Adjunct instructors and administrators at Columbia College Chicago have reached a tentative deal that could bring the end to a walkout that disrupted classes for six weeks — and caused many students to reconsider whether or not they would return next semester.

The union representing part-time teachers at the South Loop college said details of the agreement would be released after members had voted on it. Voting opens Monday night and will close on Wednesday evening. Union leaders said adjunct faculty will return to class on January 2 after the college’s winter break if members approve the deal.

A spokesperson for Columbia College has not yet responded to a request for comment. The union has not given an exact number of how many adjunct faculty members have been impacted by the strike, but when they first took to the picket line, officials said nearly 600 instructors.

Part-time instructors at the arts-focused college voted to authorize the strike in late October after leaders proposed cutting more than 300 classes. Administrators said the cuts were necessary to plug a $20 million deficit and targeted classes that were under enrolled.

Many adjunct faculty members and students disputed these claims, saying administrators cut class offerings that are in demand, and that leaders’ plans to increase class sizes would have harmed learning.

The school is unusual in that adjunct faculty, who are paid per course, comprise the majority of teaching staff — not full-time professors. Union leaders estimate more than 1,000 classes have been impacted by the walkout.

Columbia College has a long history of hiring working professionals to teach students because they “bring the most contemporary, innovative thinking to the structure and delivery of our curriculum,” according to the school’s website.

Adjunct faculty had been paid between $4,700 and $5,600 per 3-credit course, according to the most recent agreement posted on the union’s website. That agreement expired at the end of August.

Lisa Kurian Philip covers higher education for WBEZ, in partnership withOpen Campus.