Help Restore the Adjunct Faculty Association
Austin Community College has temporarily paused regular AFA activities for the 2026-27 academic year to allow time for a comprehensive review and restructuring of the association.
The goal is not to eliminate the AFA or reduce adjunct faculty participation in shared governance. The College intends to use this year to listen directly to adjunct faculty, address structural and governance challenges, and develop a stronger, more sustainable and representative association for the 2027-28 academic year.
Austin Community College adjunct faculty are invited to participate in a college-wide outreach and listening process to help restore a transparent, representative, and accountable Adjunct Faculty Association.
Nearly 1,400 adjunct faculty teach across ACC campuses, departments, disciplines, schedules, and delivery formats. This process is designed to hear from adjuncts who teach during the day, evenings, weekends, online, or at multiple campuses.
Why Your Participation Matters
Your input will help shape recommendations regarding:
- Representation and participation
- Elections or appointments
- Communication and transparency
- Accountability and leadership responsibilities
- Conflict resolution
- Shared governance
- Meeting access and scheduling
The goal is to develop a documented restoration plan based on direct feedback from adjunct faculty across the college.
Ways to Participate & Get Involved
Background and Purpose
The Adjunct Faculty Association (AFA) at Austin Community College District (ACC) has been suspended following two years of sustained governance failures, including widespread noncompliance with workplace ethics standards, a hostile environment among members, retaliation, and breakdowns in leadership accountability. Prior AFA leadership failed to effectively represent adjunct faculty, resulting in unresolved grievances, hostile interactions, and misuse of institutional resources—most notably an excessive volume of FOIA requests that diverted institutional time and resources without resolving underlying concerns.
These failures represent ongoing violations of multiple ACC policy frameworks, including:
- Ethics & Guidelines (AR 4.0800.01 & .01.1)
- Freedom from Discrimination, Harassment, & Retaliation (AR 4.0901.01 & .01.11)
- Employee Grievance Resolution & Procedures (AR 4.0702.01 & .01.1)
- Accountability Framework for Non-Faculty Employees (AR 4.1201.03 & .03.1)
As a result, adjunct faculty at ACC currently lack a functioning, trustworthy body of shared governance to represent their interests, resolve workplace concerns, and engage constructively with the institution. Without intervention, this gap leaves adjunct faculty voice unrepresented and risks further erosion of trust between adjunct faculty and the college.
This project addresses that gap by restoring the AFA through the development of new bylaws grounded in transparency, inclusivity, and ethical leadership—supported by a thorough review of past grievances, stakeholder-driven governance reform, clear accountability mechanisms for leadership, and a communication strategy to rebuild trust and sustain open dialogue among all adjunct faculty going forward.
Outreach Timeline
- August 24 – October 16, 2026: Preparation and campus mapping
- October 19 – January 29, 2027: Listening sessions and feedback collection; Department outreach and campaign launch
- February 1 – 26, 2027: Analysis and “What We Heard” report
- March 1 – 25, 2027: Plan review, revision, and finalization
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