Focusing on academic issues associated with the use of part-time faculty, this report examines the status of part-time faculty in the California Community Colleges (CCCs) and effects on the equity of education offered in the system. Following an overview of issues, the report provides information on the history of the use of part-time faculty, indicating that considerable use has been made of part-time faculty in community colleges for decades and that in Spring 1996 the CCCs had 26,727 part-time and 16,012 full-time faculty. Next, processes for integrating part-time faculty into the institution are discussed, including formal orientations and professional/shared governance duties; hiring and evaluation procedures are reviewed; and institutional support of part-time faculty is addressed, including access to institutional mail, telephones, professional development resources, and internal support process. The negative effects of excessive reliance on part-time faculty are described, including threats to academic creativity and freedom experienced by hiring large numbers of non-tenured faculty who do not share the same privileges and protection as full-time faculty. Finally, following a discussion of the positive contributions of part-time faculty, including their more recent graduate-level work and familiarity with practices at other colleges, current efforts to resolve the negative aspects of part-time faculty use are reviewed. Includes nine recommendations regarding the use of part-time faculty in the CCCs. A Council of Faculty Organizations faculty equity statement is appended. (TGI)