Bumping

“Bumping” is the current term for reassigning sections to complete a load. See AR 4.06.02, subsection 1.3, “Limitations.”

Typically, bumping occurs when a FT professor or higher priority adjunct loses assigned sections because of cancellation. In such cases, the department chair or designee may reassign sections to these professors.

Bumping has short- and long-term consequences; bump with sensitivity to these consequences. In the short term, it may mean hardship for an adjunct faculty member, who, after all has already been assigned and planned around teaching the section from which she or he is bumped. In the longer term, bumping can contribute to conflict and mistrust. Ensure that your approach is fair, communicate clearly and transparently, and adopt and document protocols for resolving conflict.

Further, bumping is a right of FTF and higher priority adjunct faculty, but it is not a blank check. Embedded in the AR is a “reasonableness” criterion. For instance, faculty who lose a section should first choose from among unstaffed sections. This reasonableness criterion also means that we will try to avoid disrupting high-prep assignments, like Ascender, BRASS, Dual Credit, LAG, Honors, etc. In general, we will avoid bumping faculty out of those assignments.

Basic policies and LAHC implementation

• AR 4.06.02 stipulates that unstaffed sections be offered first.
• Full-time faculty who lose part of a normal load, either by cancellation or by being bumped, may bump any adjunct:
  • To achieve the FT load required by her or his contract, or
  • To achieve one section overload
  • Note that AR 4.06.02 specifically rules out bumping to achieve a second overload.
• MSTA/CA/IAs who lose part of a normal load, either by cancellation or by being bumped, may bump a lower priority adjunct to achieve their normal load.

Mechanisms for resolving conflict

Conflict may arise, for instance, when two professors intend to bump the same adjunct, or around questions about the scope of bumping privileges. I strongly encourage departments to be proactive and establish mechanisms for resolving conflict, through the normal governance processes.

For instance, to prevent conflicts such as two FT professors intending to bump the same adjunct, a department might adopt a rule that FT faculty bump in seniority order. This is a decision mechanism that is fair with respect to competing interests, and it is a common criterion in use in the college.

In general, I endorse interpretations of AR 4.06.02 that are least restrictive with respect to bumping privileges. For instance, I would not support disallowing bumping as delineated above without a compelling justification. Exceptions to the LAHC division protocol should only be requested in genuinely exceptional cases.