Faculty Minimum Qualifications/Equivalency Process

Minimum Qualifications for Faculty and Administrators

Applicants for faculty positions in California Community Colleges are required to meet certain minimum qualifications for faculty and educational administrator positions, as set out in the Minimum Qualifications for Faculty and Administrators in California Community Colleges handbook published by the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office. 

If applicants for faculty positions do not meet the Minimum Qualifications provided by the Chancellor's office, they may still be eligible for a faculty position if they successfully apply under the equivalency Determination Process

What is the Equivalency Determination Process?

The equivalency determination process is used to determine whether a candidate for a faculty or adjunct position who does not meet minimum qualifications may still qualify to teach classes within a particular discipline.  Equivalency requires that applicants demonstrate they have a combination of education and experience that would be equivalent to the stated minimum qualifications, allowing them to teach any class within the discipline.  Each College and College District may set its own policies and procedures around the equivalency determination process

Guidelines to Determine Equivalency

Equivalency criteria for use in determining minimum qualifications follow: 

A) Formal education equivalent to the Degree

1. Formal education equivalent to the Master's Degree:
   • A Master's Degree in teaching in the discipline
   • A Master's Degree in Education, with substantial graduate units in the discipline
   • Bachelor's Degree and a combination of thirty (30) semester graduate units in education and the discipline
2. Formal education equivalent to the Bachelor's Degree:
   • At least one hundred twenty (120) semester units, including general education and forty (40) units in a discipline, at least thirty (30) of which are upper division or graduate
3. Formal education equivalent to the Associate Degree:
   • At least sixty (50) approved units, including general education, as defined in the following guides published by the American Council on Education:
     • The Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experience in the Armed Services
     • The National Guide to Educational Credit for Training Programs

(B) Non-Formal Education Equivalencies to the Degree

      1. Substantial work experience equivalent to the degree, e.g., in computers, engineering, or journalism

      2. Substantial academic experience and/or accomplishment equivalent to the degree, e.g., teaching at the upper division or graduate level, scholarly publications Substantial artistic experience and/or accomplishments equivalent to the degree, e.g., performances,            shows, exhibitions, compositions, or books

(C) Equivalencies to required experience could include appropriate collegiate education or other training programs that indicate a mastery of the skills of the discipline and knowledge of the working environment of the discipline