Lecturers needed at Kaua’i Community College

An opportunity to help post-high school students on Kaua’i is available at Kaua’i Community College.

Lecturers for a variety of subjects are currently needed at KCC. Course areas where part-time lecturers are needed include: English, History, Automotive Mechanics Technology, Cisco Networking and Nursing.

Lecturers play an essential role at KCC, said Helen Sina, Dean of Instruction at KCC, and are part-time faculty hired as needed to teach specific courses at the college. Requirements for lecturers are the same educational requirements expected of faculty, she said, and general require at least a masters degree in an area of expertise.

Andy Bushnell – Division Chair at KCC for Language, Arts, and Humanities – said the opportunity to teach on the college level while living on Kaua’i is a unique one.

“Being a lecturer is a wonderful way to get a foot in the door to the University of Hawai’i system,” Bushnell said.

He said the part-time lecturer position could potentially enable an instructor to work their way up to a full-time position as enrollment in courses rises.

In addition, semi-retired Kaua’i residents with advanced degrees may find it rewarding to teach as a part-time lecturer, he said.

Bushnell said the opportunities for secondary education, as well as for lecturers, have increased during the administration of current University of Hawai’i president Evan Dobelle.

Susan Uchida – Division Chair for Business Education at KCC – said the potential for upper-level undergraduate classes being taught at KCC is growing.

She said those applying for the lecturer pool would also be helping out the community by teaching courses that might not otherwise be available to Kaua’i students if no lecturer is available locally.

Bushnell and Uchida began their careers at KCC in the early 1970s and have seen a great deal of growth at the school over their 30-plus years teaching here. Both cited advances using information technology that are allowing a wider range of subjects to be taught through KCC, as well as allowing students based on Kaua’i to gain degrees that in the past required commuting, or a move, to Honolulu.

Applicants who wish to become a lecturer are interviewed by KCC administrators, Sina said, and following the interview may be added to the KCC Lecturer Pool.

“This pool is an important resource for the college, providing courses when faculty may not be available to teach courses because they are committed to other assignments,” she said. “In some instances, lecturers are hired to teach in areas where no full-time faculty have the requisite expertise. In other cases, a community member with a particular expertise may be brought in to make education more relevant to the students. A number of our present full-time faculty began their careers at KCC as lecturers.”

There are minimum standards that someone teaching a college class needs to meet, said Sina, and these vary from discipline to discipline.

Those interested in applying for the lecturer pool at KCC are encouraged to call Sina at the office of the Dean of Instruction at KCC at 245-8229.

The list of needs for lecturers may change during the school year. For updates check the KCC page link on www.kauaiworld.com.