Question of the Month

 

April 2004

Which of the following is the single, most challenging issue for faculty on your campus?

a) Insufficient resources

b) Interference with academic freedom

c) Disputes with management

Please e-mail responses to Communications Director Keri Goulart, kgoulart@faccc.org, by April 30. (use the subject "April Question"). Your response (along with your name, e-mail address and college) will be published here at www.faccc.org and may be published in other FACCC publications.

RESPONSES:

Sun 4/25/2004 6:26 PM, vhunnicu@ccsf.edu (Veronica Hunnicutt, Dean, Southeast Campus City College of San Francisco)
Our faculty are not being challenged by any of these elements. They appear to have found ways to deal with the insufficient resources we all face, and they have done their part by accommodating more students with limited resources. They are not challenged by element b or c. They discuss issues with me regularly, and because they are professionals, I have no need to interfere with their academic freedom. My challenge is to continue to supply the elements they need to help our students and to assist them.

Tue 4/20/2004 2:45 PM, DPope@fullcoll.edu (Daniel Pope)
a) Insufficient resources

Thu 4/15/2004 1:22 AM, jharvey@citrus.cc.ca.us (Joseph Harvey)
Without a doubt, our most significant problem has been C) disputes with management. It has been that way since we switched from department chairs to deans about eight years ago.

Wed 4/14/2004 2:52 PM, Nelsenb@arc.losrios.edu (Betty Nelsen)
a) Insufficient resources

Wed 4/14/2004 2:51 PM, Deborahadahl@aol.com (Deborah Shanks)
This is a tough one. I would naturally say "all of the above" in the case of my district; but currenlty the most offensive is "c" disputes with management. The faculty and the administration are at complete logger-heads and exist with total disdain and disrespect for each other. To that end it causes the college [and district] to act like a disfunctional family. Management disputes naturally spill over into interference and disagreements concerning academic freedom and shared governance. Administration seems to think that it knows more about everything we do, including curricular, program building and scheduling issues. Management is making decissions that seem to have nothing to do with the "needs" of the students and good educational and fiscal responsibilities. Our district is proposing a "no growth" scenario concerning sections and offerings, but wants "growth" in the student/faculty ratio. To this end some administrative Deans have cancelled high enrollment courses [to be replaced with what?] for the Fall virtually shutting down unique &/or continuing programs to which students have been standing in line to take. Maybe I just don't get it, but management seems intent on ruining what once was a wonderful educational system. But, of course, that's just my perspective from my college experience.

Wed 4/14/2004 1:08 PM, ana_maria_de_barling@wvmccd.cc.ca.us (Ana Maria de Barling)
ALL THREE. But (c) disputes with management is the worse. We don't see
the same vision for the College.

Wed 4/14/2004 11:20 AM, jheiner@gw5mail.clpccd.cc.ca.us (Jim Heiner)
[a] Insufficient resources.

Wed 4/14/2004 10:36 AM, SmithD@scc.losrios.edu (Dennis Smith)
I would have to say that "insufficient resources" is the most challenging issue. The other two are generally non-issues in the Los Rios Community College District but there is a relationship between them and attaining sufficient resources. There is some concern about an increasing external pressure to determine and over rely on the use of measurable "key performance indicators" and "student learning outcomes" for accreditation, performance review, and even funding decisions. This pressure might very well manifest itself as interference with academic autonomy in the areas of curriculum development, androgogy, and assessment. Disputes may increase since the educational administrators (management) are between the proverbial rock and a hard place in that they must be responsive to the external forces driving these so called accountability measures and at the same time foster an academic environment where teaching and learning can take place effectively.

Wed 4/14/2004 9:05 AM, bricks@usc.edu (Boris Ricks)
Basically, all three are quite challenging. If I had to put them in any sort of order, it would be in the order listed.

Wed 4/14/2004 8:53 AM, mtarte@gw5mail.clpccd.cc.ca.us (Mark Tarte)
I would have to say a lack of resources. Like everyone else in California, we are experiencing budget belt tightening and that impacts the many divisions and operations.

Wed 4/14/2004 8:53 AM, LBassi@fullcoll.edu (Lisa Bassi)
Insufficient Resources!!!!

