Become a Community Education
Instructor at Modesto Junior College
Community Education is always looking for instructors that have a desire to share their skills and knowledge with others. If you feel you have something that would be of interest to others in our community, think about becoming an instructor for MJC Community Education. We do not require you to have a degree to teach one of our courses. You must, of course, have the ability to present a quality class. There are those that have a wonderful talent, but do not have the ability to present it to others in a clear, concise manner.
There are many topics you could choose from - childrens, arts and crafts, sewing, music, science, business, personal growth, self-help, active classes, or anything else that you might come up with. Anyone that teaches a children's class (under 18 years old) must be fingerprinted with a background check. Community Education will reimburse you for this after you have been hired by our office.
Maybe a popular type of needlework, craft, singing group, barbershop quartet, anger management, floral design, computers, beginning oil painting, business management styles, step-by-step process of purchasing a home through an auction, wedding planning, jewelry, wood carving, bonsai, and anything else you enjoy doing or making.
Our office offers not-for-credit classes, which means our office does not receive funding from the state for any of our courses, so all expenses of the department are funded through the course fees (this includes registration, the printed schedule, salaries for instructors, etc.).
Sound Interesting? Do you have an idea or two of what you would like to teach others? Read on.
Steps to Propose a Course to MJC Community Education
1. Don't Waste Any Time
Remember, in order to get the class into our schedule of classes, we must plan ahead. For example, the deadline to submit a new class for Summer 2008, which begins the 2nd week of June, is February 1, 2008. Plan ahead. You may have a great class, but once we begin creating the schedule, it is very hard to add something.
2. Print the 3 pdf files below. Read the General Information about teaching a class. This will help you get an idea of what teaching for Community Education is like. If you are still interested in teaching for us, print out the Course Outline and Planning Sheet.
3. Plan ahead and think about the following:
- Decide which class(es) you want to teach (you could even come up with a catchy title for the class).
- Think about the age of the students in your class. This is especially important if you are teaching children.
- Decide what you want your students to get out of the class (what information they will learn, what project they would complete, etc)
- Plan how many times the class would need to meet (sessions) to meet your desired outcomes for your students. Do not plan a class that will need too many sessions. It is hard to get students to commit to a long-term class and the more sessions your class meets, the higher the fee we need to charge for the class. You might be able to break a long class into beginning/interemediate or a I/II classes. (If in doubt, put what you think would be required and then when you come in for an interview, our staff can help you come up with a good class length)
- Decide how many hours each class session will be. Remember the more sessions and hours the class meets, the more we must charge for the class. If the class meets too long, then the fees for the class might be too high to get enough enrollment for the class to be held. You might be able to break a long class into a Beginning and Intermediate or I and II to help keep the number of sessions and hours down per class.
- Look at your schedule and decide what days of the week would be best for you to teach your class, for example, Saturday classes, or Wednesday evenings. When meet with our Program Coordinator, it would be good to know the days and times you would be available to teach.
- If you are proposing a craft or hands-on class, be prepared to bring a sample to the interview with our office staff. At least bring pictures of the project that the students would be completing if the actual sample is not practical to bring in.
- What is the maximum number of students you could teach (be reasonable). What is the minimum number of students.
4. Fill out the Forms and Return
- Print out the .pdf files from above and fill them out.
- We receive several course proposals each semester. Some are not completed and even though the course may sound interesting, we may not have to time to try to figure out what you might have meant in the spaces that were left blank. If you aren't sure about some of the questions, make a note of that on the sheet, or try your best to answer them. We understand that you are probably not familiar with the location/rooms available for Community Education classes, but try to answer to the best of your ability.
- Return both the Course Outline and the Semester Planning Sheet to MJC Community Education, Program Coordinator, 435 College Avenue, Modesto, CA 95350. You can also include a resume, cover letter, pictures, or any other information that might intrigue us into wanting to know more about your proposed class.
- Follow up with a phone call. Allow at least a week for your proposal to arrive and for us to review it. If you don't hear from us, please call our office at 575-6063 to see if we have reviewed your paperwork yet and if you can set up an interview.
