Astronomy Instructional Faculty - Pima Community College District (AZ)

https://pima.peopleadmin.com/postings/7315

Astronomy Instructional Faculty (Academic)
Pima Community College District
Posting Number: 17F3DCG131
Position Type: Faculty - General Funding
Department: College-wide Faculty Recruitment
Salary: $43,580 - $63,194
Salary Breakdown: Annually
Job List: External
Close Date: 01/31/2017
Open Until Filled: No
About Pima Community College
Pima Community College is committed to becoming a premier community college, one that is built on a foundation of student success, community engagement, and diversity. We hire people who:

• set and meet high standards
• believe in service and accountability
• have a passion for learning
• are creative
• can help fulfill our mission

We are one of the largest multi-campus community colleges in the nation, opening our doors to nearly 50,000 credit and noncredit students each year. With six campuses and more than 100 learning sites, we are a comprehensive community college, offering learners of all backgrounds and ages a variety of opportunities to meet their educational goals:

• University transfer programs
• Occupational education programs
• Adult Education/HSE preparation
• Workforce and Business Development
• Continuing Education

The College meets the needs of the community by offering instruction when and how our students want it: evenings, weekends, year-round, in traditional classroom settings, online, in web-classroom hybrids, and in semester-long or accelerated formats. Employees can expect to participate in innovative, flexible scheduling, in keeping with the College's vision, to provide access to learning without the limits of time, place, or distance. Pima Community College is in Tucson, an inclusive and welcoming oasis in the Arizona desert. A diverse, cosmopolitan community just 65 miles from the Mexico border, Tucson is enriched by a tapestry of vibrant cultures. Tucson enjoys nearly 300 sunny days a year, and, as the city sits in a valley surrounded by four mountain ranges, residents can travel from the saguaro-studded desert floor to inviting pine forests in 45 minutes. With a population of about 1 million, metropolitan Tucson boasts excellent schools, hundreds of miles of hiking trails and cycling paths, affordable housing, a vibrant arts and culture scene, and an up-and-coming downtown. In all, Tucson is a great place to live and raise a family.
Additional information about the College may be found at http://www.pima.edu.
Position Summary
Position is available beginning the 2017-18 fiscal year as a nine-month contract. Faculty teach and work a set schedule over a nine-month academic year, August – May, that could include day, evening, and weekend duties.
Instructional Faculty – The position may primarily be based at the Downtown Campus, although it may include oversight at other campuses, and some or the instructor's entire load may be reassigned to other campuses in the future, according to college needs.
Astronomy faculty teach general education astronomy courses at the introductory level, with integrated lectures and labs. We currently offer three courses (solar system, astrobiology and stars & extragalactic astronomy) in traditional, hybrid and online modalities. Faculty is also expected to contribute to college-wide assessment and curriculum development initiatives.
The college has a small observatory on East Campus that provides hands-on observing experiences to students taking astronomy courses. Astronomy faculty spends a handful of evenings per semester at the observatory helping students complete their lab assignments. In addition, faculty is encouraged to make use of the observatory for student projects or assignments in addition to the standard college-wide labs. A lab specialist maintains the observatory and helps with telescope operations, and opportunities are available for faculty to use the facility for campus and community outreach.
Candidates should be enthusiastic about teaching at the introductory astronomy level, and be committed to creating a learning environment that is inclusive and values the diversity of our student body. Candidates should also be familiar with current astronomy and physics education research and its implications for successful student learning.
Salary - Initial salary placement is based on education and experience. The salary range starts from $43,580 for the minimum qualifications up to a doctorate degree $63,194 (based on the faculty salary schedule for fiscal year 2016/2017) for a nine-month academic year contract (169 days of accountability).
Duties and Responsibilities
The following is a summary of the Duties and Responsibilities for the faculty member. A full list of PCC Faculty Responsibilities can be found the Faculty Personnel Policy Statement Appendix H.
General Duties:

• Instruct students and work with them on strategies to help them achieve academic success
• Use current, effective classroom management techniques
• Monitor and continuously improve instruction to ensure Student Learning Outcomes are met on a classroom, discipline/program, and College level
• Evaluate student performance
• Continually improve instruction utilizing appropriate delivery methods
• Evaluate and revise course outlines and course materials
• Provide academic advising
• Maintain competency and currency in the teaching fields as well as in teaching strategies, subject delivery modalities, and assessment methods
• Serve actively as a member of the department and discipline groups
• Participate in fostering partnerships that strengthen educational opportunities in response to community needs
• Represent the department and/or campus on college-wide committees
• Work collaboratively with faculty, staff and students and utilize a collegial style in all forms of communication

