FAC newsletter may 2012 - UMUC

Faculty Advisory Council (FAC) News
January - April 2012
We, the 18-member Faculty Advisory Council (FAC), continue to represent faculty as the university
undergoes personnel, and administrative changes. We have a page on UMUC web site
http://www.umuc.edu/faculty/council/ and can be contacted individually (see below) or via
FAC@umuc.edu
The Acting President of UMUC, Javier Miyares, values open and transparent communication. He
participated in his first teleconference with FAC in April and will continue these monthly teleconferences
with FAC and the other shared governance councils. He encourages questions be sent to
AskJavier@umuc.edu
Under his leadership we have already been able to achieve our primary objective -- to have direct lines
of communication to reach all UMUC faculty via email.
So, in this email we have included several sections as follows:
I. Shared Governance: What is It? - A Primer
II. FAC 2012: Events and FAC Initiatives since 2011
III. Calling All Adjuncts: The New “Meet and Confer” Policy
IV. Highlights of Comments from Fall 2011 Faculty Forum on SEGUE (8 week changes)
V. Highlights of Asia Faculty 2012 Survey
Setting the Stage:
“As many of you know, UMUC is going through a period of unprecedented introspection. Some of
it is transparent, some is not. Within its limited authorities, FAC has been engaged with the
administration and expects this dialog to increase with time. From a faculty perspective, the
changes that may be forthcoming present opportunities for the voice of the faculty to be heard,
and FAC continues to be the conduit for that communication. The new initiative from the
Chancellor, "Meet and Confer," is one such change, and the direction and shape of this concept
within UMUC will be influenced completely by the faculty. Other programs, such as SEGUE and
CBT, are being reviewed by the administration, with faculty input, and FAC continues to be the
primary channel for faculty commentary. In the past year, significant inroads were made with
respect to adjunct status and pay, and FAC expects to continue these improvements in
partnership with the provost. We need your involvement, and ask that you share your ideas
directly with us. We continue to explore with the administration mechanisms that will facilitate
communication between FAC and faculty, and we remain optimistic that such communication
channels will eventually be made available. In the meantime, you may send your thoughts
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directly to FAC or to any of the elected members. There are many opportunities for faculty to
increase its involvement with the administration, both within the shared governance provisions
of the FAC constitution as well as the stated intentions of the president and provost for such
partnership. FAC strongly encourages each of you to join with us as together we continue to
improve our university.”
By Pete Minetree, Adjunct Professor, History
Part I: Shared Governance: What is It? -- A Primer
Since 2001, UMUC has operated under a system of “shared governance” between administration and
elected faculty, staff, and student advisory councils in accordance with University System of Maryland
(USM) policies.
The Faculty Advisory Council communicates faculty interests and concerns to the provost and other
administrators. UMUC is required to meet and consult with FAC on academic, personnel, administrative,
and other matters of interest to faculty. To date, despite continuous efforts by FAC, UMUC
administration has not fully complied with this requirement. However, this appears to be changing with
via the leadership of Acting President, Miyares.
Elections are held each Fall for the each of the Advisory Councils. FAC has 18 members who are elected
for two-year terms and can serve no more than three terms (six years). The chair and vice chair of FAC
currently meet with the president each month.
2012 FAC representatives (and the executive committee members as noted) are:
UMUC–Adelphi/The Undergraduate School
• Margaret L. Cohen
• Margo Coleman-Seiffert
UMUC–Adelphi/The Graduate School
• Susan Malone
• Theodore Stone (FAC chair)
UMUC–Asia
• Christopher Melley (FAC secretary)
• David Ramsey
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UMUC–Europe
• Richard Fry
• William Henderson
Librarian
Adjunct
• Stephen Miller
• Jane Burman-Holtom (Executive Committee member-at-large)
• John Galliano
• Heather Hartel
• David Hershfield
• Peter Minetree
• Eric Ramon
At-Large
• Gayle Fisher-Stewart
• Richard Pauli (FAC vice chair)
• Benjamin Williams
Ex Officio (non-voting member appointed by the provost)
• Marcia Watson
The University Advisory Council (UAC) has 12 members, four from each of the faculty, staff, and student
advisory councils. Members are elected by their respective council for a one year term and can be
reelected for up to three terms. Traditionally, a member of FAC serves as the chair of UAC. The chair,
and vice chair of UAC, meet with the UMUC president each month.
