SRU APSCUF

Tentative Agreement Information

2007-09-27T23:05:00.001-04:00

Tentative Agreement Contract Language

Side Letters: 2003 Promotion Side Letter; Seven Percent Cap Side Letter; Distance Education Side Letter; Grant Funded Position Side Letter; McGuire Memo Side Letter; Regular Part-time Faculty Side Letter

Tentative Voting Schedule

Monday, October 1
9:00 AM – 3:30 PM APSCUF Office

Tuesday, October 2
9:00 AM – 11:15 AM APSCUF Office
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM University Club
1:45 PM – 3:30 PM Vincent Lobby

Wednesday, October 3
9:00 AM – 11:15 AM Vincent Lobby
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM University Club
1:45 PM – 3:30 PM APSCUF Office

Absentee Ballots - Ratification Vote

2007-07-23T10:52:00.001-04:00

The ratification vote on the 2007-2011 Faculty Tentative Agreement will be taking place in the next few weeks. Ballots will be mailed to the home addresses of all faculty who are APSCUF members. If you will be away between July 30 and August 11 and wish to obtain an absentee ballot that will be mailed to your summer vacation address, please email Ty Marks at tmarks@apscuf.org with your summer vacation address by July 27, 2007. If you will be vacationing where mail receipt is not possible, please also notify Ty Marks via email by July 27, 2007. She will send you instructions on how to cast your vote.

Comment and Reply

2007-07-02T16:13:00.000-04:00

STUDENT QUESTION posted in Comments:
Why is no one concerned about us students??? who will
pay for this raise? the students. who will suffer from
a strike? the students. It doesnt make sense. Either
way students are being hurt. How many kids trying to
get into school are going to be turned away becuase
they cant afford it? More students hurt. How many
parents will have to mortgage their homes to pay for
the last year of their child's school, which is
turning into a year and a half because of the strike?
again mroe students hurt.

OUR ANSWER:

APSCUF is extremely concerned about the students, and
has been all along. Consider these factors:

The strike date was set for July 1st, rather than during a regular semester because fewer students will be affected
Chancellor Hample refused to include even a slight increase in faculty salaries in her budget request to the state legislature
The faculty workload, salary, and benefits package has deteriorated so that it is now difficult to recruit highly qualified faculty. This must be reversed to assure students they have qualified professors

The state's appropriation for supporting public higher education has been cut almost in half over recent years. That is the primary reason tuition has increased. Statistical analysis shows that tuition is not closely tied to teachers' salaries
State leaders do not consider higher education a significant priority. Otherwise, we would not have the low salaries and high tuition that have brought us to this point.
Finally, financial aid offices are willing to work with students and their parents to ensure that students complete their educations. Then contact President Smith and Provost Williams’ offices to ask them what to do in your difficult situation.

You may ask administrators what their raises have been. At some PASSHE universities administrative salaries have increased nearly 50%. Managers averaged more than 10% raises when faculty contracts offered 0% raises over half of the last agreement, and the current "generous" baseline offer is 7% over four years. 0%, 2%, 2%, 3%--add it up, and you get less than an administration raise in ONE YEAR, then ask who is raising your tuition.

Negotiations Update

2007-07-01T22:35:00.000-04:00

July 1 6:00 pm

The mediator in PASSHE-APSCUF negotiations has requested that APSCUF refrain from initiating any job action for the next 24 hours.

Neither side is conceding.

However, the two sides have made enough progress that cutting off talks at this point would be counter-productive.

The two sides will meet on neutral territory tomorrow.

If you are scheduled to teach Summer Session II, report to class on Monday.

Watch for additional information Monday evening.

Letter to Students and Families

2007-06-25T20:43:00.000-04:00

June 23, 2007

To Our 109,000 Students and Their Families:

Our union, the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF), is currently trying to negotiate new contracts for the 5,500 faculty and 350 coaches in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The contracts currently in effect expire on June 30, 2007.

