On-line Education Conference

Stacy Bushey

 

On October 9, 1999, a group of educators came together at the College of San Mateo to discuss the future of on-line education in California Community Colleges. Ironically, we did not meet on-line to discuss such a serious subject. We came together in the same room, where people listened, grunted, applauded, debated, nodded their heads in agreement, and shouted in disap­proval. If we had met on-line to hold this confer­ence, I'm not sure we could have captured the nuances of communication taking place. Would people have been patient enough on-line, for ex­ample, to offer side comments that, in our face-to-face forum, shifted the conversation toward a myriad of important sub-topics? The quality of our discussion, the amount of material presented, and the short, one-on-one conversations between and among faculty members could not have been duplicated on-line, yet we came together to dis­cuss how quality information, discussion, com­munication, and learning can or should happen for our students on-line.

 

While I would love to discuss more of the con­ference's details with anyone who's interested, I do not have the time here to mention all that I learned. So allow me to mention some of the most pressing questions that surfaced--some of which the union executive board will be consid­er­ing as we draft the Intellectual Property Rights section of our contract:

 

•     With any kind of on-line education class, are we offering education or training?

•     Who decides what the college will offer?

•     How many credits for on-line education go towards a student's degree?

•     Can the district record what instructors are doing and reuse it? What are the reuse fees? Who controls the reuse fees?

•     How do we incorporate an instructor's classroom energy/giving context/expanding on con­cepts in a creative way into an on-line course?

•     What priority should technology have for funding? Since technology is expensive, what will offset the costs?

•     How do we avoid part-time exploitation?

•     How is the workload factored for part-time instructors? (i.e., what percentage of a part-time faculty's workload applies?)

•     How does the 175-day rule for calendar (for FTES) apply?

•     How does preparing for an on-line course get factored into our workload?

•     What are our (Faculty) hours of service? How many times do we have to check our e-mail when we offer an on-line course?

•     How do we evaluate a colleague who's teaching these courses? Who evaluates these in­structors?

•     How do we have academic freedom when everything is recorded?

•     Who own the materials we create? If we divide up ownership, what are the conditions?

 

Since only four districts in the state have included intellectual property rights clauses in their con­tracts, we will use these questions (and others) in the next few weeks to anticipate how on-line edu­cation will affect the terms and conditions of our employment.  While we may not be able to gen­erate all of the answers right away, I don't think we want to follow in the footsteps of colleges like West Valley where 3500 students are cur­rently enrolled in on-line courses and where very few, if any, of the above questions have been addressed.

 

 

Update on AB420

Christine Marchant

 

Just over a year ago, the California Part-time Faculty Organization (CAPFA) was born.  Twenty-five dedicated individuals from the ranks of California’s part-time faculty, decided the time had come to launch a new organization by and for part-time faculty.  They  camped out in Chorro Park across from Cuesta College and hammered out their philosophy, constitution, and bylaws.

 

Today, this organization has 550 members across the state. CAPFA has already delivered the second edition of its newspaper to 30, 000 part-timers, as well as  many full-timers and ad­ministrators across the state.  But that’s not all. The activists in CAPFA have worked relentlessly to ensure that part-time issues, especially those we care about the most:--equal pay for equal work and health benefits for all--remain on the agenda of every community college administrative meet­ing throughout the state.

 

Because of the determination of its members, CAPFA has gained the attention and respect of FACCC and faculty unions, especially CFT, whose part-time statewide representative, Scott Suneson, is also an active member of CAPFA.  It’s no wonder, then, that part-time advocates in CAPFA, CFT, and FACCC have been instru­mental in organizing and rallying support for Assembly Bill 420, which, in its original form, sought equal pay for equal work.  However, the bill was revised  once it became clear to all that it would not pass the Legislature. In its revised form, Governor Davis did sign the bill this month.

 

DON’T STOP READING YET!

 

AB420  contains three major provisions:

 

First, the bill requires the California Post sec­ondary Education Commission (CPEC) to con­duct a major study  concerning pay dis­parities between part-time and full-time faculty.  The first steps of this study should be completed by the end of January.  We intend  to make sure that temporary faculty  participate in the review pro­cess.

 

 In addition,  health benefits should improve.    Under the new law, the  eligibility requirement will be a 40% or greater load in one district.  Tom Tyner, the president of the Community College Council of the CFT, said the Legislator had already ear­marked $2 million a year to pay for the improved health insurance benefits.

 

The third change is in the payment of office hours.  At present only faculty teaching  40% of a full-time load  or greater  can receive pay for one office hour per week.  Under the new law, instructors at any level of teaching would qualify for a paid office hour.  The law does include fi­nancing, but local unions will need to bargain for the new gains.

 

We still have a long way to go to eliminate the gross injustices present in the nation’s single largest system of higher education--3 million stu­dents.  We are deeply disappointed that AB420 did not pass in its in  original form.  However, even in its scaled down version, the bill represents a most important step forward.

