A win in Senate! Faculty keep the power they are due.

Update Tuesday January 29, 2020:

Yesterday, Senate approved the Provost’s resolution to get rid of the cap on TCPL. But they made two very important changes to it. Deans must (formerly “may”) consult with faculty on faculty composition, and Senate will retain approval rights over divisional decisions.

So faculty still have appropriate influence over who teaches our curriculum. Faculty kept the power they are due.

These are big wins! Yesterday’s Senate actions are a testament to what faculty can do when they are engaged, informed, and stand strong together.

There’s much to work left to do still to protect tenure and push for better salaries & working conditions for TCPL and other non-tenure-track faculty. But Miami’s Senators did great work on Monday. Here’s to shared governance in action. 

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Here is AAUP’s statement (delivered by Cathy Wagner) on the TCPL cap resolution, SR 20-08, potentially up for a vote in Senate today [has passed with amendments].

Senators:

Your decision about 20-08 today has major implications and I hope you have a rich discussion. 

I have 2 points to make, but first, as background, it’s important to clarify that this resolution does not promote divisional autonomy. It actually further centralizes decisions over faculty composition. Because the provost controls all lines, the divisions, whatever they decide, will have to take what they can get. That would be true even if shared governance at divisional levels were robust, and it’s not. If this resolution passes, faculty will no longer have real input into, or power over, faculty composition decisions.

The resolution raises 2 questions.

1. The first is the practical question of whether to revise the TCPL cap rule. Most would say yes. It’s a counterproductive, over-restrictive rule. We need to replace it with better faculty composition guidelines that protect our teacher-scholar model and work to reduce faculty precarity overall.
   
   
2. The second question is more important. It’s a philosophical question about whether faculty should have a role in deciding who teaches our curriculum.* This resolution is not as much about the TCPL cap as it is about removing faculty’s role in determining the faculty mix. The resolution takes faculty out of the picture, giving the administration total power over faculty composition. The question for you is whether that is what you want. 

The provost has asked whether you could trust him. I’d turn the question around: Can the provost not trust Senate—assuming Senate is given good data and information—to consult with constituents and make good decisions that will keep Miami sustainable and thriving?

Bottom line:
Senate has the opportunity and the power to create a resolution that transforms the TCPL rule into a better policy — WITHOUT giving up faculty’s appropriate role** in faculty composition decisions.

Change the policy, but don’t give up the power you are due.

* “The faculty has primary responsibility for such fundamental areas as curriculum, subject matter and methods of instruction, research, [and] faculty status….On these matters the power of review or final decision lodged in the governing board or delegated by it to the president should be exercised adversely only in exceptional circumstances, and for reasons communicated to the faculty. It is desirable that the faculty should, following such communication, have opportunity for further consideration and further transmittal of its views to the president or board. Budgets, personnel limitations, the time element, and the policies of other groups, bodies, and agencies having jurisdiction over the institution may set limits to realization of faculty advice.”

—National AAUP Statement on Governance of Colleges and Universities, Section 5

**Many other universities have policies that guide faculty composition in specific ways with faculty involvement at university level—including U Penn and William & Mary, the schools the Provost has mentioned. Why not Miami? Here are some sample policies:

Penn: “Each school will set a cap for its Clinician-Educator track as a percentage of the Standing Faculty that aligns with its missions. The caps will be reviewed every five years effective July 1, 2014. The review process will begin in the schools, and it will require input from the Provost’s Office and approval of the University Faculty Senate if changes are sought. 

Adelphi: Sets max divisional percentages of full-time NTT (all categories): 15% in CAS, 20% in Education & Social Work, 70% in Nursing & Public Health. The percentages reflect the different divisions’ reliance on practicing professionals as instructors.

William & Mary: “The TTE faculty of each school will establish procedures for the recruitment, evaluation, promotion and retention of NTE faculty members. These procedures shall be submitted for approval to the Procedural Review and Personnel Policy committees.” 

Connecticut State: Part-time faculty may not exceed 20%.