We are fighting hard to secure fair agreements that will allow us to attract and retain well-qualified faculty and coaches at our universities. We will not sacrifice the quality education that you have come to expect. If we have to, we will strike to preserve that quality!

Last Wednesday, three students stopped at State APSCUF headquarters in Harrisburg. I was happy to welcome the students and answered their questions. The students had serious concerns about summer courses, and their local university president refused to meet with them regarding the matter. In addition, the students called the Governor’s office and their call was promptly disconnected!

The students were concerned because the PASSHE has announced that if there is a strike called and a faculty member fails to meet the first scheduled class or subsequently scheduled class of a summer course, the course will be canceled and students will receive a full refund of tuition and fees.

In many cases across the state, there are courses scheduled to end the week after a possible strike would commence. APSCUF encourages all students in this situation to request an incomplete grade so that all of their course work will not be nullified by a strike. Another avenue students can pursue is taking courses at the state’s community colleges. The PASSHE has articulation agreements in place that require the PASSHE to accept courses completed at community colleges. For a complete listing of courses that can be taken at community colleges, visit the APSCUF blog at www.apscuf.org/blog.

What can you do about the current contract situation? Tell the PASSHE and Governor Rendell what you think! Send an email message to PASSHE Chancellor Judy Hample at jhample@passhe.edu, and Governor Ed Rendell at governor@state.pa.us. Ask them to return to the table for serious negotiations with the faculty members and coaches. Your education is at stake!

For more information about the important issues, and to share your thoughts with us, visit our web site at apscuf.org/blog. You are also welcome to call us at 1-800-932-0587.

Pat Heilman, President, APSCUF

Representing the 5,500 faculty members and 350 coaches of the PASSHE

Keep Up to Date

2007-06-14T22:11:00.000-04:00

Students and interested others can learn about negotiations and post their comments on the APSCUF blog.

And a special thanks to Dawn Wolfe and others who have joined the Support Slippery Rock APSCUF facebook site.

More March Pictures

2007-05-07T11:31:00.000-04:00

Marching for a Fair Contract

2007-04-30T14:54:00.000-04:00

Faculty and supporters marched across campus on Thursday, April 26, to call attention to their call for a fair contract.

What Are You Prepared to Do?

2007-04-22T19:08:00.000-04:00

APSCUF President Jace Condravy, State of University Address, April 10 2007

Eighty-two--that’s how many days are left before the faculty and coaches contract expires. I am, as are many of you to varying degrees, preoccupied with the ticking of that clock and the status of negotiations. You might think that I would be most focused on helping the APSCUF negotiations team craft the most persuasive argument for our positions at the bargaining table; but I’m not. You might think that I would be most concerned about the team’s ability to provide unassailable logic and statistical support for our positions, but I’m not. Or you might think that I am worrying over the skill of our chief negotiator, but I’m not. Because persuasive arguments, supported by incontrovertible statistics, delivered by someone quite successful at using his skill with words to win grievance and legal cases are not what will secure for us a fair contract. So if not these, you may ask, what will? You will.

Bill Ryan, Stacey Steele, Nikki Merchant, and Joe Harry will. Elise Grabner, Brad Wilson, Don Strano, and Lori Zulauf will. Patrick Burkhardt, Paul Mullins, Carol Holland, and Nora Ambrosio will. In other words, APSCUF members and APSCUF members alone bear the responsibility for securing us a fair contract. APSCUF members who are united, determined, resolute. APSCUF members who are willing to step off the path of least resistance, APSCUF members who are willing to make short-term sacrifices for long-term gains, APSCUF members who are willing to challenge the status quo, APSCUF members who are willing to take a risk in order to maintain the quality of the education that we offer, APSCUF members who are willing to support other APSCUF members, APSCUF members who are willing to be courageous, APSCUF members who are willing to behave like union members, who have each others’ backs, especially when faced with a daunting challenge.

