NIC wrongly fired Bryan, says AAUP

In a landmark decision by the American Association of University Professors, NIC wrongly dismissed part-time English instructor Jessica Bryan after the 2007 fall semester. The non-reappointment of Bryan was found to violate AAUP policy.

Although she taught for 13 straight semesters, even being nominated for the 2007 Part-Time Faculty of the Year Award, Bryan was informed via e-mail that she would be teaching no classes in 2008. According to the AAUP report, courses she previously held were given to less experienced instructors and the college hired new faculty the following fall.

After a lengthy investigation, the AAUP found NIC in disregard of the provisions on part-time faculty appointments set forth in Regulation 13 of the Association's Recommended Institutional Regulations on Academic Freedom and Tenure.

Under Regulation 13, Bryan was entitled to notice of her non-reappointment at least a month before the end of the fall 2007 semester, a statement of reasons for her termination and an opportunity for faculty review of the decision.

"We have no job security," said Bryan on being a part-time instructor, "no benefits and, most importantly, no rights or safeguards of academic due process. However, most of us have the same degree and do the same amount of work."

She added, "Moreover, I felt vulnerable and, obviously, what I came to discover is this: No matter how long or how well I served my college, I was ultimately only a part-time instructor who served on a semester-by-semester basis."

According to the AAUP, NIC is the first college to be found in violation of Regulation 13, which was put in place during 2006. The regulation lays out policies and standard accepted practices involving renewal or nonrenewal of part-time instructors.

NIC, meanwhile, is sticking to its steadfast response: "Ms. Bryan was an adjunct instructor whose contract was to teach a specific course for a specific semester," said John Martin, vice president for Community Relations and Marketing. "Due to the need for flexibility to address changing student needs, the college cannot commit to any future employment opportunities for any individual non-tenured, adjunct instructors. In the case of Ms. Bryan, she was neither tenured nor full time."

This is true even though Bryan has taught part time as well as full time via special appointment twice for six years, she said.

Associate Secretary for the AAUP, Robert Kreisler, said earlier: "This is an abject lesson in how not to treat someone who has given long-standing service to an institution."

The decision to discontinue Bryan's employment came a semester after one of her students went public concerning some political dialogue in her English class. An anti-Republican remark upset the student enough to request a refund from the college.

What's more, the AAUP report also recognizes that her relationship with the school weakened after a dispute between administrators and her husband, Keith Hunter, a tenured English instructor and former director of The Writing Center.

"What began as my husband's troubles with North Idaho College," Bryan said, "ended with my non-reappointment. But the college and its attorney would have me believe that it was simply 'business as usual.'"

In June the AAUP will decide whether to add the college to a list of censured administrations, a list that has included nearly 50 schools since 1963.