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Edinboro becomes second state-owned university to propose faculty layoffs
Today the president of Edinboro University released a strategic plan that includes the elimination of 40 faculty positions. The administration publicly released the plan prior to meeting with the campus chapter of APSCUF.
Edinboro is the second state-owned university to announce sweeping faculty layoffs. Several weeks ago Clarion University announced that it would lay off 22 faculty members as part of its workforce plan.
“We are shocked by management’s actions. The administration has deliberately chosen to publicly release a plan that fires faculty and staff instead of meeting with us to discuss the proposal,” said Dr. Jean Jones, president of APSCUF’s Edinboro chapter.
APSCUF represents the 300 permanent and 127 temporary faculty at Edinboro. The association has been meeting with administrators to discuss ways to help the university meet its financial obligations while maintaining educational quality.
“Edinboro was recently cited in U.S. News & World Report as a top regional university because of the quality education our faculty members provide. Our students come to Edinboro trusting that they will receive an excellent education,” Jones stated. “Eliminating programs like music, philosophy, and world languages will only reduce educational quality. Potential students will choose to attend other colleges that offer the well-rounded liberal arts education they desire.”
According to the university’s strategic plan, declining student enrollment has contributed to Edinboro’s financial situation.
“Unfortunately, management has spent years putting more money into capital projects and debt service at the expense of student instruction. Instead of overspending on capital projects, the university should have been preparing to deal with lower enrollments and fewer students on campus,” Jones noted. “Now the administration is proposing to sacrifice faculty positions and student instructional resources to meet Edinboro’s budgetary needs.”
Local and State APSCUF will continue to fight the proposed faculty layoffs and find workable solutions to the State System’s financial needs.
What is a university? And what should it to be?
Since spring 2010, various PASSHE universities have grappled with retrenchment, part of the process of which is to provide the faculty union a list of departments to be evaluated as the administration deals with “changes that could lead to retrenchment” (CBA, Art. 29). At the same time, the cycle of Middle States accreditation has led to several universities looking at their general education programs and discussing or enacting massive changes.
Both these reviews, and other trends, force us to reconsider and define: what is a university? What should it be and what do we expect it to be? read more…
Obama’s plan for higher ed is problematic
Yesterday, President Obama announced a new “Higher Ed Plan” at the University of Buffalo; he visits two campuses today in what appears to be a campaign-style rollout.
Briefly, here are the plan’s elements as summarized by Inside Higher Ed:
–Create a new rating system for colleges in which they would be evaluated based on various outcomes (such as graduation rates and graduate earnings), on affordability and on access (measures such as the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants).
–Link student aid to these ratings, such that students who enroll at high performing colleges would receive larger Pell Grants and more favorable rates on student loans.
–Create a new program that would give colleges a “bonus” if they enroll large numbers of students eligible for Pell Grants.
–Toughen requirements on students receiving aid. For example, the president said that these rules might require completion of a certain percentage of classes to continue receiving aid.
Five quick problems with Clarion University’s workforce plan
Last Thursday, the Clarion University administration released their Workforce Plan. APSCUF has begun analysis of the 32-page plan; here’s our first-look impression. Local & State APSCUF will have a far more systematic approach in preparation for further discussions.
Clarion University announces plans to layoff 22 faculty members
Below is the text of a press release issued on Friday, August 16, 2013.
Yesterday Clarion University, one of the 14 state-owned universities, released a workforce development plan that includes 22 faculty layoffs in eight academic departments. It is the largest number of faculty layoffs proposed in the State System’s 30-year history.
The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) represents the 240 regular faculty and approximately 116 temporary faculty at Clarion University. read more…