professor

student assistant

police officer

personal trainer

journeyperson plumber

Collin-County-Community-College

The administrators at this college district do not support quality teaching. Over a period of 30 months prior to my resignation, I experienced many problems in my office, technology access, classroom support, and with my personal private information access and telecommunication services. Despite many attempts to resolve these via the prescribed chain of command (dean, provost, human resources), almost no improvement was made. Some of these problems involved break-ins into my office space in which student records and personal property were stolen. This was a potential FERPA legal issue which was pointed out to my superiors at least a dozen times, yet no accommodations or improvements were permanently made. On the last day I occupied my third and last office, the lock to a filing cabinet fell out, the office door lock was still malfunctioning, and I respectfully told my former dean that I did not feel safe on that campus and this was just one reason for my resignation. When I began working for the Collin district part-time in 2003, I had high hopes for being able to do quality teaching with excellent support services. During the period from the Fall semester of 2012 to the end of 2014, I was repeatedly harassed by co-workers, students, and colleagues, for no apparent reason. (This occurred during an accreditation review cycle with SACS and an upcoming board election.) It was clear that the above events were an attempt to eliminate me from the faculty without due process or resolution. As the faculty was not unionized, I had no choice but to resign for my personal health and safety. Even after I was formally severed, some of these same problems persisted in my personal life. I have filed a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission on these terrible working conditions and am still awaiting a decision on the review process. Quite frankly, the manner in which I was forced to resign is criminal.

A typical day at work begins 8am in the morning bringing in a set of laptops to the front of the library for students to check out, gathering mail to be delivered and to pick up any mail that were not pick up from the day prior, then begin on shelving carts of books throughout the day. We repeat the mail duty at 11:30am, then at 2:30pm and 4pm for the pick-up mail only. I also would 'shelve read', checking shelves, making sure they were in order, randomly through the day, especially on slower days.

As a library student assistant I learned a lot of patience, order, organization, the types of books, and how to assist patrons (students, other).

I never held a managing position but I was able to train new student library assistants throughout the day, demonstrated what needed to be done, what is necessary, time frame, the map of library books by section and alphabetically, and how to use the technology in the library.

There were both individual and group projects with our co-workers. Work was more outgoing and enjoyable when we had projects together as a group. We were able to learn, become motivated, and work faster. We had the opportunity to know one another and learn how to properly grow as a team.

The hardest part of the job is being on your feet all day, 6-7 sometimes 8 hours straight. Especially when our position requires a lot of labor work, of pulling and pushing heavy large carts throughout the day. But we were enable to receive short breaks in between. 

The most enjoyable part of the job was assisting others, especially towards the staff and students. I always enjoyed working hard to demonstrate others I could improve my position and increase my knowledge. I enjoyed assisting students with searching for particular books or anything in the media such as movies, music, software, and/or audio books and in feedback from them receive appreciation and gratitude for our assistance and professionalism.

Every rumor about this college is based on actual events.
Managers who were recent graduates, a vast amount of the faculty barely had any measurable industry experience (making the few that did work twice as hard to overcome the deficits).

Management often changed grades (for the better) of poor students in order to prevent drama. I was often verbally confronted by the middle management to reconsider grades or disciplinary action.

I caught recruiters in lies about the programs that were offered, had friends that worked in financial aid who had to quit before they snapped and called the feds.

The Dept. of Ed caught the financial aid and enrollment departments deliberately lying and fabricating numbers for active loans and job placement numbers.

Once, the president decided that faculty and staff should direct traffic and parking. The terrified sheep in management sat quietly as the last vestige of morale or pride among the staff atrophied.

A drunken student went crashing through the parking lot once, and the president brushed it all under the carpet.

Needless to say, that unless you knew in your guts that working at Collins was the equivilant of dodging a real career bullet, then there is no way you could walk from there proud of what that place did.

Any pride I felt had to be fabricated or directed at the one or two students that really did well.

I think the entire industry is better off with this place closing.

When I quit, the drive home I had that night was one of the best nights of my life.

Collin College used to be a great place to work, but the work culture has declined significantly over the past 5+ years.  To be specific, faculty/staff/administrators used to be very positive and enjoyed coming to work, but now the workplace is full of negativity on all levels. Mid- and lower-level employees are extremely micromanaged and there is zero consistency in how policies are implemented across campuses.

A typical workday for a professor depends upon several factors, including employment status (full-time vs. part-time) and teaching load (dual credit, web-based, or on-campus courses). There is a group of iCollin faculty who teach 100% remotely, and it's a very sweet deal because they are not required to teach dual credit courses, nor are they required to teach synchronously in any capacity. Non-iCollin faculty compete for the remaining web courses, and the whole scenario is less than desirable.  For on-campus professors, the teaching schedule is typically Monday through Friday with six office hours each week. Professors are expected to engage within the community and participate in numerous student organizations/functions, and other campus-wide activities.