How good a contract APSCUF is able to secure is directly related to what its members are prepared to do. To date, APSCUF has asked only minimal evidence of solidarity from its members: sharing off-campus e-mails and phone numbers, placing an APSCUF pride card in a visible place, posing for an APSCUF poster, wearing an APSCUF button, handing out Halloween eyeballs and holiday candy canes, signing up for picket duty. But the expectation for solidarity is about to take a significant leap forward with the scheduling of a strike authorization vote later this month. I will leave it to each APSCUF member to assess where they are on the solidarity scale, but persist with the question which I will address to the APSCUF members in the audience: What are you prepared to do?

You want a contract that redresses financial losses from the last contract? A contract that recognizes the valuable and ever increasing work that we contribute to the System? What are you prepared to do?

Over a five year period management salaries have increased by 13.7 % while faculty salaries have increased by only 3.3% But the State System has offered us a 0% increase in the first year? What are you prepared to do?

Over a five year span, inflation has increased by 7.4%. During that time national average salaries for faculty have increased 2.3% over inflation. But in the State System, faculty salaries have lost 2% compared to inflation. And the State system has offered us a 0% increase in the second year. What are you prepared to do?

Over a five year span, the number of managers in the State System has increased by 16.77%, the number of students by 15.6%, but the number of faculty by only 4.45%. Management workloads are not tied so tightly to student growth, yet they have kept pace with it. The overall net effect is that management workloads are leveling or diminishing, but faculty workloads grow yearly. But the state system has offered us a 0% increase in the third year. What are you prepared to do?

Because of the rise in both the number of students and the number of temporary faculty in the System, average advisement loads over the last eleven years have increased by 16,9%. But the State System has offered us a 0% increase in the fourth year. What are you prepared to do?

Frederick Douglass said: "If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men [and women] who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its waters. Power concedes nothing without demand. It never did and it never will" (1857).

So I ask you one last time: What are you prepared to do?

The PASSHE "By the Numbers"

2007-04-22T18:51:00.000-04:00

Click the image or view President Condravy's presentation here.

Strike Authorization Vote

2007-04-17T21:16:00.000-04:00

Send a message to the State System that APSCUF members are united and support their Negotiations Team. Let your voice be heard! Vote YES to authorize the State APSCUF Executive Committee in consultation with the Negotiations Team to call a strike if negotiations reach an impasse. We need to deliver votes by 100% of our members on*:

APRIL 24: 9:30 – 12:15 p.m. Vincent Lobby
12:25 – 1:30 p.m. University Club
1:40 – 3:30 p.m. Vincent Lobby

APRIL 25: 9:30 – 11:20 a.m. Vincent Lobby
11:30 a.m. – 1:20 p.m. University Club
1:30 – 3:30 p.m. APSCUF Office

APRIL 26: 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. APSCUF Office
11:40 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. University Club
1:40 – 3:30 p.m. APSCUF Office

*Absentee ballots available in APSCUF Office now.

Did You Know?

2007-04-15T09:41:00.000-04:00

From Jered Kolbert:

Increased Number of Students & Management & Decreased Faculty in PASSHE

Did you know that since 1995, the number of students within the Pennsylvania State Systems of Higher Education (PASSHE) increased by 15.6% and the number of managers increased by 16.77%? In contrast, the number of faculty in the PASSHE only increased by 4.45%. Not only has the size of the faculty failed to keep pace with the number of students and administrators, but there is a much greater reliance upon temporary faculty, who have increased by 58.3% since 1995. The increased use of temporary faculty has required tenure-track faculty to advise more students. In 1995, tenure-track faculty advised an average 21.3 students, which increased to 24.9 by the Fall of 2006 which represents a 16.9% increase. (See chart below).

