comes from a lab fee that is added to the course registration fee and should be discussed with the course coordinator/specialist before your intent letter is returned. Audio-visual equipment is available on a first-come, first-served basis and should be requested no less than 36 hours in advance.

Purchasing Supplies

Materials and lab fees may be discussed with your course coordinator/specialist on a class by class basis.

Class Schedule Changes

If you must cancel a class or make any changes please contact the course coordinator/specialist at least a week in advance. This will allow us enough time to contact your students. Any schedule changes must meet with the approval of both the course coordinator/ specialist and your students. In case of emergency, please contact the course coordinator/specialist as quickly as possible so that we can best notify your students. If the emergency is after 5pm, you should call your school site. Get the phone number for your site from the on-site personnel or course coordinator/specialist.

Our primary concern is that the students receive an entire term of instruction. If you miss a class, it must be made-up at the end of the term. You may also choose to hire a substitute instructor. Please clear this with the course coordinator/specialist first.

Class Attendance

You are encouraged to take attendance at each class meeting. It is good policy to keep track of which students attended each class. This is especially important when a business or organization compensates its employees for attending a class. At times these companies request proof that their employees attended all classes.

Our Promise

We want our students to have the best instruction and variety of classes that our program can provide. We also want you to have a positive experience as an instructor. We promise to do everything we can to help you be the best instructor you can be and to provide the best learning environment we can for each student. Don't hesitate to call on any staff members for assistance.