 

After more than twenty years of efforts to end the exploitation of part-time faculty, twenty years of watching the California Community college sys­tem expand on the cheap, to accept a grossly in­equitable two-tier system of faculty, twenty years of being told by local districts to take our grievances to the state and the state telling us to take them up at the local level, this bill and the follow-up study it requires are the most concrete steps ever made toward much needed reform.

 

AB420 clearly acknowledges that the growing ranks of part-time faculty are unfairly exploited, and it moves the issue to the top of  the commu­nity college agenda. The issue is also gaining visibility: articles have appeared in the state’s leading newspapers; other part-time organizations are springing up around the country;  a group of part-timers in the state of Washington are even suing the state for failing to provide decent re­tirement benefits.

 

If our efforts continue, it will no longer be a  ques­tion of whether fairness will be achieved, but when.  It’s time to make it happen soon.  The work of so many members of local and statewide organizations like CFT and CAPFA is beginning to pay off, but the pressure must not let up.  Some part-timers say they cannot afford to pay membership dues.  More to the point, how can they afford not to?

 

As teachers, we are fond of urging our students to participate in community organizations, join professional groups, and vote in elections. WE MUST DO THE SAME!  Our participation will make the difference.  Indeed, it is the only thing that will.

 

Postscript

 

October 6--Board of Trustees meeting--Dr. Rosenwasser reported that the Vice-president of Instruction and  the Vice-president of Business Services testified in opposition to AB 420 in Sacramento.  Because of this, and also because the President of the Board wrote a letter in op­position to the bill on Cuesta stationery (even though the full Board did not discuss nor vote on its position on the bill), Cuesta, as a district, is officially registered as an opponent of AB 420.  When the union president asked Dr. Rosenwasser and the Board if they would con­sider rescinding their formal opposition to the bill since the Chancellor himself and the CEO statewide organization changed theirs (after the bill was gutted of some major provisions),  Dr. Rosenwasser replied, "Our position still stands."

 

November 3--Board of Trustees meeting -- Dr. Rosenwasser informed the Board that she supported the Board of Governors statewide system budget proposal, which stands in opposition to statewide faculty groups' demands that $50 million be set aside for part-timer pro rata pay.  On a positive note, how­ever, the district and CCFT have plans to meet to determine a definition of what pro-rata means--at Cuesta at least.                               --The Editor

 

Union Briefs

 

***  As of this writing, the district has not responded to our last spring's reopeners of increasing lab/lecture ratio and acquiring agency fee. 

 

***  As a result of faculty input, CCFT formally recommended to the Budget Committee on October 26 a campus wide testing center and improved lighting on campus as its top priorities for capital outlay/equipment funds.  Dr. Rosenwasser agreed with CCFT that a process to address campus wide issues outside the cluster process was needed. We were assured that both of our recommendations could be addressed.  We will follow through.

 

***  Did you know that as of July 1, 1999 all eight academic directors (Curiel, Dowell, Frady, Hagen, Hansen, Munoz, Parker, and Robert) are now 12-month employees?

 

***  Health insurance increases for the calendar year 2000 with Lifeguard are as follows:

                                                       Single            Two-Party         Family

                                 HMO              5.2%                 5.7%               5.4%

                                 POS                5.7%                 6.1%               5.9%

                                 PPO                9.4%                 9.9%               9.8%

This is fairly remarkable since early on we were expecting double-digit increases.

                                                                                                                                                     --The Editor

 

Two CCFT Board Members Head for the Hills

Sally Blanton

 

During the last week of July, CCFT Vice President Matthew Fleming and I visited the foggy, wooded hills of the UC Santa Cruz cam­pus for the 1999 AFT Union Leadership Institute, each of us participating in week-long leadership courses. While Matthew learned the ins and outs of grievance procedures, I spent my days learning about issues and strategies for union leadership.

 

As a new union officer, I felt a bit dismayed to discover that everyone else in my session had at least five years of activist experience, and most of the participants had been union members for 15-30 years. I was a newcomer, and I feared I was in over my head. But as the unfamiliar terms and assumptions swirled around me, I gradually began to understand bits and pieces of the big picture. Essentially, these experienced leaders were concerned about apathy, divisiveness, and low membership in their local unions.

 

When I realized their concerns, I simultaneously realized how fortunate I am to be at a place like Cuesta. So far, we are not apathetic. So far, we are not divided. So far, our membership contin­ues to increase. At Cuesta, our optimism has not yet turned to cynicism.

 

But there is still work to be done, and my experi­ence at ULI made me better prepared to do that work. Each participant in the Issues and Strategies Workshop had to develop and present a plan to increase membership involvement and union effectiveness in their own locals. Potential strategies included mentoring young leaders, building coalitions, and increasing attention to quality in the workplace. As I developed my own plan, I focused on ways to increase part-time faculty membership in and involvement with CCFT. While, historically, these have been daunting objectives, I’m encouraged by the fact that Cuesta already has a higher than average per­centage of part-time members.

