Our community college educators are struggling to stay in the field as more colleges and universities continue to move away from using full-time faculty and become more reliant on part-time faculty.

Many part-time faculty members are teaching more classes and working more hours than their full-time colleagues because they must take on multiple part-time positions at different institutions in in order to cover the high costs of housing, health care, and all of life’s other necessities. Subsequently, students aren't receiving the access and support that they need to be successful because their instructors have such limited availability.

Part-time faculty must meet the same requirements and have the same skills as faculty members who are hired into a full-time position, and they deserve to be paid as professionals and given benefits.

OEA’s Part-Time Faculty Health Care Bill (HB 3007/SB 551) would grant state-subsidized healthcare coverage to part-time instructors so they can focus on educating and providing support to our community college students.