A handful of California community college instructors are pulling in salaries that rival or exceed the state’s top education officials by juggling dozens of online course sections across multiple districts at the same time, according to a CalMatters investigation.
The nonprofit news outlet found more than 70 instructors who taught simultaneously across at least five California community college districts, Cal State campuses or University of California campuses in 2024. Many of these instructors relied heavily on pre-recorded lectures and online formats that let students work at their own pace, rather than live, in-person instruction.
The scale of the workloads is possible in part because California’s 73 community college districts operate independently, with no statewide system tracking how many classes an individual instructor teaches across different campuses. There are currently no rules limiting how many districts a single instructor can work for simultaneously.
One instructor identified in the CalMatters analysis taught at least 69 course sections spread across nine different districts in a single year.
Stockton and Sacramento instructor tops $800,000
The highest earner identified by CalMatters is Thien-Huong Ninh Villarreal, who teaches sociology, ethnic studies and business courses. She holds full-time positions at both San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton and Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, while also teaching part-time at seven additional community colleges and at Cal State Sacramento.
This fall, Ninh Villarreal is teaching roughly 30 classes serving more than 1,100 students, according to CalMatters. Her total 2024 earnings came to nearly $800,000 — more than any community college administrator in the state, including the system’s chancellor. Ninh Villarreal did not respond to a request for comment.
Astronomy classes taught from Michigan
Andrew Vanden Heuvel, an astronomy instructor, teaches around 50 online classes and labs from an office above his garage in a small town on the shore of Lake Michigan — not from California at all. He told CalMatters he has instructed as many as 1,000 students in a single semester across colleges including Santa Monica College, Hartnell College in Salinas, San Jose City College and College of the Sequoias in Visalia, as well as institutions in New Mexico, Michigan, Washington and Florida.
Vanden Heuvel reported total 2024 earnings of $758,485, with roughly $320,000 of that coming from California institutions. He defended the arrangement, telling CalMatters his students receive a strong education and that he is sometimes the only astronomy instructor available to students at rural colleges. He also posts much of his course material to YouTube, where his videos have drawn nearly 5 million views.
“Now, did I push it further than some people think is morally conscionable? I don’t think so,” Vanden Heuvel told CalMatters.
Full-time faculty also stacking outside courses
The practice isn’t limited to adjunct instructors piecing together a living. CalMatters reported that Bobby Seals, a full-time ethnic studies professor at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, teaches 14 additional courses at four other districts this semester, reaching about 930 students.
Other instructors named in the CalMatters report include Faramarz Mortezaie, a computer science department chair at Mission College in Santa Clara; Nicholas Nardi, a psychology professor at Santa Ana College; Timothy Durfield, a business professor at Citrus College; and Walter Meyer, an art history professor at Santa Monica College. Each is reported to teach 10 or more extra classes at other campuses beyond their primary posts. None of them responded to CalMatters’ requests for comment.
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