Just been informed that 8 restricted faculty hires over the past year have filed a class action lawsuit against Northern Virginia Community College! I know this from a friend of mine who was one of those restricted hires. As you may know, a restricted hire is a full time position but temporary. Late in the spring semester, HR dropped a bombshell on all restricted hires that not only were they not being extended (that was not that controversial since budget woes were previously known) but they would not be allowed to teach in the upcoming fall semester as adjuncts. They were subjected to a 26 week work ban courtesy of a strange rule in the ACA!

HUMAN RESOURCES KNEW THIS RULE WAS IN THERE LAST YEAR AND DID NOT DISCLOSE THIS INFORMATION TO ANY RESTRICTED HIRE AT NVCC!!!! THIS IS CRIMINAL AND THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT WILL SEEK COMPENSATION OVER LOST PAY AHEAD FOR THESE PEOPLE!!!!

To make matters worse, some classes in the upcoming semester are being taught by adjuncts from other campuses, some of whom have not been teaching for over 2 years or longer! One adjunct now teaching a class in Annandale was previously suspended for 1 year for unethical behavior! This is the crop of teachers the school wishes to bring in????

Yes I heard this too today! Thank God! Because some of these professors had been teaching at NVCC for years and the only reason for this lay-off is that HR misspent $5,000,000 and the other divisions are forced to cut back on faculty positions because of HR's mistakes

It is true that morale at the school is bad and that there are quite a number of new instructors in the Fall who are barely qualified to teach. But I did not know what the restricted hires have been put through. Wow...has someone contacted Dr. Ralls, Xepheldon?

No idea, Tanner. Hopefully someone did. I can say for the record based on what my buddy said: even the tenured faculty are demoralized at Nvcc. No one feels any school pride. One Assistang Dean on the Annandale Campus is planning on quitting in the next academic year. I know who it is. But out of respect I won't post that person's name here.

Jeezus Christ. Not you again talking to yourself with this bullshit.

Nobody gives the first fuck about UBM (University Behind McDonalds)

I might go there this fall semester. I graduate HS back in 2015

I do not understand the attitude in the post by "just browsing". I can tell you that everything Xepheldon is saying about morale at the school being down is true.

And to answer "ikcc", NVCC is a good school for high school graduates, especially for high school graduates looking eventually to go to a 4 year in-state school like GMU. My point and Xepheldon's point have to do with the management of this school and its attitude toward faculty, especially those who have been dedicated to the school for years.

Isn't it weird that 4 of the top 50 professors on ratemyprofessors.com will not be returning next year to teach at that school because of this refusal by the school to extend them?

Solon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes I heard this too today! Thank God! Because
> some of these professors had been teaching at NVCC
> for years and the only reason for this lay-off is
> that HR misspent $5,000,000 and the other
> divisions are forced to cut back on faculty
> positions because of HR's mistakes

Cliff notes version, please - how did NVCC HR 'misspend' $5,000,000? Isn't there any oversight?

To give you the quick answer to that question, over the past 3 years dating back to 2013, HR hired 60 new employees for its own division without proper justification nor rationale. This was discovered last summer which was why NVCC's HR was facing an audit from Richmond. But that in turn triggered a hiring freeze on all the campuses. This, in conjunction with the new ACA 26 week work ban rule, resulted in massive layoffs for virtually the entire restricted faculty pool.

Solon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To give you the quick answer to that question,
> over the past 3 years dating back to 2013, HR
> hired 60 new employees for its own division
> without proper justification nor rationale.

Thanks for your response. Cronyism? Again, why no oversight?

> This was discovered last summer which was why NVCC's HR
> was facing an audit from Richmond.

Where does that stand?

> But that in
> turn triggered a hiring freeze on all the
> campuses. This, in conjunction with the new ACA
> 26 week work ban rule, resulted in massive layoffs
> for virtually the entire restricted faculty pool.

So sad. NVCC provides a wonderful service for Fairfax County. Why aren't these people being held accountable (i.e., fired)?

Excellent questions all around. Many a faculty member, tenured or not, asked those same questions at a division meeting last year after the school admitted there was an audit underway from Richmond of the school's HR department. And yet, no one knows outside of HR if anyone has been fired or been arrested for anything. The school admitted that the HR Department made a terrible error. But to many faculty members, that "terrible error" just sounded like as you put it correctly "cronyism" or even worse "corruption".

