An Interesting issue...
Here are some paragraphs from an editorial about Broward College, where I work as an adjunct or independent contractor...
GO HERE
But riptides run beneath still waters, driven by state budget pressures to grow jobs and only pay for performance. For two years now, the college has been trying to negotiate a faculty contract that eliminates the word "tenure." Recently, it declared an impasse, which spurred the union's no-confidence vote.
"It's quite regretful," Howdyshell said of the vote. "I wish we would have had more communication. The communication has been totally at the bargaining table. I've not talked with the union, but everything we want to do, we want to do for our students, and to assure that our students are successful. If it means taking a hard stand on this continuing contract and evaluation, we will have to do that."
"Continuing contract" is the new term of art for what appears to be a new type of tenure, the first of five key differences separating the sides.
Historically, Broward College has awarded tenure to good faculty members after three years, an industry perk meant to protect academic freedom and job security.
But the college says it's following the lead of a Florida Board of Education rule and moving to "continuing contracts," which are awarded after five years, not three. It notes that the union unsuccessfully tried to overturn the state rule in court.
Opinions differ, however, on whether these new contracts provide the same job security as tenure. Plus, local union leader Kevin Keating, a senior professor of anthropology and psychology, says the college is proposing to go beyond the state rule by putting a three-year termination date on these faculty contracts. Rather than making them permanent, he says they would be "terminal contracts renewable at the discretion of the college."
Howdyshell disputes that, saying the college couldn't simply non-renew a faculty member's contract after three years. Any termination process "has to be the same process as there is now. If we want to terminate someone, there have to be reasons, not because I felt like it."
Clearly, the two sides see this key issue differently. Given the confusion, the college should clarify in writing whether "continuing contracts" can be terminated after three years without the protections afforded by tenure today. For while tenure deserves reform to keep some faculty from hitting cruise control, it remains the gold standard in higher education and is crucial to recruiting high-quality people.
The second big disagreement involves online classes. In years past, before distance learning became all the rage, Broward College offered faculty members incentives to develop online courses, including the "right of first refusal" to continue teaching those classes. But just as the college has created a north, central and south campus, it's also now created a fourth campus dedicated to online learning. And it wants to staff that campus with faculty dedicated solely to online learning, which runs contrary to past goals.
Howdyshell says the college wants on-site faculty members to teach their required five classes face-to-face, lead clubs and engage with students outside the classroom. If they're teaching online, which more and more want to do, they can't do that. Plus, by segregating online learning into its own campus, the college can ensure instructors do more than post lecture notes online. It wants faculty to innovate with video and interactive features, too.
Keating says the college is taking away what it previously bargained for — encouraging faculty to teach online classes. "Those people were given contractual rights to their property, their intellectual property. And it's being taken away, in essence."
We're surprised to learn the college wants to segregate classroom faculty from those who teach the same subject online. In the newspaper business, for example, we've learned that quality content matters most, no matter whether it's delivered in print or online. We've also learned that integration works better than separate chains of command for people in the same subject area.
But the trend in higher education, Howdyshell says, is to separate online from on-campus instructors, though both cover the same course outline. Given the new direction, we'd encourage the college to somehow recognize the efforts of those faculty members who've taught online, but are not selected for the online campus.
The third issue, health care, is something on which the faculty should demonstrate flexibility. Broward College says it covers approximately 85 percent of the cost of employee health costs, a significant benefit. It's proposing to hold the line on premiums, but create a 20 percent deductible and more co-pays. However, the college will put $750 into individual Health Reimbursement Accounts that if unused, roll over from year to year. This way, the college hopes to save $1.2 million per year on its self-insured plan.
The fourth issue is pay, naturally. Right now, besides annual pay raises, some faculty members get a second "step raise" based on how long they've been there. The college wants to change this second pay-raise category, making them no longer automatic, but negotiated every year. It's possible the college may one day want to eliminate step raises, too, which isn't a bad idea, so long as its ultimate pay scale is competitive and funded by the state. The union says the college also is trying to change the way it pays faculty for non-classroom duties, too.
Fifth, and finally, a new performance evaluation tool is creating friction. Howdyshell says the evaluation includes things like promptly turning in grades, ensuring students complete their classes and making sure students are able to succeed in subsequent courses.
But Keating says the college is trying to hold faculty accountable for "factors over which you have no control — the number of students, their degree of preparation, if they proceed toward graduation, their GPAs, whether they get jobs and the salaries they get after they leave."
Without question, the state's pay-for-performance mantra is tricky. For while faculty should be held accountable for teaching good classes, don't college students also share some responsibility for their own success? If students fail to come to class or do the work, who's fault is that?
And let's be honest here. If someone's job security depends on students getting good grades, that person may well award grades that students don't deserve simply to move them through the pipeline. And in the end, this social promotion will undermine the college's brand, disappoint employers and hurt students who actually do the work.
The issues at the bargaining table are undoubtedly more detailed than we've outlined here, but this much we know unequivocally:
The leaders of Broward College enjoy this community's confidence because they have a track record of success in delivering quality outcomes during tough times.
And the faculty of Broward College has made a significant difference in this community by developing so many business leaders, educators, health care experts, technical professionals, law enforcement officers and more.
So while we hope our state leaders and lawmakers pay attention to the disruption they're causing at a high-performing college, we also encourage both sides at Broward College to return to the bargaining table, talk to one another and give a little.
Because in the end, something's got to give
So here are my comments...
To the editor
What an important role your paper has played as a "sentinel" for our community. I teach at Broward College and I was unaware of the no-confidence vote. The two issues that appear most important (where "something's got to give,") ... tenure and online teaching. Perhaps tenured faculty might observe that most of their students will never have a secure position in their employment. I've often wondered how members of Congress might vote if they lacked health care or a secure pension. In the same way, faculty might give up their tenure and just work like the rest of us. I think about my students (who must face an entrance exam that I prepare them to take). As an adjunct instructor, I get paid hourly and I greatly appreciate the college's marketing efforts that brings me interesting and motivated students. I gladly give up any hopes of tenure because the college has kept costs low by hiring lower-cost independent contractors like me.
On the online issue: I see the college's side, that it wants professors who are trained in how to teach online. One of my adjunct colleagues, Dr. Shayega, asks, "Why not blended?" Indeed. Why not have online courses with a bit of face-to-face and why not give face-to-face some of the review advantages of online? I get the mobile numbers of my students and pepper them with exercises so that learning can be on weekends and wherever they carry their phones. So, again, each side can give a bit.
The president of Broward has some delightful posters. I really enjoy seeing the calls for action, like the slogan "We Keep You Thinking." Fantastic. Can we keep the slogans and maybe find a middle ground?
Steve McCrea, Tutor and GRE, PERT and SAT Test Prep instructor
smccrea@broward.edu
SKYPE SteveEnglishTeacher
2314 Desota Drive
Fort Lauderdale FL 33301
You can shorten the letter if you wish
George, one of my students at WHPS, told me that he wants an energy bar. This was a kid who demanded greeasy cheesey sandwiches and soda and candy bars and now he focuses on protein. Bravo, George. You gave up eating for the pleasure of your TONGUE and now you eat for your body and your brain. Soon, you might try some sardines.