Loss of Tenure-Track Faculty in PASSHE

Did you know that the Pennsylvania State Systems of Higher Education (PASSHE) is losing quality faculty? Since 2002, 903 tenure track faculty members have departed the PASSHE. Over the same time period, only 555 new tenure track faculty have been hired. One-hundred and forty of the 555 newly-hired Tenure Track faculty members who left the PASSHE since 2002 simply resigned, and did not leave because of retirement, being denied tenure, or for being non-renewed. The net effect is a 25.23% loss ratio due to faculty resignations – a sure signal that economic reasons played a factor in their decision to leave (source: APSCUF Survey of Chapters).

Salary Increases for Management & Salary Decreases for PASSHE Faculty

Did you know that the salaries of Pennsylvania State Systems of Higher Education (PASSHE) faculty have decreased in comparison to other university systems? According to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), between 2001 and 2006 the national averages for faculty salaries increased 2.3% over inflation, and Pennsylvania state-related, private, and border public universities grew between 2.5% and 6% above inflation. In contrast, between July 2002 and July 2007, after adjusting for inflation, the salaries of management within the Pennsylvania state system increased 12.12% while the salaries for PASSHE increased a miniscule 0.17% (Source: System Sys/Pay Data). The proportion of PASSHE’s budget that is devoted to faculty payroll has substantially declined. In 1999, faculty payroll represented 41.91% of the PASSHE’s budget. By 2004, that figure had dropped to 34.23%. See chart below.

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

2007-03-23T21:29:00.000-04:00

Hmmm. A roving flock of APSCUF signs. Where will they appear next?

More Time Diaries

2007-03-22T00:49:00.000-04:00

7:15-8:00 am Travel to campus

8:00-9:00 am Check and respond to voice mail, email, etc.

9:00-10:00 am Finish prepping for class

10:00-11:00 am Class (warm-ups, motion exploration, work with students on projects)

11:00 am-12:00 pm Class (same as above)

12:00-1:00 pm Lunch in office while finishing prepping for next class

1:00-2:30 pm Class

2:30-5:00 pm Work in different office

5:00-6:30 pm Dinner in town

6:30-8:00 pm Arrive at auditorium, "Green Room" (pre-performance meeting with performers)

8:00-10:00 pm Performance

10:00-11:00 pm After performance discussion and “schmoozing”

11:00-11:45 pm Drive home

A day and a weekend in the life of a faculty member

8:00-10:00 a.m. Family time
10:00-10:30 Searched library databases for literature
related to manuscript preparing
10:30 Searched & identified textbooks for upcoming
semesters
10:45-11:15 Responded to student e-mails
11:15-12:30 Revised exercise & worksheets for class
12:30-1:30 Attended University-wide committee meeting
1:30-2:00 Lunch while doing paperwork
2:00-3:30 Created PowerPoint for Grad course
3:30-4:45 Attended union negotiations committee
meeting
4:45-6:00 Reviewed materials/lecture/exercises for
family counseling course
6:00-8:30 Taught Family Counseling course
8:30-9:30 Drove home
9:30-10:00 Family time
10:00-11:15 Responded to student and colleagues
e-mails
11:15 Sleep

Saturday
2:00-3:45 Construct presentation from notes for
evaluation faculty promotion applicants

Sunday
2:00-3:00 Created in-class assignment for supervision
course
3:00-3:30 Wrote recommendation for graduate student
3:30-4:30 Revised in-class assignment for grad course
4:30-9:00 Family time
9:00-9:30 Created list of requested library purchases
for the department
9:30-10:00 Edited program’s checklist of milestones
within master’s program
10:00-10:30 Posted various forms/resources to
Blackboard for supervision course
10:30-10:45 Responded to student e-mails
10:45-11:30 Corresponded with colleague on writing new
manuscript
11:30 Sleep

What Does A Librarian Do All Day?

7:30-9:00 am Attend President's Strategic Planning Committee meeting. Also scheduled for another meeting from 8:30-10:00, can't make it.

9:00-10:00 am Answer emails, phone calls, consult with staff member on issues in department.