Wed 4/14/2004 8:52 AM, jgiacona@crafton.sbccd.cc.ca.us (Judith Giacona)
a) Insufficient resources

Wed 4/14/2004 8:51 AM, jessejr44@hotmail.com (Jesse Ortiz, Jr.)
INSUFFICIENT RESOURCES

Wed 4/14/2004 8:11 AM, gconrad@sdccd.cc.ca.us (Gail Conrad)
Insufficient resources is the most challenging issue on our campus. Although we have bond money for buildings, the up and down nature of the funding for higher education defeats any work toward strategic and/or long-term planning efforts. The ability to be ready to hire the qualified faculty (and other personnel) in a timely manner is greatly eroded and leaves many of us worn out as we try to meet the needs of our students.

Wed 4/14/2004 6:13 AM, piro.v@mccd.edu (Vince Piro)
I believe, faculty find insufficient resources the most challenging issue on our campus.

Tue 4/13/2004 11:34 PM, hertzbl@CRC.losrios.edu (Alanson"Lanny" Hertzberg)
Insufficient resources by far is worst problem

Tue 4/13/2004 9:31 PM, MAnker22@aol.com
For sure, disputes with management

Tue 4/13/2004 8:40 PM, Terteach@aol.com (Ternot MacRenato)
Insufficient resources

Tue 4/13/2004 7:47 PM, medgarparrish81@msn.com (Medgar Parrish)
Disputes with management

Tue 4/13/2004 5:43 PM, StandridgeMa@butte.edu ( Marvin Standridge)
I don't think it is which one, but in what order of importance. I would list them as: b, c, a

Tue 4/13/2004 5:42 PM, LWidman@elcamino.edu (Lance Widman)
Dealing with genetic fools in management who have raised the Peter Principle to an art form!!

Tue 4/13/2004 5:34 PM, dmilroy@san.rr.com (David Milroy)
a) Insufficient resources

Tue 4/13/2004 5:25 PM, cgreyrav@sbccd.cc.ca.us (Cynthia Greyraven)
As an instructor of a science lab, our biggest day-to-day challenge is having insufficient resources. Over the past decade, our department has been asked to grow to meet demand for training in the health and biological sciences. We've added more students per section, to be more productive. We've added more night and weekend courses, to better serve the diverse needs of our community. We are serving about 50% more students than a decade ago, but the budget to service or replace equipment and purchase consumable lab materials hasn't grown. We've long ago given up perks like subscriptions to professional journals and the purchase of reference books, because if you calculate the actual cuts, plus loss of purchasing power due to failure to adjust budgets for inflation, our instructional materials budget has shrunk by about 50%.

I see this as tied to the other two issues you mentioned. I consider it interference with academic freedom when labs have to be eliminated or redesigned because we don't have the resources to support the instruction. As a result of the budgetary problems, our department is experiencing disputes with management, who are abusing labor laws by overworking support staff. Management is also continuing to press our department to expand without the resources needed to support growth.

Tue 4/13/2004 4:58 PM, Dwight.Lomayesva@rcc.edu (Dwight Lomayesva)
Answer: (c)

Tue 4/13/2004 4:49 PM, leakes@CRC.losrios.edu (Steve Leake)
"a"

Tue 4/13/2004 4:44 PM, Erin-Wall@Redwoods.edu (Erin Wall)
I'd have to say insufficient resources

Tue 4/13/2004 4:26 PM, SnellK@flc.losrios.edu (Ken Snell)
I think each of the items you listed is important and a challenge for us. The most important is the disputes with management.

Tue 4/13/2004 4:35 PM, wrgreens@earthlink.net (Wendy Greenstein)
C

Tue 4/13/2004 4:25 PM, jklent@ohlone.edu (Jim Klent)
Insufficient resources are by far the most challenging issue at our campus. We are fortunate at Ohlone in that academic freedom is espoused and management disputes are minimized.

Tue 4/13/2004 4:17 PM, Roche@ltcc.edu (Phil Roché)
I would say the "c" is the most challenging at my campus.

Tue 4/13/2004 4:20 PM, rmason@msjc.edu (Roy Mason)
a) Insufficient resources is our most challenging issue, followed by c) Disputes with management in a close second.

Tue 4/13/2004 4:20 PM, martinl@yosemite.cc.ca.us (Lynn Martin)
Without a doubt (a)

Tue 4/13/2004 4:14 PM, gamberj@arc.losrios.edu (John Gamber)
Insufficient resources

 

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