UAC 2012 Faculty representatives are:
• Jane Burman-Holtom
• Margo Coleman-Seiffert (UAC chair)
• Richard Fry (UAC vice chair)
• Theodore Stone
Face-to-Face Meetings are held in Adelphi in January and August
The Faculty Advisory Council (FAC) meets in early January in Adelphi for three days for new member to
get acquainted, to elect members to UAC, and most importantly to discuss matters of importance to
faculty. The meeting typically includes presentations on planned policy and other changes by top-level
UMUC administrators, including the President and Provost. In August, FAC meets for one or two days,
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including a one-day Policy Institute where all shared governance advisory councils come together for
reports from Administration on initiatives and events that administration has planned.
Virtual Meetings throughout the Year
FAC meets throughout the year, via Wimba (and possibly WebEx in the future). The Executive
Committee meets and sets the agenda for the monthly meeting, and additional meetings are scheduled
with invited guests, or as issues arise. Acting President Javier Miyares attends monthly.
FAC Representation on University Committees
FAC Members serve on a number of important UMUC Committees. It is hoped that FAC will achieve
participation at the discussion and planning stages so there will be greater faculty input into initiatives
and policies before they are finalized and implemented. Below is a partial list of committees and the FAC
members who are serving. If you have a specific suggestion, or comment for a specific committee,
please contact the representatives as shown below.
COMMITTEE FAC REPRESENTATIVE
Academic Technology Steering Committee Theo Stone
Curriculum Committee for the Undergraduate School Gayle Fisher-Stewart
Graduate Council Rich Pauli
University Emeritus Nominations Review Committee David Ramsey
University Faculty Research Grant Initiative Committee Theo Stone
Student Success Committee for the Undergraduate School John Galliano
SEGUE Outcomes Research Committee
Margo Coleman-Seiffert
Academic Integrity
Gayle Fisher-Stewart
Authentication Software Committee Susan Malone
Learning Management System Committee Theo Stone, Susan Malone
Meet and Confer UMUC Implementation Work Group David Hershfield
CUSF Maggie Cohen
CUSF Betty Jo Mayeske (ex-FAC)
CUSF David Hershfield
Additional appointments are likely as FAC continues to seek greater input. Future plans also include
expanding committee membership to interested faculty who are not part of FAC, and obtaining stipends
for adjunct faculty who may want to serve on a committee, but cannot afford to do so without
compensation.
The Council of University System Faculty (CUSF)
The CUSF is made up of elected representatives from all 13 institutions of the University System of
Maryland (USM), and is the advisory body to the Chancellor. The Chancellor oversees the university
presidents, and the Board of Regents oversees the work of the Chancellor. In accordance with election
rules and qualifications decided upon by UMUC faculty in the Provost’s Fall 2011 referendum, two
representatives were elected for three year terms to CUSF. They are Betty-Jo Mayeske, Adjunct
Professor for Ancient History, term-limited former FAC representative who was re-elected, and Joyce
Henderson, Collegiate Professor (9 month NOL) for Human Resources Management. They join Maggie
Cohen, Collegiate Professor for Business Ethics and Employment law, and an Alternate Delegate, David
Hershfield, Adjunct Professor for Economics.
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Contacting FAC
Email: If a faculty member has a comment, complaint, suggestion or question, he or she can send an email
to fac@umuc.edu Individual FAC representatives may be contacted through their UMUC email
addresses (see above, or on the web page).
UMUC web site page: FAC also has a page on the UMUC web site which includes the Bylaws,
Constitution, Resolutions, prior Newsletters, and other information of interest:
http://www.umuc.edu/faculty/council/index.cfm
Facebook: Follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/UMUC-Faculty-
Network/332219823469947
Part II: FAC 2012: Events and Initiatives since 2011
FAC priorities for 2012
The following priorities were identified as of greatest importance for FAC in 2012
Priority Issue
1 Having direct communication with faculty (via newsletter, e-mail, etc.).
2 Proctored exams (with a strong desire to retain for at least some courses).
3 Academic integrity (with concerns about some recent changes to the curriculum, and
authentication of student work: Is Mickey Mouse doing Donald Duck’s work?).