Typical Day for full-time professors begins at home. Lots of emails, and potential fires to put out. Professors are often "supervisors" for part time faculty, which can turn over regularly. But, the associate faculty is full of enjoyable people, who work for little pay.
Teaching five sections is normal, but may be required to teach six for same pay. 
Deans decide everything. Too much power, which can be difficult to navigate. Stay under the radar. 
Committee work depends on semester. Dean's appoint faculty to most committees, which can be good or bad. College service vital to existence. No tenure. Multi year contracts awarded no more than five years. Professional Development opportunities for travel usually supported. Student travel is well supported for outstanding students. The college has tons of money for whatever is needed to support teaching. Unlike most colleges, universities I was never refused funding. Great perk. College likes to have outstanding professors, but in the end, they don't mind sacrificing any of them. No loyalties exist. Ethics are only important when someone is looking. Colleagues get away with too many sabotage games. Few expectations for actual grown up behavior, which can be exhausting. Nice facilities. Good staff.
Some wonderful colleagues, and some terrible ones. Normal Academia. Don't count on your boss to be intelligent. You might be disappointed. Don't count on your colleagues to be well educated. 

Office hours: Six a week usually required. I did more in order to get the work done.

Typical day at work required picking up mail, sorting mail, and delivering mail to outside faculties. I work organized different files, memos, budget sheets into several different folders, binders, and into filing cabinets. I set out different tests for each department, entered data of students test results for faculty. Took phone calls, messages,  organize and set up the conference room for upcoming meetings or conference calls.

I learned organization, professionalism, office technology, how to take messages, and assisting others. 

I would only be in 'management' if everyone was out of office for breaks or meetings, I would be watching over the office for any incoming students, staff, teachers, delivery, also took care of all phone lines, and incoming emails.

We all worked individually, but my main job was assisting my boss and having the opportunity to learn how to work in an office, from her training and guideline enabled me to improve myself and knowledgeably as a career.

The hardest part of the day was towards the end of the year and the beginning of the year, when it was my job to organize in order, file, then box each of every tests, scan trons, total of withdraws and student evaluations.

The most enjoyable part of my day was helping students, their appreciation of honest, kind help, respect, and listening to their needs.

A typical day is pretty laid back. As long as you're doing your job, there is minimal management. There isn't any micro management at my campus. Students come in to ask questions about the admission process and enrollment, registration holds, etc. We also process all of the transcripts. There are two months during the year when you will HAVE to work either on a saturday or from 10-7 and you will be extremely busy. Spring semester and Fall semester. There is zero advancement unless you have attained a degree. It is VERY hard to get hired at all, and now things are changing. They now offer less vacation days per year, and because of the construction, you can not find parking during busy months. (searching for parking spaces for 35 minutes to 1.5 hours). There are no dedicated parking spots for Student Enrollment Services employees. They do acknowledge you for getting positive comments from students but not with bonuses or raises, with certificates. You do get a (supposed) raise each year, but at the most by 4%. You can not make more money at all unless you have a degree, even if you know the job. And leadership does not care about the employees at all. It's all about how much money they can make on our backs. Which, honestly, wouldn't be so bad, if they would pay us enough to live on. With my current salary, my family still qualifies for food stamps, medicaid and section 8 housing.  #DoBetter

What is the best part of working at the company?
I experienced the most toxic, politically fueled, and unprofessional environment I have ever worked in when I walked through the doors to work at this college. Sadly, the only people who didn't stab me in the back and cut me down at every turn were all forced out as well. I made the choice the day I left that the position I held at Collin, my first position in academics, would be my last. It ruined me as an educator. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Politics and gossip. They were more interested in a scapegoat for their mistakes and poor choices than raising a new faculty member up. Harassment and bully tactics were the way the teams functioned. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic and self serving. A fake surface with lies and manipulation behind ever action. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Overwhelming and unappreciated as I was let down time after time when I requested resources and items that were absolutely needed to instructor my courses.

I enjoyed teaching there. I did not enjoy the low pay and poor treatment of adjunct faculty. I have done what many highly educated people who love academia have done, I have left academia for the corporate world. 

It's sad that the college seems to have endless amounts of money and benefits for administrators, but treats the faculty as a necessary annoyance.

I doubt anyone in the administration at the college will read this, but if you do, please realize that by not fighting for the rights of educators, and by keeping us from earning a living wage, you are seriously threatening the foundation of our society.  

Limiting the number of hours adjunct faculty can teach for the sole purpose of keeping us from having benefits is criminal and unconscionable. All it forces us to do is drive from campus to campus to circumvent the limits. We work full time, we just have no benefits or job security. I am waiting for the day that someone in the administration speaks out for us. Not holding my breath.

My time at Collin College not only gave be a chance to gain the kind of work experience I've been looking for, but it also gave a newfound appreciation for community colleges and all the opportunities they provide. This was my first job where I legitimately looked forward to each morning. I loved the job, loved my coworkers, my supervisor was awesome, and I loved the service we provided to students and the community. You get to interact with people from all walks of life and cultures, and at the same you learn how to best go about providing service to people at their highest and their lowest. 

Sadly the one downside of the job is that it was part time and it was unlikely to become fulltime in the near future. Despite this, this was a very enjoyable job and I hated to leave it. Collin College is a great jumping point for your future, both academically, and professionally.   

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Professor 12 salaries reported	$74,667 per year
Student assistant 4 salaries reported	$12.00 per hour
Police officer 6 salaries reported	$72,644 per year
Personal trainer 1 salary reported	$55,995 per year
Journeyperson plumber 1 salary reported	$54,934 per year

Working at Collin County Community College: Company Overview and Reviews

Collin County Community College

Collin County Community College Ratings

Popular jobs at Collin County Community College

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected