custodian

senior secretary

maintenance person

instructor

Community College of Allegheny County

This community college has such potential, with a mix of dedicated professionals and others who may no longer align with the institution's mission. Within a few weeks of employment, it will become apparent that many employees do not like working here and are long-overdue for a career change. While some employees are passionate about student success, there is also a culture of learned helplessness, micromanagement, unethical behavior, and frequent dissatisfaction among staff (complaining), particularly under the current administrative leadership. Faculty generally report a more positive experience, as their roles offer greater flexibility and autonomy compared to staff and administrators. Compensation is below industry standards; however, the health benefits are strong, which is a key factor in employee retention. There is little room for advancement here for the majority of employees. Prospective employees should weigh the benefits of stability and benefits against the challenges of workplace culture and leadership dynamics. At this time, the pros DO NOT outweigh the cons, and I can not in good conscious recommend working here. 

The pandemic hit higher education hard. Enrollments are down, as is the general academic ability of recent high school graduates looking to start their journey at community college. There is pressure on staff to do everything possible to help students succeed just short of doing the work for them. General education courses are not valued, and a lot of instructors have lost their passion. Substandard, late work is the norm in general education, and so long as a student submits all of their work, they will pass regardless of if it's right or wrong. Programmatic classes are a little better with expectations, though depending on the major, instructors still have students with middle school math and reading skills. Overall, the majority of the staff and faculty are easy to get along with and care about the students, but staff shortages and ineffective management lends itself to a high stress environment. As others have noted, adjuncts primarily staff the education department, which means no paid vacation time and low job security.

The interview process at CCAC was very relaxed and informal. They were real people asking real questions and they made me feel relaxed and comfortable. 

There is no typical day of work at my position with CCAC. My schedule varies with the many appointments I have with students, administration and all the community events and school functions I attend. As the representative for our campus to the community, I meet and work with many different people for the betterment of people who want to improve their education and lives.

The management here is good, but being a large organization, there are many rules which sometimes stifles creativity, and can limit productivity.

The culture here is causal, and staff, faculty and administration come off as ordinary people pulling together to get a job done. As with any place, there are conflicts and miscommunication.

The hardest part of the job is getting all the work done in a limited amount of time. The best thing about the job is working with the students, an all the people throughout the community that I get to meet and work with.

Adjunct Salaries are very low compared to full-time instructors and at other colleges.  The administration/management does not care about adjuncts and the adjunct union is led by the president of the union for full-time faculty thus there is very weak intent to improve the adjunct working conditions (i.e. a salary increase for adjuncts means less is available for the full-time faculty).  Renewal of lab equipment is very slow causing it to be outdated (I was using outdated computers in 2019).  As an adjunct, they will assign you a class at the last moment and on a low priority (as compared to the full-time staff).  As a result, you will have a minimum amount of time to properly prepare your class.  I taught as a CCAC adjunct for MANY years and my work was never reviewed or commented on.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Some great staff and students
Good health benefits

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
EVERYTHING. Terrible administration staff. A few good ones but the horrible, harassing, discriminatory, narcissistic that is allowed but upper management has caused many to leave and even caused mental stress of staff to take short and long term disability. Nothing happens to those same people time and time again. VERY TOXIC ENVIRONMENT 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
TOXIC by administration up to the president 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Being harassed and bullied.  Watching the horror unfold with administration speaking badly of others behind their backs,  just so rude. So sad.

Under the direction of the Academic Dean, a typical day would consist of scheduling daily and weekly functions, typing minutes in meetings and proofreading documents. Responsibilities required excellent communication and organizational skills. I learned that my discretion and trust were essential to maintain the integrity of the organization. Management was very supportive and caring. The workplace culture was energetic and optimistic because we were assisting students to succeed and graduate. The hardest part of the job was having to watch some students fail classes and not accomplish their goals. The most enjoyable part of the job was seeing students enthusiastic about their future, and knowing that you played a part in their journey.

I love the mission of CCAC and I really love the students. However, some of the support staff can be difficult to work with and some of the faculty can be unbending. As a new employee, when I called a staff member to ask about a procedure or policy I was often met with resistance to help me. Also, procedures and policies were difficult to find on the website, although perhaps it has changed now.
There is definitely not a team culture at CCAC in many departments. I worked in the Nursing Department and did not experience a team atmosphere except for several people working on the Nursing Workforce Diversity Grant. 
Like other colleges and universities, the benefits are pretty good, but the pay is low.

Typical workdays were busy during the semester, a lot quieter during the summer months. Workplace culture can be difficult depending on which department you work in. For example, Registration and Financial Aid is always busy. But the worst part is if you do not have adequate staff it is extremely difficult. The worst part of my particular job was not adequately being trained (three days) and the best part was working with the Security team. Management, like I previously stated, not so great, but my Supervisor was a super lady! The President of my particular campus is one of the greatest people on the planet who still keeps in touch with me even though I no longer work there!

I adore teaching and had hoped to be hired full time with AFT representation, but in 7 years spent as an adjunct that never occurred.
The adjuncts have become organized since my departure, so it's unknown if conditions have improved.
My ending salary (paid $745 per credit hour per semester) was the same as my beginning salary.  There are NO benefits offered to adjuncts either.
Expenses for travel to far flung outposts, cell phone coverage, and other miscellaneous costs were never reimbursed.
Student surveys of my work were consistently glowing, and full time AFT instructors were not compelled to administer those for their work ever!

1) Provide care to sick and injured in a small City
2) respond as needed to any and all emergencies dispatched to by 911
3) kept and complete all medical reports and check them for accuracy
4) arrange and supervise crews and adjust as needed
5) assume command responsibilities at all emergency scenes
6) had to respond 24 hrs a day to everything from pronouncing a loved one dead to delivering a baby in same hour.
7) assisted billing office with completing billing software, coding entries and preparing documentation to be sent out.
8) assisted office with billing adjustments as invoices were received.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Custodian 47 salaries reported	$15.99 per hour
Pt 9 salaries reported	$20.39 per hour
Senior secretary 8 salaries reported	$18.39 per hour
Maintenance person 10 salaries reported	$25.06 per hour
Instructor 12 salaries reported	$54,343 per year

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