Since all faculty members are subject to the college's recruitment, hiring, and evaluation policies, it stands to reason that these policies should be developed with improved instruction in mind. Staff development for part-timers at HJC has six components. Support services make up the fourth component and are designed to assure the availability of office space, clerical assistance, and instructional materials and media. Finally, the staff development effort is capped off by an evaluation component. The HJC staff development program, in short, focuses all personnel management efforts on the selection, development, and evaluation of a nucleus of qualified part-time instructors.
Some colleges view staff development for part-timers as an adult education process.
Each of these personnel management activities, however, is designed to foster an awareness of the need for faculty development and improvement. During the pre-hiring interview, for example, the prospective teacher may be asked to fill out a form soliciting information on the applicant's strengths and weaknesses as a teacher. The employment contract subsequently specifies the faculty member's obligation to participate in staff development activities, and subsequent orientation sessions require new hires to list their expectations and concerns. Evaluation efforts are diagnostic in nature and are designed to make instructors aware of potential problems. Finally, these problems, along with others identified in needs assessment surveys, are addressed in in-service activities.