BGSU Fires 73 Faculty;Offers "Boot Camp" to Those Who Remain

[professorjackson]

After reducing the faculty by 73, the university is offering "boot camp" for faculty teaching huge classes.

http://www.bgsu.edu/ctl/CTL_Whats_New/page133746.html

[Flipper]

At first I thought it said "Booty Camp". I figured, hell yeah...sign me up for that.

[professorjackson]

I wish...

[footballguy51]

They didn't fire 73 faculty. Contracts were not renewed, and retiring faculty were not replaced. There is a difference.

As for the boot camp to help faculty teach larger classes, I laughed when I first got the email announcement. I saw the boot camp almost as a reaction of, "uh oh, we now have to get the remaining faculty prepared to teach in the scenarios we stuck them in." This entire thing is somewhat of a joke.

[Tech83]

What's wrong with offering a seminar for faculty who teach large lecture hall classes. Seems very pro-active to me. I wish the college I taught at back in the 90's had offered such progressive seminars. And it seems to be open to any one teaching in such an environment, not just BGSU faculty.

They didn't fire 73 faculty. Contracts were not renewed, and retiring faculty were not replaced. There is a difference.

Huge difference.

BTW - There was an article in the Sunday Dayton Daily. (I don't think I can link it).
http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/n ... are/nYwWw/

But basically -

"In 35 years — roughly a generation — college tuition has risen by 1,120 percent, according to national statistics. That is nearly twice the percentage increase for medical expenses (601 percent) and more than four times the increase for food (244 percent), according to a comparison by Bloomberg."

"Annual inflation over this period was 3.81 percent, meaning the 1978 tuition rate was the equivalent of $3,604 in 2013, or less than the cost today of a single semester."

"About 80 percent of the school’s budget goes toward wages and benefits"

[professorjackson]

Fired/non-renewed...either way there are 73 fewer faculty members now than before. That's bad for the education of students. Fewer course offerings, bigger classes. The university should at least stop bragging about its low student:faculty ratio while actively destroying it. The admissions website says we have 900 full-time faculty. That's wrong, false advertising.

Also, regarding the cost of higher education: BGSU faculty salaries make up between 1/6th and 1/5th of BGSU's budget.

[mscarn]

Do proponents of education usually bemoan the opportunity to teach more students?

It sounds like the lifestyle of the salt-miner (excuse me, tenured college professor) has been downgraded all the way from Club Med to Sandals.

If anyone should be complaining it's the GA's who'll have to grade more work product from the unwashed masses while the good doctors philosophiae tend to their research that 8 people will eventually read.

[transfer2BGSU]

Fired/non-renewed...either way there are 73 fewer faculty members now than before. That's bad for the education of students. Fewer course offerings, bigger classes. The university should at least stop bragging about its low student:faculty ratio while actively destroying it. The admissions website says we have 900 full-time faculty. That's wrong, false advertising.

Also, regarding the cost of higher education: BGSU faculty salaries make up between 1/6th and 1/5th of BGSU's budget.

Funny, it looks correct to me

20:1 student to faculty ratio

More than 800 full-time faculty, nearly 80 percent with the highest degree in their field

http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/mc/page105440.html


I started at http://choose.bgsu.edu/welcome/?freshman

Under "BGSU at a Glance", I selected "Facts" and saw the above


I don't think it's false advertising. Now I would say it's outright blatant LYING that 73 faculty were fired by the university. The same outright blatant LYING that was occurring in the spring semester trying to scare the hell out of the students that more than 100 faculty were being fired.

[professorjackson]

Quoting the Provost's public statement that the administration would like to reduce the faculty by 100 is lying? Curious definition of that term.

It says 900 here. http://choose.bgsu.edu/about/

It's incredibly disingenuous of the university to tout small class sizes when their policies are designed to make them larger.

