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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > February > 05
Friday, February 5, 2010
Editorial: WSU faculty too agitated about semester change
The switch over from quarters to semesters at Wright State University suddenly isn’t going well. That’s embarrassing for WSU.
Of the four four-year Ohio universities being required to convert to semesters by the fall of 2012, Wright State is the only one embroiled in a big battle over teaching workload. The union representing professors is so unhappy with the administration’s proposal that it’s urging members to withdraw from a host of committees that are working to fashion courses and schedules to make the change seamless.
That tactic is wrong. The conversion is complex and will require tremendous cooperation among faculty, staff and administration. This is no time to pull up stakes and walk away.
The faculty’s concerns have some merit, but the university’s proposal is reasonable. Forging a workable deal will be tricky, but there is plenty of room for compromise. Both sides are trying to meet important goals. The university has to ensure its new schedule does nothing to drive up costs or reduce revenue. Meanwhile, professors want to be able to juggle their teaching and research.
For faculty, a tension always exists between how much time they spend with students and how much they spend on research and writing. The balance varies among the different departments and schools on campus.
Tenure standards, which require young faculty members to produce important, published scholarship to keep their jobs, are often demanding.
On the quarter system, many faculty now teach two courses in each of the three 10-week quarters during the academic year. (Summer courses make up the fourth quarter). The administration is proposing a maximum teaching load that would appear to keep instruction much the same — three courses for each of the two 15-week semesters.
But, the union argues, that demand is not the same. A professor who is teaching three courses rather than two throughout the academic year must spend considerable extra time planning, grading, teaching and helping students. So the change could lead to less time for other work, raising questions both on broad issues (is the university stepping back from research?) and practical ones (should tenure standards change?).
Still, a three-course maximum teaching load is in line with other institutions of Wright State’s caliber. Administrators are quick to point out that six courses a year is the maximum requirement, not a new standard. But union leaders want more assurance than that.
There are ideas out there — such as designing some new courses to count for four or five credits rather than the standard three credits; that potentially could help make the math work better for professors.
Negotiators for both the union and the administration say they’re optimistic that solutions will be found. But departmental committees doing a lot of the heavy lifting on the new schedule can’t function without the faculty.
The union is wrong to tell professors to drop out of the process. It should back off that strategy.
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