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Speaking OutGlobal Issues in Higher EducationThough most of NEA's higher education members were probably not aware of it, our interests were represented at the recent World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle. NEA is affiliated with the Education International (EI), an organization that represents education unions worldwide. In higher education, EI represents nearly 850,000 members in 78 higher education and research unions across the globe. The organization represents the interests of these higher education faculty and staff in a number of international arenas. And, in this capacity, the organization has Non-Governmental Status with UNESCO and at the WTO. Such status means EI delegates have official recognition as observers and the right to speak and serve on committees, much like the National Council for Higher Education within NEA. At the WTO talks in Seattle, our EI delegation was primed to oppose efforts by those who would open higher education to free trade, treating education like any other commodity. Lifting existing restrictions on how education is provided would mean foreign providers of education would be given the same opportunity as education providers at home. With the advent of distance education and the increasing pressures on institutions of higher education to reduce costs and increase productivity, one could easily imagine scenarios where education becomes a commodity on the international free trade market. For example, consider an unregulated environment where state governments here could contract out their public higher education instruction to institutions in other countries and save money. Thanks to a number of higher education unions from around the world---and an in-depth discussion at the EI World Conference on Higher Education in Budapest this fall---EI was well aware of the negative impact on higher education should restrictions be lifted. Aware that, where public sector functions have come under free trade agreements, privatization is the result, the organization reminded participants that education is an obligation of governments. For those interested in the role of NEA internationally, NEA now has an international relations section on the Associations Web page. EI can be found at www.ei-ie.org.
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I'd like to Say...Regarding the merit pay debate in the December Advocate, I agree with Professor McDermott that we are independent and creative thinkers working hard to get an important job done. I also agree with Professor Ellis that we do not all carry an equal or fair share of the load. I suspect a system that rewarded excellence with a one-time bonus, awarded as the result of peer review, rather than an increase in base pay awarded by distant administrators, would sit more easily with us. But, if we are stuck with a merit process, we might consider co-opting the process, to reward our own in a way that does not play us off against each other and create separate classes of faculty. Richard S. Miller Adjuncts is not an acceptable term for part-time faculty (January Advocate). We are part-time faculty, just like the folks who teach 15 units are full-time faculty. To the main question: Call it tenure. Call it seniority. Call it right of first refusal. Call it anything you please, but understand that length of service needs to be part of the equation. Tenure and its attendant difficulty of removal would be nice, but let's strive for universal seniority first. Jim Weir |
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