[professorjackson]

The activism of BGSU's dedicated faculty almost certainly reined in the administration's plans to decimate the faculty further. We're standing up for the quality and value of a BGSU education. You should stand with us.

[transfer2BGSU]

Sorry Dr. Jackson but I am having a hard time with the math.

If we are down 73 faculty members and each one taught a 4/4 course load, I come up with 292 sections each semester that are not being taught by these faculty members (being generous). If we still have more than 800 faculty, how can we not make up that number of sections with our remaining faculty? Is every faculty member already teaching a 4/4 course load? I understand the need for release time for research, publishing, and different committee responsibilities. But surely 800 remaining faculty can fill the teaching void of 73 retired or non-renewed individuals.

And it is not just the faculty that saw a reduction in numbers. I had colleagues who were released on July 1 when their contracts were not renewed. They have not been replaced and their duties have been distributed to others with no increase in pay.

I believe in a quality BGSU education. I started a scholarship to honor my parents for the sacrifice they gave for me to be able to attend the university. I not only dedicated a life insurance policy for that scholarship but also make monthly deposits into the foundation account so it can be awarded now to a current student.

I would not be working for the university if I did not believe in what we are doing. These are tough times financially for the students that attend. I just believe scare tactics were used on the students in regards to the reduction in the number of faculty and how they would be affected. On this, we are going to disagree.

[mscarn]

transfer is spot on.

The activists speak as if they are the only entity on campus that either cares about education or is burdened financially. They got their shiny new contract and still cannot help but complain. How about this:

-Did they ever offer to NOT TAKE A PAY RAISE in exchange for preserving the jobs of those faculty members they now trot out as martyrs?

-Did they ever think that the lawyers fees paid by the university to combat the frivilous litigation initiated by the FA might have gone towards the salaries of those very same faculty members?

-Are the above two reasons why you couldn't even get a majority of the overall faculty to support joining the AAUP in the first place? (48% when you factor in those who didn't bother to vote)

What is your end game, professor? Gut the university of every service to pay you folks even more? Admissions, athletics, buildings and grounds, what's next?

[professorjackson]

Of course we can make up the missing sections with bigger classes, fewer classes, or, most likely, both. I just think it's a bad idea: smaller classes increase the likelihood students will make individual contact with professors, which increases the likelihood they will be retained, which helps us with the new state-funding formula. Not all students hate/resent professors, as some loud voices here do. Voices who apparently think we make A LOT more money than we do. Remember, total faculty salaries, including benefits, make up about 1/5th of BGSU's total budget -- maybe 1/4th on a good day. You can look up what I make here. http://www.toledobladedata.com/caspio/ First name's David.

I believe in BGSU too. I believe in educating our kind of students. I know the positive difference it makes in their lives, and the lives of future generations. Last fall I marked the 20th anniversary of my first commitment to BGSU: the start of my MA. I've been teaching here full-time since 1998, and have no intention of going anywhere else.

A few weeks ago I re-upped my Falcon Club membership. Maybe we can all share a beer on 8-29. Hopefully we keep it within 56.

[mscarn]

Not all students hate/resent professors, as some loud voices here do. Voices who apparently think we make A LOT more money than we do.

Is the written word audible?

No hate here, but definitely some resentment for those who prioritized their pay raises over their own colleagues jobs and other elements of the university that enhance student life and still assume the posture of an aggrieved party.

[Class of 61]

Guys,
As a retired guidance counselor who worked in public schools (Garfield Hts. and Mayfield) for nearly 40 yrs., you guys sound incredibily like the "old folks" in those communities who constantly bitched about how much teachers made, how they couldn't afford more taxes etc. Seems like you've gotten off to an early start in this area.

I'll be honest, if Prof. Jackson made 60 G's, it IS way below what I thought a college prof. made. If that sounds like a lot of money to you, (and it's not chump change), just remember how much $$$ went into investing in these folks education to that they could go on to this level... getting M.Ed.'s, PH'd's etc. AIN"T cheap.