The ideal candidate will have knowledge, skills, and abilities related to:

• Student learning styles: ability to adapt and modify instruction based on the instructional needs of students
• Assessment instruments and their interpretation: knowledge of appropriate and effective use of assessment information to improve instruction
• Evaluation of students' educational progress: ability to maintain high instruction and learning standards and assess students' academic progress in meeting course objectives and student learning outcomes
• Teach in traditional and non-traditional formats: knowledge of curriculum development, course design, and delivery
• Techniques for academic advising: knowledge of the resources available to students to assist them with academic and personal challenges, and ability to help students access those resources
• Competencies in multiculturalism, diversity and inclusivity: knowledge of diverse community college student populations and ability to address diversity in effective instructional practice and student learning
• Mission: appreciation for the Community College mission
• Excellent oral, written, and listening skills

Course Information:
Click here for more course information. Job Requirements
Minimum Qualifications for faculty positions are governed by our Faculty Certification Standards. This position is in an Academic (Transfer) discipline and requires the following to obtain Pima Community College teaching certification:

• Master's degree in the teaching field or
• Master's degree in any teaching field with 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching field or
• In disciplines where a master's degree is not offered and the doctorate is the terminal degree, or where the candidate has opted not to receive a master's degree during the course of study for the doctorate degree as a terminal degree, or where all but dissertation of a doctorate degree has been obtained, 24 graduate semester hours in the teaching field are required.

Acceptable fields include:

• Planetary science
• Astrobiology
• Astronomy
• Astrophysics
• Closely related field

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience teaching astronomy courses for non-majors, preferably at the community college level
• Experience with research based teaching strategies

Benefits
Please refer to the College Employees Personnel Policy Statement, under the section Benefits at: https://pima.edu/administrative-services/human-resources/personnel-policy-statements/common-policy.html Directions for Applying and Other Important Information
To submit an application visit: https://pima.peopleadmin.com/postings/7315.
Degrees and courses qualifying for Pima Community College teaching certification must be from a regionally accredited college or university. Applicants currently in progress for a degree or additional coursework to meet the minimum qualifications must have the degree conferred and/or coursework completed by December 2016.
Applicants with degrees from colleges or universities outside the United States must provide a course-by-course evaluation from a professional evaluation agency approved by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACE) for foreign transcript evaluation. For a Pima Community College approved lists of transcript evaluation agencies see Foreign Transcript Evaluation.
To submit an application you must include the documents that are listed within the application form as required. Documents listed as optional do not have to be attached in order to submit the application. Follow the directions in the application form to upload your documents. At minimum, these documents are required:

• Resume. This should be up to date and account for and describe all gaps in employment.
• Letter of interest or cover letter. This is a description of your knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience related to the duties and responsibilities of the position, as well as the strengths you would bring to the assignment. The letter should not exceed four (4) pages.
• Unofficial copies of transcripts. These must be
  • for all post-secondary degrees you have listed in your application
  • legible (front and back) and show the name of the regionally accredited institution, the degree conferred, and the page(s) explaining the institution's grading system
  • attached to the application even if they have been submitted in the past

The selected candidate(s) must provide Human Resources with official (unopened) transcripts and/or official (unopened) foreign transcript evaluation.
SELECTION PROCESS:
The selection process typically consists of one or two advisory group interview(s), a teaching demonstration, and an administrative interview. Candidates invited to the interview process will be chosen from those who most closely meet the stated requirements. Meeting these qualifications does not guarantee an interview.
The selected candidate will start work in August 2017 and will be expected to attend Faculty Learning Academy (FLA). FLA for 2017 will take place Monday – Wednesday, August 14, 15, and 16.
If you have any questions regarding the application process, please call Human Resources at (520) 206-4624 or humres@pima.edu. Human Resources hours are normally Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
To request a reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities, please contact http://www.pima.edu/pima-jobs/contact-us.html
Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer:
Minorities/Females/Disabled/Protected Veterans are encouraged to apply.