The lack of ethics by NVCC HR is impacting students and the staff. They need to trim their over excess of administrators so the students can be taught by seasoned adjuncts and full time professors. Totally disgusted.

Exactly! No accountability and no ethics! The rest of us are pawns in their terrible game of chess

So which is it?

The 'communist, socialist teacher's union' have all the power and have ruined the educational system?

Or the teacher's can be fired willy nilly and are pawns in a system with no accountability and no ethics?

You can't have both.

There is no "teachers union" for professors. They have organizations but not a union like the teachers in public school. Most faculty are on annual contract with no guarantee of it being renewed. Unless they are tenured, then they have a little better "job security". The best instructors are the night teachers who have a regular "day job". They teach because it is what they love to do, and they love the subject they teach.

It is too bad that all the bad behavior from the top at NVCC trickles down to the people who actually do the work. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as if that will change with this administration either....

How is a teachers' union "communistic"? And I never brought up a union. I just want corrupt bureaucrats in Human Resources to be the ones held accountable and effective teachers like my friend who is the highest rated professor at the college to have an extension.

One of the restricted hires losing the contract extension is someone who confided in me of a grim diagnosis he just received a few weeks ago. He has cancer and in a few weeks his health benefits cut off...

I wish I could do more for him than post this stuff here. Any suggestions?

Solon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> One of the restricted hires losing the contract
> extension is someone who confided in me of a grim
> diagnosis he just received a few weeks ago. He
> has cancer and in a few weeks his health benefits
> cut off...
>
> I wish I could do more for him than post this
> stuff here. Any suggestions?


He's screwed in Virginia as they are one state that does not have state-funded 'free' healthcare, or subsidy. Even if he had Obamacare assistance he'd pay 1,000 a month with still owing 20%. THERE IS STILL COBRA FOR 18 months but depending on the plan it's TWICE and some cases 3x more than premium. That is true.

Now, to let him know what he's in for, know of 2 people going through cancer treatments even with employer healthcare: One complained he's still paying up his ass and the second had to declare bankruptcy after a 10 yr battle with 5 diff cancers with his now deceased wife.

All we can do is pray and do something about USA's fucked up health system. If they were illegal it would be 100% free ... But that's another board to bitch on.

Solon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> One of the restricted hires losing the contract
> extension is someone who confided in me of a grim
> diagnosis he just received a few weeks ago. He
> has cancer and in a few weeks his health benefits
> cut off...
>
> I wish I could do more for him than post this
> stuff here. Any suggestions?

Or you can start a FundMe page ... There's also change.org for signatures for corrupt crap that happens.

HR people are a dead weight overhead expense and completely useless in 90% of business organizations.

It says a lot that the professor with the HIGHEST RATING on ratemyprofessors.com for NVCC with well over 100 evaluations is one of those not being extended.

Solon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To give you the quick answer to that question,
> over the past 3 years dating back to 2013, HR
> hired 60 new employees for its own division
> without proper justification nor rationale. This
> was discovered last summer which was why NVCC's HR
> was facing an audit from Richmond. But that in
> turn triggered a hiring freeze on all the
> campuses. This, in conjunction with the new ACA
> 26 week work ban rule, resulted in massive layoffs
> for virtually the entire restricted faculty pool.


How could they be paid for three years without hiring approval?

causeican Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Solon Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > To give you the quick answer to that question,
> > over the past 3 years dating back to 2013, HR
> > hired 60 new employees for its own division
> > without proper justification nor rationale.
> This
> > was discovered last summer which was why NVCC's
> HR
> > was facing an audit from Richmond. But that in
> > turn triggered a hiring freeze on all the
> > campuses. This, in conjunction with the new
> ACA
> > 26 week work ban rule, resulted in massive
> layoffs
> > for virtually the entire restricted faculty
> pool.
>
>
> How could they be paid for three years without
> hiring approval?


That is the big question. This was going on until a whistleblower last summer alerted Richmond and the Virginia Department of Justice. The question remains: who in higher places outside of HR was aware of this and allowed this to continue? I demand justice. Heck, I demand vengeance because innocent hard working employees are paying the price for greedy SOBs in the HR division.