4 Morale and stress – particularly for faculty teaching eight-week terms.
FAC members are working on all four issues – and more. Communications issues are being addressed,
in part by what we hope will be, monthly newsletters, and FAC news bulletins that will be issued as
needed. The Acting President has agreed to set up a process whereby the chair of FAC can access the
faculty email list without third party editing. Direct access to faculty, our constituents, would be a major
accomplishment for FAC that is long overdue.
Proctored exams to continue in Europe and Asia until Fall 2013
FAC representatives from Italy, Bill Henderson, and Germany, Richard Fry, recently discussed proctored
exams with Allan Berg, head of the European and Asian Divisions. Berg agreed to allow proctored exams
to continue until at least Fall 2013 in both Europe and Asia. He said he will let instructors decide if they
want proctored exams or another form of assessment. However, proctored exams will not be
administered or offered stateside. In the meantime, there is a search under way for a secure method for
identifying students such as Axiom biometrics. Faculty have expressed concern that it is currently not
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possible to determine if students who have registered for courses are those actually participating and
submitting work.
Highlights of Fall FAC Forum comments discussed with key administrators
In December 2011, FAC representative Jane Burman-Holtom led three WebTycho classrooms in an
online forum on eight-week terms and the curriculum changes brought about by SEGUE. More than 350
faculty members registered, and more than half of them posted at least one comment.
Highlights of faculty comments made during the forum were summarized in a PowerPoint presentation by
Susan Malone, and Jane and Susan co-presented the results to FAC members at the f2f meeting in
January. Some of the most significant points were later reiterated in a teleconference with key
administrators including Marie Cini and Cynthia Davis. The Powerpoint presentation has been shared
with Acting President Javier Miyares, the provost, other administrators, and all FAC representatives.
More information on the results of the forum can be read in Part IV of this report.
“Meet and confer” policy under consideration
The University System of Maryland Chancellor, Brit Kirwan, and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley,
have asked all state institutions of higher education to consider “meet and confer” as a way for adjunct
faculty members to have their voices heard by administration. This is somewhat of a compromise
between our current form of representation (shared governance) and union representation (which is not
currently allowed). It is believed that “meet and confer” would work in tandem with shared governance.
However, the details of what “meet and confer” would mean at UMUC have not been finalized
In March, UMUC CUSF representatives Betty Jo Mayeske and Maggie Cohen attended hearings in
Annapolis on this issue, and Provost Greg von Lehman testified. Theo Stone met with the chancellor and
vice chancellor (Irv Goldstein) at a chairs council meeting to discuss “meet and confer”.
On April 13, FAC elected David Hershfield (an adjunct in business administration with a background in
labor relations) to serve on a UMUC “meet and confer” implementation workgroup. Ultimately the decision
will rest with the adjunct faculty who must decide if “meet and confer” is an attractive option.
More information on this initiative can be read in Part III of this report.
Search committee for new president
The University System of Maryland Board of Regents and Chancellor will establish a search committee to
find a new, permanent president for UMUC. Theo Stone, FAC chair, has requested that a FAC
representative serve on the search committee. This process is postponed indefinitely. At the April 9 Town
Hall Meeting in Adelphi (attended primarily by staff and administration) Acting President Javier Miyares
indicated that UMUC could not attract top notch candidates at this time, and that a search would have to
wait for the bad press UMUC was receiving to lessen, and after any Congressional Hearings.
LMS selection process continues to move forward
As announced last year, UMUC is planning to replace WebTycho with another learning management
system (LMS).
The shared governance representatives on the LMS committee are Theo Stone and Susan Malone.
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Introducing the new director of CTL and a new concept to replace the faculty Summer
Leadership Institute
On February 6, Kim Stott began as UMUC’s executive director for the Center for Teaching and Learning
(CTL). She previously worked as vice president for organizational effectiveness at Drexel University
College of Medicine. She holds an Ed.D. in educational leadership and workforce training from the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Stott is piloting an online approach to replace the Summer Leadership Institute (last offered to all faculty
in 2009).
Both Bill Kerr (a former FAC representative) and FAC representative Jane Burman-Holtom were part of
the search committee for this important position.
ATSC moving forward with initiatives
The Academic Technology Steering Committee (ATSC) acts as a bridge between Academic Affairs and
Information Technology and is working on several initiatives.
