NEW INSTRUCTORS

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 in order to teach one of our courses. You must, of course, have the ability to present a quality class, work with students, and have expert knowledge and skill your subject. 

There are many topics you could choose from - arts and crafts, sewing, music, science, business, personal growth, self-help, active classes, or a multitude of topics of interest to our community. 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.

Our office offers not-for-credit classes, which means our office does not receive any state or federal funding for any of our courses, so all expenses of the department are funded through the course fees. If your proposal is accepted, a Community Education Specialist will work with you to create a quality class.

Sound Interesting?  Do you have an idea or two of something you would like to teach others? Click on the link below and fill in the fields to submit a proposed course. Be sure to read all of the information before filling out the course proposal form.

REPEAT INSTRUCTORS

 If you have taught for MJC Community Education in the past, you will be contacted approximately 3 months before the semester begins to find out if you are interested in teaching your previous classes. There are many things that determine if we offer a class, one is the availability of rooms. We submit our room requests as the classes come in, so there is a chance that we would not be able to offer your class due to a lack of space.

If you have new or additional classes that you would like to propose, either fill out the Course Proposal form that is linked below, contact Angela Vizcarra by email at vizcarraa@yosemite.edu, or phone her at 575-6473. 

Read the General Information listed below. It will give dates of our terms and other important information for instructors, including information on filling out the Course Proposal form.

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 most schedules we are planning at least 6 months prior to the semester start date. You may have a great class, but once we begin creating the schedule, it is very hard to add something. We may not be able to use your course for the current term, but may be able to use it for another one.

Make a note of the following term dates for MJC Community Education - these DO NOT match the MJC Semester Dates. We may receive your course proposal in time for one term, but due to decisions by our office staff, it may not be offered until another term.
 

 2. Read the General Information file

Print the General Information that is provided on the link above (Download Info). It will give you information about teaching a class for MJC Community Education. This will help you get an idea of what teaching for Community Education is like. If you are still interested in teaching for us, click on the Course Proposal link and fill in the required fields. See more information regarding completing this form.
 

3. Filling Out the Course Proposal Fields

• Open the link to propose a course 

• Course Title - If you want - be creative with the title - a catchy title can sometimes make or break a class!

• Instructor name and contact information - self explanatory - the only way we will be able to have contact with you!

• e-mail - if you have or use an email address please include it - much of our contact with instructors is through emails.

• Course Description - This should describe your class. It may be edited for the printed schedule if we offer your class. At the end of the course description include the expected outcome or objective for the student (decide what you want your students to get out of the class (what information they will learn, what project they would complete, etc). Also include the age of the students in your class. Will you be teaching children or adults. If children what age group is your class created for.

• Student Outcome - there is not a separate field for this, but at the end of your course description please put the "Expected Student Outcome or Objective for the Student"  (for example: at the end of a stained glass class the student will complete a stained glass project, or at the end of beginning knitting class, the student will be able to knit a scarf)

• Instructor Biography - This gives us a little information about yourself. If we offer your class this information would also be available to the students on our website.

• Proposed Schedule - 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 meeting with our Program Coordinator, it would be good to know the days and times you would be available to teach.
  
  Start Date - This is the date you would be available to begin your class. Because of room availability and term dates, we may need to make adjustments on this date, but it will give us something to begin working with. When you meet with our office staff this will be decided.

• Time - 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. We 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.
  
  Number of Weeks Held - 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/intermediate 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.
  
  Class Location - some classes require that the students meet a particular location. If this is the case please list the name and address of your location. Otherwise MJC will find a campus facility that meets the needs of your class.

• Material Fee Per Person - Some classes require materials for the student to complete their projects. The instructor might provide the materials and the students pay the instructor a material fee OR you can provide a supply list for what the students should bring to class. The office will go over the materials and the fees with you to assure the fees are in line with the projects that will be completed. There may be a book required for the class - make note if this is the case and let the office staff know - or include it in the class description.

• Maximum and Minimum Class Size - The numbers you put here will be reviewed, and may be changed during the proposal review process. A class may require a minimum number of students to be effective. Include your suggested maximum to ensure every student will receive the attention they need to benefit from the class.

• SUBMIT - Click the Submit button. Follow up with a phone call. Allow at least two weeks for your proposal to be reviewed. If you don't hear from us call our office at 575-6063 to see if we have received/reviewed your proposal and to set up an interview time.

NOTE: If you are proposing a craft or hands-on class, be prepared to bring a sample to the interview with our office staff. A photo may be acceptable if the actual sample is not practical to bring in.