NEIUPI

Here’s a copy of the agreement between union and administration about summer office hours for those of us teaching during the summer. Summer advisement is an assigned activity…if you receive this assignment then you must post hours during which you will be available to meet with students for the purposes of advisement.

Only a few Teaching Professionals receive a summer advising assignment and in those programs/departments who do not have an assigned advisor for summer those activities fall to the chair or coordinator (if assigned).

Summer Office Hours

During Summer IA and II, office hours shall be as follows: Faculty assigned nine credit units or more shall hold four office hours each week. An assignment of 6-8 credit units shall be accompanied by three office hours each week while a faculty assigned 3-5 credit units hall schedule 1 ½ hours each week. During Summer IB, office hours shall be as follows: Faculty assigned nine credit units or more shall hold three office hours each week. An assignment of 6-8 credit hours shall be accompanied by two office hours each week while a faulcty assigned 3-5 credit units shall schedule 1 ½ hours each week.

Here’s a interesting piece from Inside Higher Ed comparing unionized and non unionized campuses…there’s some discussion of shared governance on a unionized campus.

Ask the Administrator: Adjusting to a Union Shop

By Dean Dad May 19, 2010 9:32 pm

A newish dean at a new institution writes:

Adding to the coming in from the ‘outside’ pressure is the fact that the faculty have a union. When a colleague tried to begin an assessment program to meet the [agency] accrediting revisions, the faculty union point man and union pooh-poohed the measure. As of now, the assessment process consists of an open-ended “how do you assess student learning” question for each faculty member. It’s my new job to get things where they need to be–identify, measure, report, use, repeat.

In [previous state] we had neither a union no shared governance. How do I balance the needs of the faculty with the needs of the institution? I don’t know if you care to turn this into a column, but a word from the wise would be most appreciated.

Managing in a union environment is very different from managing in a non-union environment. (I’ve done both.) From this side of the desk, the clear disadvantage to a union shop is that you have a structural antagonist with material incentives to make your life difficult from time to time. Even if you’re doing well, union leadership has to draw the occasional blood just to keep winning elections. This means that there’s a certain level of conflict that will never go away. It’s the price of admission.

Read more at Inside Higher Ed

The UPI team met with the administration today. Our lead negotiator, Jamie Daniel, and the administration’s Elliott Lessen signed a tentative agreement on Article 18: Leave without Salary. Early in the session, the administration passed a counter proposal on Article 22: Status Statement (Teaching and Resource Professionals) and we passed revised language on a sick leave bank (Article 19: Compensable Fringe Benefits).

Following a brief discussion of the materials passed, the teams separated and caucused. The UPI team reviewed the counter proposal for Article 22, asked for some clarification and it appears that we are very close to agreement. The administration team incorporated the revised sick leave language into their counter proposal to the UPI proposal for Article 19 that was passed to the administration in April. After an extended caucus, the administration returned with a response the the UPI proposal for Article 19. The administration rejected the proposed language for maternity/parental leave and made some minor edits to the sick leave bank. For the most part, the rest of the language in Article 19 remains intact from the current contract.

At our last negotiating session on May 4, the UPI observed that only 6 more sessions were scheduled and proposed the addition of more sessions from a list of 30 dates in June and July including Saturdays. Today, we learned that the administration team would only be able to meet on 3 of the dates from the 30 offered. Eight sessions are scheduled through the end of July.

So, if you are keeping track of our progress today, that’s one article TAed (18), one article really close (22), and one with more work required (19). What major issues remain? Intellectual Property, Workload, Evaluation, Promotion, Sanctions & Terminations, Program Need and Compensation.

If you watched the Frontline program on for profit colleges, this is an interesting development… From today’s Chronicle.

Duncan Says For-Profit Colleges Are Important to Obama’s 2020 Goal

By Andrea Fuller
Washington

Arne Duncan, the secretary of education, expressed support on Tuesday for the role that for-profit colleges play in higher education at a policy forum here held by DeVry University.

For-profit institutions have come under fire recently for their low graduation rates and high levels of student debt. A Frontline documentary last week focused on the for-profit sector, and a speech by Robert Shireman, a top Education Department official, was initially reported as highly critical of for-profit colleges, even though a transcript of Mr. Shireman’s remarks showed that he actually spoke more temperately.

Read more at the Chronicle…

In case you missed it, the state senate passed a budget during a late night session. And it appears that there’s more quick actions planned for today….remember how quickly the legislators changed pension benefits for future employees.

Here’s an alert from the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), the state organization for the UPI.

This is an urgent Action Alert for all members of the Responsible Budget Coalition. (The IFT is a lead partner in the RBC coalition.)

The so-called “Emergency Budget Act” will be voted on TODAY in the Illinois General Assembly.
Please call your legislators NOW! Dial 800/719-3020 and follow the prompts to be connected to your legislator.
Tell them to VOTE NO on the Emergency Budget Act (House amendment 3 to Senate Bill 3660).
The Emergency Budget Act, if passed, would give Governor Pat Quinn broad powers to:
• skip paying the state’s required contribution to its pension funds; and
• place reserves on any state appropriation — in effect forcing cuts — including to the Common School Fund, funding for state universities and colleges, or any state agency, grantee or program.
Call 800/719-3020 now. It is urgent that legislators hear from us.

Tell them to VOTE NO on the Emergency Budget Act (House Amendment 3 to Senate Bill 3660).
Please share this RBC Action Alert right away with fellow union members, friends and families.
Thank you for your quick action on this important issue.