One such project is the formation of an Academic Technology department. This department could
experiment with new technologies and perform “applied” IT work. Pete Young, chief information officer,
and Mike Brown, an assistant vice president in IT, are working out the details. The ATSC is handling the
transition from Webmail to Gmail. E-mail addresses will change to firstname.lastname@umuc.edu,
however. Webmail addresses will also be retained indefinitely. Students and faculty assistants will also
receive UMUC email accounts. Shared governance is represented on the Academic Technology Steering
Committee by Theo Stone.
Adjunct teaching limits
The Faculty Advisory Council presented a resolution on September 2, 2011, to ask the provost to change
the 15-credit annual teaching limit for adjuncts to 18 credits. This limit has been particularly problematic
for adjuncts who teach six-credit courses in The Graduate School (TGS), because they are limited to
teaching just two such courses per academic year. Rich Pauli has been working with both the provost and
GS Dean Bob Goodwin this year and a resolution is expected to be announced this summer.
Asian Division faculty survey
The Asian faculty survey committee, including FAC representative Christopher Melley, who teaches in
Okinawa, Japan, sent out a questionnaire in February 2012 to all who teach in the Asian Division. (FAC
unanimously voted in favor of supporting a survey of Asian faculty, but FAC was not involved in the
design or implementation.) 69% of the faculty responded to areas of concern including SEGUE and
academics, shared governance, leadership, and CAX
See Part V for highlights of the Asia Faculty Survey 2012 Results
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FAC asks to have job openings publicized within departments
In Spring of 2011, the Faculty Advisory Council passed a resolution asking that department chairs be
required to let everyone in the department know (via e-mail) if there are any job openings. This would
make it easier to apply and/or to forward job openings to others who might be interested in applying. FAC
is awaiting implementation of this formal policy.
New guidelines for promotion and ranking of librarians
UMUC employs nineteen librarians in Information & Library Services (ILS), who hold faculty rank under
University System of Maryland and UMUC policy. The ranks of librarian faculty – Librarian I, II, III, IV –
correspond to the collegiate and adjunct faculty ranks of Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate
Professor, and Professor. The library faculty and the Provost recently revised the guidelines and criteria
for promotion and permanent status for faculty librarians. The new guidelines provide further clarification
and operationalize the provisions of USM and UMUC policies for faculty, with activities related to
librarianship, service, and creative/scholarly accomplishments being considered in promotion and
permanent status decisions. ILS is pleased to uphold UMUC’s strategic goal of building “a strong global
cadre of faculty who are distinguished by their professional experience, academic achievement, and
ability to foster student learning,” and the new guidelines help ensure that this objective will be met now
and into the future.
For further information, contact Stephen Miller, smiller@umuc.edu FAC representative and Associate
Provost, Information and Library Services.
Engage training and access
UMUC is using Google-based Engage, an online social collaboration platform with analytics. If
successful, Engage may eventually replace our Intranet. To date, only staff, nine-month NOL, and 12month
collegiate faculty members have Engage accounts. Training was recently offered via WebEx. To
log on to Engage, visit https://engage.umuc.edu. Usernames and passwords are the same as WebTycho
and MyUMUC.
NOTE: A decision was made to exclude adjuncts due to licensing cost concerns. FAC has requested that
all faculty have access to Engage, and FAC will continue to monitor the situation on behalf of adjuncts.
FAC constitution changes
A number of changes to the FAC constitution were proposed at the January 2012 meeting. Procedural
requirements for implementing these changes were met, and FAC now has a revised constitution. The
changes are as follows:
The first change recommends that “… administration will make provisions for FAC to
communicate directly with all faculty.”
The second change urges that the administration seek “consultation” with FAC “before new
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initiatives or major changes are implemented.”
The third change asks that FAC be allowed to “select” (rather than just “recommend”)
representatives from among [FAC] members, or from the broader UMUC faculty, to represent
UMUC and its faculty on selected external committees and councils.
The fourth change is that FAC should have “funds adequate to provide stipends for those actively
involved, on behalf of faculty, in governance activities, whether internal or external.” (Currently,
all shared governance service is unpaid with the exception of a “course release” for one threecredit
class provided to the chairs of FAC and UAC.)
These changes may need to be approved by the acting president.
