Quick Takes
Call for 'Fairness and Equity' to ESL Instructors and Students
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages has issued a statement calling for "fairness and equity" to such programs at times that colleges are cutting budgets and eliminating positions. "During turbulent economic times, educational programs that serve culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse student populations may be at a disadvantage when competing for reduced funding with programs that serve conventional, mainstream student populations," the statement says. "This disadvantage is particularly acute for English as second language (ESL) programs, which are often mischaracterized as being remedial in nature." Further, the statement noted that ESL instruction is is frequently provided by adjuncts who lack job protections. "Unfortunately, during difficult economic times, educational programs face the temptation of laying off part-time, adjunct, or contingent faculty educators that the institution is rarely under any legal or collectively bargained obligation to retain. Reductions of this kind only serve to reduce the level of continuity in high-quality instruction to which ESL students have become accustomed. TESOL strongly supports all ESL faculty's employment rights ─ part-time and full-time -- during these harsh economic times."
Vote of 'No Confidence' in Board That Abolished Tenure
On Friday, the faculty at Southeast Kentucky Community College passed a motion of “no confidence” in the president and Board of Regents of the Kentucky Community and Technical College system by a vote of 68 to 30. The motion cites the board’s recent decision to abolish tenure and retirement health benefits for all new employees hired after July 1. Southeast faculty behind the vote indicated that they expect many more faculty groups at the system’s 16 colleges to hold similar votes in the coming weeks. Richard Bean, chair of the Board of Regents, said the system leadership is “always listening” but did say he was “disappointed” in the college’s vote: “The board has listened for two years, and we had a very clear vote that we wanted to have the ability to meet the needs of Kentucky's students. We wish [the faculty who voted 'no confidence'] were as concerned about the students and population of the Commonwealth as [is the board]. We’re sorry that they don’t want the system to be agile enough to provide the type of education we want to provide and for the topics that need to be given at any given time.”
New School Eliminating Adjunct Jobs at Parsons
Arts groups and educators are protesting recent notices sent to a dozen fine arts instructors at Parsons the New School for Design, telling them that they will not be teaching next semester, The New York Times reported. Because Parsons relies on part-time instructors for fine arts courses, some see the move as destroying any sense of job security at the institution. Further, the move comes at a time of faculty and student anger over management of the New School, of which Parsons is a part. The arts faculty at Parsons sent a statement to New School leaders saying in part: “To not rehire faculty in this economic climate is both cruel and socially irresponsible. We therefore insist upon an immediate reversal of aforementioned summary firings.” New School officials said that nothing unusual was going on. “This is not a disciplinary action — no one’s been fired,” Tim Marshall, the interim provost, told the Times. “As you update the curriculum, you have to look at the best fit.”
Dispute Over Health Services at Catholic Colleges
The diocese of Scranton is asking four local Roman Catholic colleges to turn over documents related to student health services to provide "assurance" that the institutions are not providing or encouraging birth control, The Republican-Herald reported. The request followed a report in the student newspaper of St. Joseph University, in Philadelphia, that health services there strive for a "middle ground" between church teachings and student practices. The four Scranton institutions that received the request are King’s College, Misericordia University, Marywood University and the University of Scranton. They plan a joint response today.
U.S. Grants $150M for State Data Systems
The U.S. Education Department on Friday awarded $150 million in grants to help 27 states develop or upgrade longitudinal student data systems to track academic progress. While most of the grants, which range from $2.5 million to $9 million, are focused on data systems for elementary and secondary schools, many of them are aimed at helping to integrate the systems with postsecondary education systems or to allow data from the systems to be shared with college officials.
Medical Faculty Told to Limit Wine Spending to $75 a Bottle
The University of California at San Francisco has told medical faculty members that they cannot spend more than $75 in university money on a bottle of wine at a recruitment dinner or other official event, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. A by-the-glass limit of $15 was also set. A spokesman said that most professors understand the need to limit such spending, but that there have been periodic incidents that prompted the new rules. He noted one recently rejected expense voucher for a dinner for six people where half the bill was for wine.
A College Dynasty (Not in Basketball)
For the fifth time in nine years, the University of Maryland Baltimore County won the national college chess championship Sunday, the Baltimore Sun reported.
