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Volume 41, Issue 2
September 16, 2003
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September 16, 2003
Enrollment boosts
need for faculty
Rachel Hazlett
Mesa Legend
MCC added 43 new faculty members to fulfill needs of growing enrollment.
New faculty consists mainly of full-time and part-time professors.
The goal of MCC is to have half of the professors on board full time.
However, with the rapid jumps in new students, the school is “always
trying to catch up” with the needs of students, said Rodney Holmes,
associate dean of instruction.
Prior to becoming a full-time faculty member, Gretchen Berning said she
knew it had a “stellar reputation.”
Berning, who joined the journalism department, also noted that Maricopa
Community Colleges have the “most high-profile journalism program”
among Arizona community colleges.
The English and math departments are two of the fastest growing departments
at MCC, according to Holmes.
Hank Keithley joined the English department faculty.
Keithley, or Hank, as he is referred to by his students, said, “I
like it here.”
He plans on staying at MCC, at least, “until they boot me out.”
MCC continues to hire and hire as students population continues to grow
and grow.
The jump in student population from 25,000 to 27,000 over the last three
years has required that various departments keep on their toes to accommodate
students.
While working as a teaching assistant at ASU, Amadou Gaye became familiar
with MCC from transfer students.
With enrollment growing at such a rapid rate, MCC tries to maintain class
size by increasing the number of classes.
“I do not think the class sizes have changed,” Amadou stated.
Departments have grown based mainly on what is popular or mainstream and
what transfers to ASU.
“When the state schools decided everyone needed a foreign language
to graduate, we went from seven faculty members to twelve … so as
they grew, we grew,” Holmes said in regards to the impact state
transfer requirements have on MCC.
Other departments, such as religion, have also felt the strain of growth,
growing from half as many professors as the philosophy department to an
equal number.
“The religion class now fits several areas at ASU, including humanities
and global awareness,” Holmes said concerning the growth of the
religion department.
There is a constant need for more full-time residential faculty.
Currently, there are approximately 320 full-time professors.
Overall, the goal of the faculty has remained the same, which is to better
educate MCC students.
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