PART III: Calling All Adjuncts: The New “Meet and Confer” Policy
University System of Maryland (USM) adopts new policy called “Meet and confer”
The University System of Maryland has adopted a new policy called “meet and confer”. Under this policy,
independent adjunct associations — separate from shared governance bodies — will be formed within
each system institution. Once the associations are formed, the members will democratically decide first,
whether they want to participate in “meet and confer” processes, and second, whether they want an
external organization, such as a teachers’ union to represent them in the process.
The policy is not fully articulated; however, work is ongoing via a dedicated “meet and confer” workgroup
at the system level. The UMUC general council, Nancy Williams, serves on the USM system level
workgroup. UMUC has an in-house work group, and FAC has selected FAC representative, David
Hershfield, an adjunct professor in Economics, to participate. Hershfield also serves as an alternate
representative for the Council of University System Faculty (CUSF).
“Meet and confer” processes will require periodic meetings between adjunct faculty representatives and
UMUC administration to discuss wages, terms and conditions of employment, as well as any of the
academic matters that concern adjunct faculty. This is not collective bargaining, but as close as one can
get at this time. Although many of the matters that FAC has attempted to work on through shared
governance may fall under the purview of “meet and confer,” adjunct association representatives will be
solely responsible for the well-being of, and answerable to, adjuncts.
A brief history
The new “Meet and Confer” policy is the result of efforts by the USM to address the special interests and
concerns of adjuncts and graduate assistants. After discussing these circumstances, and hearing from
adjunct and graduate assistant representatives three years ago, a legislative workgroup decided to
attempt to address the concerns through existing shared governance mechanisms. This year, in response
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to legislation introduced in the state assembly granting all USM faculty and graduate assistants the legal
rights and protections of collective bargaining, Governor O’Malley and USM agreed to the institution of
this “meet and confer” policy, as a compromise. The proposed legislation was then withdrawn.
What you can do
FAC currently has seven adjuncts. FAC supports the creation of an independent adjunct association,
through which adjuncts can express their views on the “meet and confer” process, possibly through a
teachers’ union. Although many details are yet to be worked out, it is absolutely clear at this point that the
first step is the creation of an independent adjunct association.
If you would like to be a part of this process, take a leadership role, or learn more, please contact the
following faculty members:
Maggie Cohen: drmaggiecohen@yahoo.com
David Hershfield: dch2020@yahoo.com
Use of non-UMUC e-mail addresses is preferred.
Adjuncts can expect to hear more as the process evolves!
Part IV. More Results from Fall FAC Forum on SEGUE (8 week terms)
FAC Forum discussed with key administrators
In December 2011, FAC representative Jane Burman-Holtom led three WebTycho classrooms in an
online forum on eight-week terms and the curriculum changes brought about by SEGUE. Three-hundredfifty-three
faculty members registered, and more than half of them posted at least one comment. There
were about 20 faculty members in each of the three sections who were the most active in leading the
discussions. A handful of faculty members asked to have their comments posted anonymously.
Highlights from the forum comments were summarized into PowerPoint slides by FAC representative
Susan Malone, and both Jane and Susan presented the results at the FAC meetings in Adelphi in
January. Some of the most significant points were reiterated with key administrators including Marie Cini
and Cynthia Davis.
During the Town Hall meeting on April 9, Acting President Miyares said he would look at the results which
have been shared with the president, provost, and other key administrators.
Among the findings:
• In general, faculty felt students liked the changes more than faculty members – although
students expressed difficulties.
• Faculty seemed concerned about academic integrity due to issues such as mandated
departmental assignments, and removal of proctored exams.
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• Faculty felt they had no choice, so they are adjusting their styles as best they can.
• A good number questioned Administrations commitment to “Students First” with the 8week
“one-size fits all” schedule, overlapping terms, and the replacement of fully f2f with
hybrid classes.
• Faculty offered many good suggestions on how to make improvements. One of the
themes of the suggestions was that what works for one department may not work for
another. So rather than make a generalization about term length or authentic assessment
or other curricular changes, it would be better to do a more thorough investigation at the
departmental level. Also, outcomes may have been different in Europe and Asia in
comparison with stateside courses.
• It was also noted that the method of “data driven decision-making” seemed unable to
capture the fact that subjects vary, some material needs time to sink in, and other issues
that have emerged for faculty and students due to the shortened term lengths.
• None of the faculty members supported doing away with proctored final exams.