 

In a more nuts and bolts oriented workshop, Matthew Fleming gained increased knowledge about the duties of grievance officers. “In the training,” he explains, “we focused on the cen­trality of the contract. A grievance officer’s goal is to protect fairness in the workplace, and the only way to understand what is fair is to under­stand what the contract mandates. We studied real cases and learned how to methodically go about getting at the truth of a situation, and we laid out the steps that a grievance officer must take when he or she is approached by an em­ployee with a complaint. I can’t stress enough how imperative it is that all faculty understand their contract.”

 

 But our time in Santa Cruz wasn’t completely consumed by work and serious matters. Matthew ventured out for early surf sessions on cold, foggy mornings, and I enjoyed getting lost (literally) in the towering redwoods during warm, sunny afternoons. In addition, we both enjoyed meeting fellow union leaders (especially the quirky folks from Alaska) and having great conversations while we contemplated the grand vistas of the Pacific Ocean.

 

 

Part-time Faculty Dues Reduced!

Sally Blanton

 

By an overwhelming majority, CCFT members have voted to reduce part-time faculty dues to 1% of gross salary with a $10 dollar monthly mini­mum, making the dues of part-time faculty equi­table to those of full-time faculty. 100 members voted on this issue—96 “yes” votes and four “no” votes. Since changes to the constitution re­quire only a 60% majority vote, this ballot passed with ease.

 

Fifty-eight tenured/tenure-track faculty members cast their votes (64.4%), down 15-25% from other recent contract ratification votes. Forty-two temporary faculty members voted (55.3%), up about 20% from turn out on past issues. Sixty-eight members (40.2%) did not vote.

 

Originally, part-time faculty dues were 1.5% of gross salary with a $15 dollar monthly minimum, and full-time faculty dues were 1% of gross salary. Historically, part-timers have paid a higher percentage since such low part-time dues would have led CCFT to lose money because of state and national affiliation costs for each mem­ber. Now, however, the state affiliate has restruc­tured its dues rates, and CCFT has a stronger financial base; therefore, the union can reduce part-time dues.

 

This ballot was initiated on October 8 when the CCFT Executive Board unanimously voted in fa­vor of the reduction. This significant decision by the membership confirms our union’s commit­ment to equity among faculty and fairness in the workplace.

Executive Board

 

Marilyn Rossa, President                                                                     3187

Matthew Fleming, Vice-President, Membership Chair                        3177

Mark Tomes, Secretary-Treasurer                                                       2223

Lenny Erickson, Grievance Officer                                                     3170

Darin Haydock, Chair, Committee on Political Education (COPE)      2562

Sally Blanton, Chair, Part-Time Faculty                                              3177

Louise Noel, Liaison, Council of Reps to Executive Board                 3188

Stacy Bushey, Liaison, Council of Reps to Executive Board               3953

 

CCFT Council of Representatives

Definition:

This council advises and provides divisional membership input to the CCFT Executive Board.

 

Composition:

Elected by the divisional membership for a one-year term.

 

Please contact one of your divisional council reps if you have union concerns.

 

Meri Jayne. Basti                     Physical Education                              3979

Ruth Biering                            Business Education                              3258

Sally Blanton                           English                                                3177

Stacy Bushey                           English                                                3953

Peter Dill                                 Social Sciences                                    3167

Lenore Erickson                      Social Sciences                                    3170

Virginia Findley                      Business Education                              3261

Matthew Fleming                    English                                                3177

Dana Gough                            Counseling                                          2277

Jeff Grover                              Physical Sciences                                3233

Darin Haydock                        Social Sciences                                    2562/6260

Patrick Hughes                        Mathematics                                        3934

Eileen Kerr                              Social Sciences                                    3165

Pete Lagomarsino                    Engineering and Technology               3275

Diane Lichty                            Business Education                              3262

Keith Lilley                              Library Services                                  3158

Nancy Mann                            Biology                                                3227   

Barbara McGee                       Mathematics                                        3236

Mike Napoli                            Physical Education                              3208

Darlene Nelson                        Learning Skills / DSPS                        2224

Louise Noel                             Languages and Communication          3188

Irene Nuñez                             Counseling                                          2248

Robin Powers                          Learning Skills / DSPS                        6217/6254

Tony Rector-Cavagnaro          Languages and Communication          3935

William F. Richmond              Engineering and Technology               3267

Marilyn Rossa                         English                                                3187

Marcia Scott                            Nursing / Allied Health                        3912

Mark Tomes                            Learning Skills / DSPS                        2223

Mark Turner                            Mathematics                                        3234

James West                              English                                                3189

Anne-Marie Williams              English                                                6256

 

Editor:  Marilyn Rossa