10:00-12:00 pm Participate in online workshop on integrating web 2.0 tools into library web pages.

12:00-1:30 pm Go home, eat lunch, talk to husband, organize papers, books, etc. for evening work at reference desk.

1:30-4:00 pm Work on personnel and library review reports in office, answer student and faculty questions via email, phone, and face-to-face. Organize material orders for academic departments. Sort scholarship applications, prepare folders for review, call for missing recommendations.

4:00-4:30 pm Dinner in office.

4:30-9:00 pm Work reference desk. Answer questions on research, computer help, general information for students, faculty, community members by phone, email, instant message and face-to-face. Continue working on reports, purchases, and scholarship applications in between questions. Review list of missing reference books and determine what should be re-ordered. Ask young woman to quit sitting on the table in the reading room and to please lower her voice. Working on new library web site.

9:30-11:30 pm Go home, sit in vegetative state and stare at television set, eat cheese and drink iced tea.

11:30-1:30 am Work on union web page, blog. Prepare class materials for online course.

1:30-2:00 am Stare in mirror and wonder why circles under eyes are so dark. Read.

Days in the Lives of Slippery Rock Faculty Members

2007-03-13T23:12:00.000-04:00

APSCUF faculty work hard at their jobs and we want you to know what we do, and when we do it. And, perhaps most importantly, we also want you to know that we love what we do—working with students, in classrooms, in laboratories, via email, and in our offices is tiring, but rewarding work.

Sometimes people—managers, students, and community members—wonder how faculty members at Slippery Rock University spend their days. This curiosity is perhaps the result of seeing faculty members stopping by the grocery store or hardware store at odd times of the day, or of seeing faculty members driving to work well before classes begin for the day, or arriving home late at night when most people have been home for many hours.

Some people believe that because our contract obligates us to 17 ½ hours of in-class/in-office work each week there is no other work done outside of that 17 ½ hours. Not so. Take a look at the Time Diaries of the faculty members below and you’ll likely wonder at the lack of meals, family time, and just plain old down time.

Time Diary, Faculty Member #1—

6:30-7:45 a.m.—Exercised at gym

8:00-8:30 a.m.—Got children off to school

8:30-9:15 a.m.—Met with Slippery Rock elementary and middle school principals

regarding upcoming Kaleidoscope Arts Festival

9:30-11:30 a.m.—Attended E-portfolio session

11:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.—Had lunch while meeting with two faculty members to discuss E-portfolio session

12:30-1:30 p.m.—Answered phone calls and e-mail

1:30-2:00 p.m.—Attended Rehearsal #1

2:00-2:30 p.m.—Attended Rehearsal #2

2:30-3:00 p.m.—Attended Rehearsal #3

3:00-4:30 p.m.—Met with faculty to discuss curriculum issues

5:00-6:00 p.m.—Attended Mentoring Dinner (had to leave early to attend next event)

6:15-7:30 p.m.—Attended the Slippery Rock Business Association meeting to discuss upcoming Kaleidoscope Arts festival

7:45-8:30 p.m.—Helped get children ready for bed

8:30-11:30 p.m.—Graded 21 essay tests

Time Diary, Faculty Member #2—

5:30-7:00 a.m.—Woke up, worked around house, breakfast, etc.

7:15-7:30 a.m.—Drove to school

7:30-7:45 a.m.—Photocopied handouts, printed new Power Point lecture.

7:45-8:00 a.m.—Set up for class (test computer, projector, etc.)