Faculty offered a number of suggestions for improvement:
• Offer variable term lengths because eight-week terms do not work for all courses (or for
all students).
• Cap the number of courses a student can take per session/term.
• Eliminate overlapping terms except, perhaps, for “entry” courses (e.g., EDCP 100, WRTG
101, LIBS 150) which could begin at more frequent intervals to get new students into the
classroom.
• Limit the number of students in the class and provide payment for each additional student
beyond that number.
• Provide faculty with more than 72 hours to compute final grades.
• Provide teaching assistants who could help with Turnitin reports.
• Establish APA style as the standard for papers (so valuable time is not spent teaching
MLA, Chicago, etc.).
• Provide a Thanksgiving break of at least four days.
• Have students take a writing test before they enroll in any courses, and offer refresher
courses in writing (rather than waiting for students to do poorly on writing assignments).
• Administratively drop students who do not participate.
• Have personal questions pop up during an online assessment (such as place of birth,
mother’s maiden name, favorite color, etc.) in an attempt to ascertain the identity of the
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test taker.
• Develop grading rubrics for the assignments.
• Have an information session on financial aid for faculty to be informed about the current
rules which may affect student behavior and performance.
• Do not have sessions/terms end on holiday weekends.
Faculty also offered the following best practices:
• Student services could send an e-mail to students before class begins and remind them
to order books, read the syllabus, introduce themselves, ask questions, etc.
• Log into WebTycho at least once per day during the term, and check e-mail frequently.
• Offer a syllabus quiz for extra credit to ensure that the students read the syllabus
carefully.
• Offer bonus points to encourage interaction by responding to a conference by mid-week
(rather than deducting points for late participation).
• For classes with final exams, make the final exam study guide available to the students
as soon as the course begins.
• Require students to submit assignments via Turnitin.
• Have a “canned response file” that can be used to copy and paste common phrases used
in giving feedback.
• Student services could track and send out e-mails to all absent and failing students.
• Create FAQs for an “Ask the Professor” conference to reduce repetition.
• Do not attempt to respond to every student post (except for introductions). Good for
students to get in the habit of interacting with each other rather than just writing for the
professor’s approval.
• If the EWC’s quota for papers has been met for the day, suggest that a student submit
his/her paper to the Purdue OWL for feedback.
• Have students submit their final projects in Week 7.
Overall, faculty requested that any future large-scale projects that impact faculty be done with greater
input from faculty – particularly in the early stages. Another concern is that since there were so many
changes occurring at once, it may be difficult to explain any changes in enrollment, GPA or course
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evaluations. For example, if a professor had a bad course evaluation in Fall 2011, was it because of bad
teaching? Compressed terms? A poorly written assessment? Terrible course structure? Having to use
another teacher’s conception and rubrics for what and how to teach?
FAC will continue to have discussions with administration on the recent curriculum changes and
compressed terms.
To provide additional feedback on the changes from SEGUE and eight-week terms, you may contact FAC
reps Jane Burman-Holtom at JBHFL@yahoo.com and Susan Malone at professor_malone@yahoo.com.
Part V. Highlights of Asia Faculty 2012 Survey
Below is a letter from the Asian Faculty Survey Committee. FAC unanimously voted in favor of supporting
a survey of Asian faculty, but FAC was not involved in the design or implementation.
Dear Mr. Miyares:
In November, 2010, under authorization of the Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC), faculty sentiments were
surveyed on a wide range of issues that had adversely impacted faculty morale in the Asian Division of
UMUC. Survey results revealed great concern about UMUC’s viability. Written comments portrayed the
institution’s condition with great candor. Survey results were sent to Dr. Aldridge and to Chancellor
William Kirwan; however, no response was ever received. Due to the lack an official response, a second
faculty survey was initiated in February, 2012. The survey was executed during a one-week window, and of
the 94 faculty members to whom the survey link was sent, 65 (69.1%) responded. The survey addressed four
areas of concern: SEGUE and Academics, shared governance, leadership, and CAX and other
compensation issues. Responses from both surveys have been attached, and a summary of the most
significant results from the 2012 survey follows.
