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Issues Affecting Faculty and Students

This section highlights institutional decisions and policy changes that affect faculty working conditions and student learning conditions. We are committed to transparency. When changes occur that influence course assignments, class size, instructional format, workload, or academic processes, we believe our community deserves clear information.

 

Some of the items listed below are within management authority. Even so, decisions that affect the classroom experience benefit from collaboration with faculty. Our role is to document developments, ask questions when needed, and advocate for processes that protect both educational quality and fair working conditions.

 

We will update this section as new information becomes available.

February 12, 2026: Unannounced Class Size Increases Beginning Summer 2026

(Current Status: Active)

 

According to the posted class schedule, managers increased class sizes by raising the number of students allowed in many course sections. This change was implemented without prior notice to or collaboration with faculty.

 

While decisions about enrollment limits fall within management authority, class size directly affects the student learning experience. Faculty are typically included in conversations about changes that influence instructional quality and classroom conditions through HACC's established curricular policies. Bypassing established academic policies weakens the governance processes that are designed to protect educational quality and ensure thoughtful decision-making..

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Why this matters:

  • Larger classes mean less individualized feedback.

  • Larger classes reduce opportunities for one-on-one support.

  • Larger classes increase grading time, which can delay responses to students.

  • Larger classes can require changes to assignments, discussions, and classroom interaction.

 

Enrollment growth can be a positive development when it expands the total number of available course sections and creates more opportunities for students. When growth is achieved primarily by increasing the number of students in existing sections, the classroom experience changes.

 

Student success relies on meaningful engagement, timely feedback, and sustainable instructional conditions. We have advised faculty leadership to engage the managers on this issue and believe decisions that directly affect students and classroom quality should include faculty collaboration. We are disappointed that this change occurred without prior conversation and collaboration. When class size increases move forward without faculty input, the risk is that operational efficiency advances more quickly than educational quality.

 

We will continue to advocate for decision-making that keeps student learning at the center.

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