8:00-9:00 a.m.—Class (talk with students after class)

9:00-9:15 a.m.—Prep materials for a test of a new lab exercise

9:15-10:00 a.m.—Met with students about homework assignment

10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.—Office hours, worked with student on independent study project, discussed writing an honor’s contract for a course this semester, worked on Power Point for next day, wrote up instructions for lab procedures

12:00-12:15 p.m.—Ate lunch at desk

12:15-12:25 p.m.—Walked to APSCUF meeting across campus

12:30-1:30 p.m.—APSCUF meeting

1:30-1:40 p.m.—Walked back to office

1:45-2:00 p.m.—Collected materials (and prepared) for a classroom observation

2:00-2:50 p.m.—Observed a colleague’s class for a peer evaluation

3:00-4:15 p.m.—Worked with a colleague, trying out a new procedure for next day’s lab

4:15-5:00 p.m.—Set up digital microscope, laptop and borrowed project for use in next day’s lab

5:00-5:30 p.m.—Prepped cells for next day’s lab

5:30 p.m.—Left for home

5:45-6:15 p.m.—Read the mail, fed the cat, watched a bit of the news and the weather

6:15-8:30 p.m.—Dinner out with friends

8:30-8:45 p.m.—Mom called

9:00-11:30 p.m.—Prepared lecture and lab handouts for next day’s classes

11:30 p.m.—To sleep, perchance to dream, and do it all over again tomorrow

Time Diary, Faculty Member #3—

5:00 a.m.—Alarm goes off!

5:00-7:15 a.m.—Work around the house, eat breakfast, feed cats, etc.

7:15-10:45 a.m.—At my desk. Review Ch. 4 of text for class. Open yesterday’s mail, toss junk, file, deal with piles of stuff. Finish class exercise. Write quiz. Phone rings—talk with speaker for upcoming class. Upstairs to copy materials for class. Phone rings. Student with questions. Finish class notes for lecture. Check email to answer student questions. Upstairs to search for faculty member to ask questions about assessment. Phone call. Discuss assessment question. Try to finish grading papers to return to students later in day. Colleague comes to office to ask questions about assessment. Another phone call. Planning for workshop with student club that I serve as the advisor for.

11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.—Class

12:15-12:30 p.m.—Dash to library to put book on Reserve.

12:30-1:00 p.m.—Eat lunch while recording quiz grades. Call colleague to ask questions for use in lecture.

1:00-2:00 p.m.—Trying to finish grading for another class. Cutting it close here! President of student club drops by. We make posters for club meeting and set up agenda. Phone call. Another student. Advising issue. Five minutes.

2:00-3:15 p.m.—Class

3:15-5:00 p.m.—Office hours. Record quiz grades. Return three phone calls that came in while I was in class. Answer 6 emails. Phoned potential speaker. Phoned library to ask questions about materials. Start agenda for campus group meeting.

5:00-7:30—Class (Can I fall over now, please?!)

7:45-8:30 p.m.—Meeting with student groups to discuss group projects

8:30-9:15 p.m.—Review notes for morning meeting tomorrow (7:45 a.m.) because leader of group is over the top!

9:15 p.m.—Drive home

9:30-10:15 p.m.—Acknowledge spouse. Forty-five minutes of personal time. Grab some food

10:15-11:15 p.m.—Working again. Reading chapter for next day’s class. Updating notes. Developing leadership exercise to go with lecture. (Of course, House is on TV and the cats are jumping on and off my books so this last hour isn’t really all that bad.)

11:30 p.m.—Bed, thankfully.

Time Diary, Faculty Member #4—

6:30-7:45 a.m.—Exercised at gym

8:00-8:30 a.m.—Got children off to school

9:00-10:00 a.m.—Answered phone calls and e-mail

10:30-11:30 a.m.—Met with prospective student and parents

11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.—Met with advisee (while eating lunch)

12:30-1:45 p.m.—Attended APSCUF Membership Meeting

2:00-3:15 p.m.—Taught class

3:30-4:30 p.m.—Taught a shortened class (to seniors) due to evening performance

4:45-6:10 p.m.—Picked up Child #1 and went home, did homework with Child #1 and fed her dinner. Waited for husband to return with Child #2.

6:10-10:30 p.m.—In the theatre, ran box office for performance and watched the rest of the performance.