Mel Schiavelli, Vice President at Nvcc, is a crook according to faculty at that school. He collects a 6 figure annual salary but singlehandedly gave false information to the division deans about hope for restricted hires this year. The tenured faculty hate his guts. I hear it all the time there

Mel isn't the only problem; although he was never part of any solution except business as usual. It started with Templin, hiring only his friends or people who sucked up to him. Mel tanked one college and had no retirement left so Templin hired him - supposedly temporarily. Templin then hired a VP of Administration who totally approved all the new hires in HR. Or at least they were hired on paper. HR never could figure out how to get out of its own way, and it certainly didn't have the best interest of staff anywhere written in their handbook. That VP was able to get away with it because he would take the positions desperately needed in other departments, tell the department head, no to hiring because there was no money, and then another HR person would miraculously appear on the roster.

Bad business all the way around, poor leadership from the top who either was too senile to see what was happening or more likely only worried about furthering his name as he retired. The only thing that is going to fix the personnel and money problems is to get rid of everyone and start over.

Indeed! Great comment above! Exactly right.

bump

Any news on the article yet.

There is no tenure at NVCC for new hires. There hasn't been tenure offered for faculty for over 10 years. HR is absolutely worthless. I think the adjuncts have a case if they pursue their class action. I can think of a few more class actions that would suit the school...

Sounds like this is worth a note to our state reps. Community college is an affordable option for citizens and all of us deserve for it to be run effectively. They probably fell prey to the same influences that gave us Trump U and Clinton as "honorary chancellor". Too much federal money, and no accountability. So let's drop a line to our friends in Richmond and tell them we need better than this. No excuse with all the talent in this area that it shouldn't be a great school, with people proud to be there. Not elitist proud, but making-a-difference proud. Perhaps HR should be outsourced for a time, and all admin should get pink slips. Perhaps you should reference this thread in your note.

Who is the lawyer/law firm representing the faculty? I have been affected by this decision as well, and also would like to sue using the same lawyer/law firm.

I am an adjunct there who has been trying to get ft since 2009...I have been long suspicious about the hiring practices of NVCC, I could tell many a story including a colleague who was not given ft specifically because of a disability. There's a law suit right there!

Is there anywhere I can go to read up on this class action suit? I'd be interested to find out more...

NVCC has ruined the first years of my precious adult life after highschool. My father force me to go study healthcare oriented classes at NVCC which he knew I could never pass long before even paying tuition. I'm not interested in studying medicine at all I just wanted to be a pro photographer. I'm thinking no matter how long I prepare for exams I don't have a chance because I've got the memory of a dead goldfish. Before the spring semester I'll probably be on academic probation and kicked out of a 2-year program, then I will travel on my bicycle to Seattle to chill with my brother and newborn nephew. I'm about to hit rock bottom dude, I got a C on the second exam and missed a lab because freakish traffic on the beltway. Why do I even bother staying here it is so unfair I can't even find job anywhere cuz my brain is not working very good and I look so hideous I should just sleep in a dumpster I am garbage omg how come I couldn't figure out how to apply for VCU in highschool all my friends have moved to Richmond. Northern Virginia is the worst place ever I hate the cold winter and the law enforcement (I don't break the law ever, I simply live in disgust with how I am forced to follow unjust, unhealthy rules of society) this place is a cesspool of corrupt government, poor infastructure, uppity and judgemental employers, third-world style heathcare which cost a fortune.

Suppose you are thinking of applying for a job at NOVA. You do a little searching and this sort of thread comes up in all its variegated splendor. Just look at it

your a fucking paid liar from china or telemundo

I've spoken with the dean about creating on campus groups and even teaching yet to be taught classes myself: called IT (at the time not offered at NVCC or GMU*

I GUARANTEE YOU THAT NVCC DOES NOT OFFER TEACHERS POSITIONS FOR CLASSES UNLESS THERE IS ENOUGH ENROLLMENT FOR THE CLASS

IT IS THEIR ASS IF THEY DID OTHERWISE AT ANY TIME

-----------------------
* and the measly pickings offered: not accredited, not university). though today's IT can never be called university. the dean made a somewhat cruel jest it was only "music" and artistic (though music was the name of a terribly outdated computer at the school, at that time). the Dean expressed I could open a class if i could prove enrollment - but the means to do so were far from straight forward being that i could not accredit myself and he was willing to accredit anything "musical"

#1 teachers who get allot of drops: get fired

#2 higher paid professors who cannot get grants: get fired $$$

#3 teachers of classes that do not fill: are layed off

#4 teachers of core classes that do not get drops (teachers that students like / who aren't confusing and who don't hate (some) students): of course have a day of teaching to arrive TO

I would like to collect the $$$ after it is fired for lack of grant-writing acumen

maybe offer it some of that $10/lb spinach