COLLEGE SET TO GO ON HIRING SPREE; CAMPUS TO ADD 11 TEACHERS.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer

College of the Canyons is joining a statewide community college hiring spree, recruiting 11 new faculty members for the fall semester.

About 700 full-timers will be hired this year by the state's 106 community colleges, the first such frenzy since the '80s. California's two-year colleges have an estimated 18,750 full-time instructors and 30,100 part-timers.

``This is probably the first time in a decade that we've had a chance to increase the number of full-time faculty,'' said Tom Nussbaum, chancellor of California Community Colleges.

Community colleges - forced to slash programs in the 1970s and '80s because of budget cuts - received $100 million in new money last year for salaries and other general expenses.

This year, with a robust state economy, more is promised as the Legislature begins the budget process.

Hiring efforts at College of the Canyons in Valencia are bolstered not only by increased state funding, but by additional money provided to help the campus accommodate a fast-growing student body, spokesman John McElwain said.

``Locally, growth factors are such that we are pretty much in a hiring trend right now, looking to hire instructors for the fall,'' McElwain said. ``Largely, what we're trying to do is manage our growth, and we know enrollment will increase. We need more instructors. We're seeing now what specialties we need.''

A team of COC administrators and faculty members are attending a regional faculty recruiting conference this weekend. Later this month, COC representatives will head to Oakland for another job fair.

``We're going there simply because we, like everyone else, want to get the best qualified candidates,'' McElwain said.

College of the Canyons is seeking 11 full-time instructors - some of whom may be culled from the existing part-time faculty pool.

Instructors are needed to teach biology, English, history, journalism, mathematics, music, physical education, speech and subjects in COC's Pace Program, an accelerated schedule for working adults.

Also, COC has money to hire three full-time instructors for special assignments, but that funding could expire.

``The three would come from a special pot of money for the chancellor's Partnership for Excellence program,'' McElwain said. ``There's no guarantee those funds will recur, so we advertise we have a two-year job, for instance, but the funds might not be renewed. Will the government continued to fund? We don't know.''

And the college is hiring three administrators - a dean of educational technology, a dean of professional programs and work-force training and a new dean of student services. Candidates will be reviewed for the first time this week, with hiring set for as soon as possible, McElwain said.

At present, COC, the only campus in the Santa Clarita Community College District, has 97 full-time faculty, 297 part-time instructors and 11 administrators. The spring semester, which started in January, drew 8,500 students.

``We have grown in double digits for the past four years and we anticipate growing in double digits for the next several years,'' McElwain said. ``We not only have to hire, but we have to plan on new classrooms, more space, broadening the curriculum, creating more partnerships with businesses in the area. . . .''

Statewide, from 1997 to 2005, an estimated 368,000 students will enroll in community colleges, according to a projection by the chancellor's office.