10:30 p.m.-12:00 a.m.—Met with faculty to determine what portions of performance will be presented at regional festival. Bed, finally, at 12:40 a.m.

Time Diary, Faculty Member #5—

6:00-7:15 a.m.—Get self ready for work, children ready for school

7:15-8:00 a.m.—Drive to work

8:00-8:45 a.m.—Meetings

9:00-11:00 a.m.—Office hours—see students, if no students, grade paper, do committee work (I sit on 7 committees at both the department and university-level), prepare for class

11:00 a.m.-11:50 p.m.—Class

11:50 a.m.-12:00 p.m.—Assist students between classes

12:00-12:50 p.m.—Class

12:50-1:00 p.m.—Quick lunch in office

1:00-1:50 p.m.—Junior seminar (class)

1:50-2:00 p.m.—Assist students between classes

2:00-2:50 p.m.—Junior seminar (class)

2:50-3:00 p.m.—Assist students

3:00-3:15 p.m.—Drive home

3:15-3:45 p.m.—Homework with kids, give kids snack.

4:00-5:00 p.m.—Volunteer work—teach class at YMCA

5:00-6:15 p.m.—Prepare dinner, eat dinner

6:15-6:45 p.m.—Clean kitchen

6:45-7:45 p.m.—Homework with kids

8:00-10:00 p.m.—Grade papers, prepare for class, do laundry, get kids ready for bed, grade more papers

10:00-10:30 p.m.—Check email and respond to students and colleagues

10:30-11:30 p.m.—Grade more papers

11:30—Go to bed

Time Diary, Faculty Member #6—

6:15-7:30 a.m.—Get ready for school, fold laundry, toss in another load, wash dishes, drive to school, drop off child at high school

7:30-9:00 a.m.—Check and respond to student and colleague email. Collect phone messages. Return phone calls. Check out news headlines in preparation for day’s classes. Minor preparation for 9 o’clock class (real prep took place between 9:30 and 11:30 last night)

9:00-9:50 a.m.—Class

9:50-10:00 a.m.—Answer students’ questions after class

10:00-11:00 a.m.—Office hours—meet with students, check email, check off student assignment (reading notes), minor prep/review for next two classes

11:00-11:50 a.m.—Class

11:50 a.m.-12:00 p.m.—Talk with students after class, answer questions

12:00-12:50 p.m.—Class

12:50-1:15 p.m.—Talk with students after class, answer questions

1:15—5:30 p.m.—Grading, meet with students (no office hours but still have door open so as to be available), review Pew Forum articles in preparation for night class, finish reading for night class, type up class notes, develop a list of discussion questions, copy handouts for class, continue grading

5:30-8:00 p.m.—Class

8:00-9:00 p.m.—Meet with students about papers, also meet with student to discuss scheduling

9:00-9:15 p.m.—Drive home

9:15-10:00 p.m.—Dinner with family

10:00-11:00 p.m.—Check email, grade more papers, union work.

11:00-12:00 a.m.—Read and highlight articles for class

Time Diary, Faculty Member #7—

7:00-7:30 a.m.—Check email, respond to student enquiries

7:30-8:15 a.m.—Travel to campus

8:15-8:30 a.m.—More email in office

8:30-10:00 a.m.—Chairs’ meeting

10:00-10:30 a.m.—Open mail, review schedule, respond to phone calls, clear more email

10:30-11:00 a.m.—Meeting with graduate coordinator, strategic planning

11:00-11:30 a.m.—Meet with student regarding comprehensive exam outcome

11:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.—Respond to email

12:00-1:00 p.m.—Write up faculty evaluation

1:00-1:30 p.m.—Lunch

1:30-2:00 p.m.—Discussion with student about journal article/professional issues

2:00-2:30 p.m.—Consultation with faculty member

2:30-2:45 p.m.—Correspondence regarding research

2:45-3:30 p.m.—Professional reading

3:30-5:00 p.m.—Supervision

5:00-5:30 p.m.—Dinner

5:30-6:00 p.m.—Class preparation

6:00-8:30 p.m.—Class

8:30-9:00 p.m.—Respond to student questions

9:00-9:45 p.m.—Drive home

Did You Know?