SEGUE and Academics. Nearly two-thirds of the Asian faculty reported that they had not been consulted
during the development phase of SEGUE, and among those who said that they had, many admitted that
their participation was after the fact. More than 60% of respondents felt that online classes are not as
rigorous as face-to-face classes. A similar percentage of faculty oppose the mandated conversion of all
courses to hybrid courses. Faculty were somewhat more divided about the merits of “outcome-based
learning,” but 80% opposed the elimination of proctored exams by the Aldridge administration.
Shared Governance. Survey results reveal that at UMUC, shared governance has little practical meaning.
Of Asian Division faculty, 76.9% feel that no functional shared governance exists in UMUC, while only
6.2% think that it does. Eighty percent of the faculty found unilateral and unannounced changes made to
the Faculty Handbook by the administration unacceptable. Eighty percent of respondents also feel that if
they publicly disagree with an administrative policy, their jobs would be in jeopardy. More than 90% of
respondents feel that they have no power to influence academic or policy changes at UMUC. Aldridge
administration policies prompted the Council of University System Faculty (CUSF) to advocate collective
bargaining rights for UMUC faculty. In the Asian Division, 75.4% of respondents felt that collective
bargaining would better serve the interests of faculty. Additionally, 78.5% of the faculty called for a faculty
senate to replace the marginalized and impotent FAC.
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Leadership. Asian Division faculty overwhelmingly (84.4%) feel that budgetary and academic matters at
UMUC are not sufficiently transparent. Roughly 80% of respondents felt that changes made to the
administrative structure of the Asian Division have only served to confuse lines of authority and to render
them less efficient. When asked to evaluate the academic and financial policies of the Aldridge
administration, 51.6% of Asian Division faculty strongly disapproved and 25.8% disapproved (77.4%
disapproval). Only 11.3% of faculty members approved. The 2012 faculty survey constitutes a second vote
of no confidence in the Aldridge administration.
CAX and other Compensation Issues. After losing numerous faculty from Asia, the Aldridge
administration finally increased the CAX for some parts of the Division; however, even after this
adjustment, only 7.9% of respondents found it adequate. Moreover, the administration reduced CAX
payments to Kanto Plain faculty, which the FAC had explicitly requested that the administration not do,
until a complete solution was in hand. This further exacerbated the financial jeopardy of some Kanto
faculty. In addition to the inadequacy of the CAX, the administration failed to implement its own 2006
policy on overload compensation, and it has repeatedly reduced faculty compensation by reneging on
contractual obligations, such as the commuting reimbursement. There is seemingly little justification for a
state institution that pays administrators exorbitantly in comparison to the inadequate salaries it pays its
faculty.
Despite the difficulties faculty face while living abroad under extremely stressful financial times, they remain
loyal to the institution. The overwhelming consensus evident in the responses to this survey indicates that
faculty believe the following changes would improving UMUC’s institutional effectiveness. First, the
administration should draw upon the collective scholarly expertise of the faculty in developing UMUC’s
academic infrastructure. Second, the FAC must be replaced with a functional faculty senate that
institutionalizes genuine shared governance. Third, administrative decisions that impact the operation,
academic integrity, and viability of this public institution should be made absolutely transparent. Fourth,
faculty compensation should be revised to account for the financial demands of living abroad, including
fluctuations in currencies.
Respectively submitted,
Mervin B. Whealy, Ph.D.
Steven D. Aird, Ph.D.
Faculty Survey Committee Coordinators
cc: Dr. William Kirwan, Chancellor
Dr. Greg von Lehmen, Provost
Dr. Marie Cini, Vice President and Dean of the Undergraduate school
Dr. George A. Shoenberger, Chief Operating Officer
Ms. Andrea Y. Hart, Vice President and Chief of Staff
Mr. Sean Chung, Vice President for Office of Enrollment Management
Mr. Michael Freedman, Senior Vice President of Communications
Ms. Nadine Porter, Vice President of Human Resources
Ms. Cathy Sweet-Windham, Vice President of Institutional Advancement
Dr. Allan J. Berg, Vice President and Director UMUC Europe
Dr. Douglas Franklin, Interim
Mr. Dennis Blumer, Senior Advisor to the President
14

Members of the Faculty Advisory Committee
Asian Division Faculty Members
Keep in touch with FAC
If a faculty member has a comment, complaint, suggestion or question, he or she can send an e-mail to
fac@umuc.edu.
Information is available on the UMUC intranet: http://www.umuc.edu/faculty/council/index.cfm.
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No (84.4%)
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