The Importance of the NORA Process
NORA is an acronym for Notice of Reasonable Assurance. When properly submitted the
form tells your supervisor whether you are interested in an assignment in the coming
semester, as well as the days and times you are available for work. The NORA form
is now submitted electronically from MySCCC .
Email notices are sent to all active adjuncts twice a year (early March for Summer and
Fall assignments, and early October for Wintersession and Spring assignments) to notify
adjunct faculty of the start/end dates to complete this process. The Adjunct Seniority
List for that semester is generated from the list of people who have submitted their
NORA forms on time. Faculty listed on the Adjunct Seniority List will receive assignments
in seniority order according to the preferences indicated on their NORA form.
Adjunct faculty who do not submit their NORA form on time, and are interested in teaching
in the coming semester, will (upon notification) be placed on the Adjunct Late List.
According to the seniority rules adjuncts on the late list lose their seniority rights
and will not receive an assignment until all adjuncts in the discipline who have submitted
timely NORA forms have all of their assignments. Thus, it is extremely important to
submit your NORA form on time.
Seniority Lists A, B, C
As a result of the last round of negotiations, agreed upon by the FA and college in
May 2006, all current adjuncts will be offered a full complement of courses before
courses can be assigned to newly hired adjuncts. Thus, beginning with September 2006,
all adjuncts will be placed on a B list for their first three semesters, and those
hired previously will be placed on an A list. Here’s how the process works:
The A List
All A list adjuncts (hired before September 2006) will be offered the full complement
of courses that they have requested on the NORA form—that is, up to the maximum of
what they requested as long as it fits in their schedule—before anyone on the B list
can receive assignments. As in the past, assignments from the A list will be based
on seniority and availability.
The B List
After all adjuncts on the A list have received their assignments, then the chair should
go to the B list and offer assignments to the new hires; assignments to B list adjuncts
will also be based on seniority and availability.
Beginning with adjuncts hired as of September 2006, newly hired adjuncts will remain
on the B list for their first three semesters, after which time they’ll be moved to
the A list.
The C List
The C list is simply the A list and B list combined.
The three semesters include only those semesters during which an adjunct has an assignment.
Wintersession and summer session count as a single semester.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact FA adjunct coordinator
Kim Ng Southard by email kimn@fascc.org or by phone (631) 451-4151.