2007-02-27T05:13:00.000-05:00

From Jered Kolbert:

Did you know that between 1996-1997 and 2006-2007 student enrollment at Slippery Rock University increased by 12.9%, the size of the administration increased by 13.3%, and yet the number of tenure-track faculty declined by 5.7% during the same time period? Information regarding the increase in student enrollment can be accessed at http://administration.sru.edu/ir/headcount/headcount.pdf.

Did you know that between 1996-1997 and 2006-2007 the number of tenure-track faculty at SRU declined by 5.7% while the number of non-tenured faculty increased by 162%?

Did you know that between 1997 and 2006, the average number of students per faculty member at SRU has increased by 10% percent?

Did you know that between the fall of 1994 and the fall of 2006, that after adjusting for inflation, the average salary of management at SRU increased 17.5%, whereas the average salary of faculty at SRU actually decreased 7.3%?

Did you know that the faculty salaries within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) are often not competitive with public school teachers in the commonwealth? In two Allegheny county school districts, a teacher with a bachelor's degree at the highest step in the salary scale makes between 18.6% and 22.8% more than a PASSHE assistant professor at the highest step, even though the vast majority of assistant professors have doctorates. Even when university faculty members are promoted to associate professor and work to the highest step, public school teachers with a bachelor's degree at the highest step still make more.

Statistics regarding the size of the administration and faculty were obtained from the table listed immediately below:

FAQ and How Can I Help?

2006-12-04T06:34:00.000-05:00

Need more information? You can find answers to many of your questions and how to help on the SRU APSCUF web page. You are also invited to post your questions here by clicking on the comments link below.

Did You Know?

2006-11-12T19:05:00.000-05:00

From Amy Walters at Legislative Assembly in Altoona:

Did you know that the PASSHE was required by law to conclude contract negotiations with APSCUF by September 4, 2006?

Did you know that APSCUF was willing to pay to make whole the 2003 promotees and PASSHE turned us down?

Did you know that private colleges in the commonwealth are getting $42 million in PHEAA grants instead of using their own endowments to help students? 38% of all PHEAA money goes to private institutions whereas only 20% goes to state system schools!

Did you know that for every $1 invested by the Commonwealth in PASSHE and the 14 universities, $10.27 is returned to the economy of PA ---for a total of $4.47 billion?
PASSHE is directly or indirectly responsible for 51,000 jobs across the commonwealth.

Trick or Treat!

2006-10-27T18:04:00.000-04:00

2006-10-26T07:29:00.000-04:00

Great posters! Beautifully done. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

The Faces of APSCUF

2006-10-24T19:15:00.000-04:00

"The Faces of APSCUF" campaign is being kicked off with the release of four posters featuring a variety of faculty members from around the SRU campus. Posters can be seen in departmental offices, on bulletin boards, and in other places on campus. Additional posters will be released in the next few weeks--so keep an eye out for new additions.

The goal of the campaign is to remind students that their professors are active members of a labor union that continues to support quality education at low cost. The SRU faculty believes that teaching is the most important part of their job. And APSCUF wants students to know that it is the time faculty spends with students each day that matters most to faculty because everyone cannot help but gain when we all engage in the learning process together. In fact, when dynamic conversation among students and professors takes place inside the classroom, in the hallways, and in a variety of organizational settings where faculty serve as mentors and advisors, learning cannot help but happen. And learning together is, at Slippery RockUniversity, like other institutions of higher education across the country and around the world, the heart of the matter.

So when you see a poster of the APSCUF faculty members who teach students day-in and day-out, remember that we are all in this together, teaching and learning, learning and teaching.