NCHE Summer Meeting at the RA

NCHE Summer Meeting will be held on the following dates:

MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND COOPER UNION ADJUNCTS VOTE TO JOIN NYSUT/AFT NEA/

In back-to-back elections this spring, part-time/adjunct faculty teaching at two private colleges, the Manhattan School of Music and Cooper Union, have voted to unionize. The new unions are affiliated with the New York State United Teachers/AFT/NEA.  While salaries are always a worry to people who make their living in the arts, as most of MSM and CU teachers do, of greater concern is having job security and some say in how the work is determined. At both colleges, the faculty say administrators haven't played fair with them.

Academic Freedom

In April, the outgoing Board of Trustees of the College of DuPage adopted a controversial new policy loosely based on the so-called “Academic Bill of Rights.”  This policy seriously threatens academic freedom at the college.  Both the full-time tenured/tenure track and the contingent faculty are represented by collective bargaining units affiliated with the Illinois Education Association and the National Education Association.  In March NCHE President Jim Rice had written to the Board (see March 18, 2009 letter) urging them not to do so.  Since then a new Board has been elected.  On May 4, 2009 NCHE President Jim Rice and AAUP General Secretary Gary Rhoades wrote a joint letter to the new Board (see May 4, 2009 letter) asking them to rescind the previous decision.

Montana State University-Bozeman Faculty Vote YES for Union—NEA Welcomes Newest Higher Ed Locals

The votes were counted today for two bargaining units of faculty at the last unorganized public university in Montana, MSU-Bozeman. Both the tenured/tenure-track faculty and the adjunct faculty units voted for union representation with MEA-MFT, an affiliate of NEA and AFT. This double win at a research university is a major victory for faculty decision-making not only in Montana but nationwide. MEA-MFT President Eric Feaver noted, "All Montana public college and university faculty are now MEA-MFT. No exceptions. All of us here at MEA-MFT are excited and proud of our new members."

Here's what union supporters at MSU-Bozeman have to say ...

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Impact on Higher Education

Check on how the new economic recovery bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) affects higher education institutions, students, faculty and staff.  See the power-point (4MB) from the March 17, 2009 webinar by NEA’s Education Policy and Practice Director, Joel Packer below.

Advocate Online:

Unified Learning

Each class we teach should have its own organizing principle that students fully understand and that is connected to the overall purpose of the course in a way that students also see clearly. Sound like a difficult challenge? It isn't, say the authors of this issue's Thriving in Academe. Their method is called C.R.I.S.P.?Contextualize. Review. Iterate. Summarize. Preview. Easy to remember. Easy to do.

Contingent Action Plan

The report, "The NEA and Contingent Academic Workers in Higher Education: NBI 2004-60 Action Plan" ( 217k, 46 pp) is a comprehensive plan of action developed "to secure for contingent academic workers throughout public higher education the rights, benefits and protections that full-time tenure track workers currently enjoy." The elements of the plan include recommendations for research, organizing, political advocacy, collective bargaining, leadership development and capacity building, and communications. For more information, contact highered@nea.org or call 202-822-7162.

Free Exchange Legislation Tracker

Stay informed about legislation in your state that affects academic freedom and intellectual diversity. Check out legislation tracker on the Free Exchange on Campus web site. A quick scan of this table reveals largely unsuccessful campaigns to pass legislation in 2005-06.