Anyone else experiencing suspension of faculty handbook?

[iogrrl568]

President of my uni basically suspending handbook due to 'extraordinary measures'. (Yes, that is a thing in our handbook.)

Administration to start furloughs and layoffs.  Decisions will be made on program performance and teaching performance only. Doesn't matter if you have tenure or not.

We don't have a union.

Happening to anyone else?

[Parasaurolophus]

FWIW, I think you'll find a lot of places in a similar boat noted on the last few pages of the 'Colleges in Dire Financial Straits' thread, and also in the thread titled 'University asking for "extreme" flexibility in faculty contract due to COVID'.

I don't think I've heard tell of the handbook being suspended, as such, but it's not as surprising as it should be.

[polly_mer]

Administration to start furloughs and layoffs.  Decisions will be made on program performance and teaching performance only. Doesn't matter if you have tenure or not.

From an institutional survival standpoint if the institution is in truly dire financial straits and student tuition is the majority of the money coming in, the questions should be exactly

* which programs are likely to attract/retain/have paying students
* how do we staff the courses needed for the students who will show up

Keeping the tenured folks in the human knowledge areas with few students (any combination of current, prospective, desired) means choosing poorly when the goal is to keep the institution's doors open this year.

[spork]

President of my uni basically suspending handbook due to 'extraordinary measures'. (Yes, that is a thing in our handbook.)

Administration to start furloughs and layoffs.  Decisions will be made on program performance and teaching performance only. Doesn't matter if you have tenure or not.

We don't have a union.

Happening to anyone else?

It sounds like "extraordinary measures" is how your university describes "financial exigency," a situation for which the usual policies are suspended.

[Cheerful]

President of my uni basically suspending handbook due to 'extraordinary measures'. (Yes, that is a thing in our handbook.)

Administration to start furloughs and layoffs.  Decisions will be made on program performance and teaching performance only. Doesn't matter if you have tenure or not.

We don't have a union.

Happening to anyone else?

Sorry.  Large or small U?

[iogrrl568]

Small University.  "Extraordinary circumstances" is one step before exigency.

On the one hand, I do see what dire straits we (and many in higher ed) are in. Of course we need to take steps to save the university.  On the other, I feel terrible that tenure will die on my watch (I am in the faculty senate, & also can see the value of tenure). And then again, I have personally worked with some tenured folks who are not performing as well as some of the non-tenured instructors. It feels unfair to lose quality instructors to protect a few bad apples.

Sorry. Just venting now.

[TreadingLife]

Small University.  "Extraordinary circumstances" is one step before exigency.

On the one hand, I do see what dire straits we (and many in higher ed) are in. Of course we need to take steps to save the university.  On the other, I feel terrible that tenure will die on my watch (I am in the faculty senate, & also can see the value of tenure). And then again, I have personally worked with some tenured folks who are not performing as well as some of the non-tenured instructors. It feels unfair to lose quality instructors to protect a few bad apples.

Sorry. Just venting now.

No need to apologize. We've all seen the few bad apples in the tenured pile who don't perform, don't serve and are overall toxic colleagues. I don't know who is to blame: weak administrators who won't call people onto the carpet or the fact that in many places (at least mine) there is no formal process to hold people accountable and to "paper out" people who don't deserve to keep their job. If you never submit your grades on time, never hand out a syllabus, never complete your student reports the consequence is nothing. These are all supposedly "required" activities for all faculty.  I don't know why the majority of the good faculty choose to protect, and be brought down, by a few bad apples.  I don't know how you get such language written into a faculty handbook, but it is a shame that so many people at so many points in someone's career just chose to look the other way. Tenure doesn't protect you from not doing your job.  The failure to hold bad faculty accountable will be part of the reason some schools go under.

[mahagonny]

Small University.  "Extraordinary circumstances" is one step before exigency.

On the one hand, I do see what dire straits we (and many in higher ed) are in. Of course we need to take steps to save the university.  On the other, I feel terrible that tenure will die on my watch (I am in the faculty senate, & also can see the value of tenure). And then again, I have personally worked with some tenured folks who are not performing as well as some of the non-tenured instructors. It feels unfair to lose quality instructors to protect a few bad apples.

Sorry. Just venting now.

No need to apologize. We've all seen the few bad apples in the tenured pile who don't perform, don't serve and are overall toxic colleagues. I don't know who is to blame: weak administrators who won't call people onto the carpet or the fact that in many places (at least mine) there is no formal process to hold people accountable and to "paper out" people who don't deserve to keep their job. If you never submit your grades on time, never hand out a syllabus, never complete your student reports the consequence is nothing. These are all supposedly "required" activities for all faculty.  I don't know why the majority of the good faculty choose to protect, and be brought down, by a few bad apples.  I don't know how you get such language written into a faculty handbook, but it is a shame that so many people at so many points in someone's career just chose to look the other way. Tenure doesn't protect you from not doing your job.  The failure to hold bad faculty accountable will be part of the reason some schools go under.

In the case of what I've been around, it's not exactly a case of bad apples and good apples. It's people of irreconcilable, up front views coexisting in the same department, making it acrimonious, polarized and wasteful. All of the parties involved are doing, expressing, and not doing what they believe is educationally right and required of them as scholars who've earned and continue to earn academic freedom protection. That's the life experience and excruciatingly long, slow years of observing something wretched and why  I'm against tenure without explicitly blaming the people who have it. See in our department buying into the 'good apples bad apples' narrative could well indicate that you've taken sides. Your hand has been forced. Whereas, you' were just trying to survive and figure out what your job should be. Take tenure out the equation and the people who feud could do some soul searching and decide whether they want to stay. And for the good of everyone some would not. I suppose it borders on thread hijack, but the subject was already raised.

President of my uni basically suspending handbook due to 'extraordinary measures'. (Yes, that is a thing in our handbook.)

Administration to start furloughs and layoffs.  Decisions will be made on program performance and teaching performance only. Doesn't matter if you have tenure or not.

We don't have a union.

Happening to anyone else?

Apropos of the above explanation, we still have handbook that was the hard-hitting, edgy brainchild of the chair, two chairs ago, who promised 'long lasting and positive change.' Since we have such a non communicative, non-transparent department, no one in my circle has any idea whether it's still in force.

[dr_codex]

Small University.  "Extraordinary circumstances" is one step before exigency.

On the one hand, I do see what dire straits we (and many in higher ed) are in. Of course we need to take steps to save the university.  On the other, I feel terrible that tenure will die on my watch (I am in the faculty senate, & also can see the value of tenure). And then again, I have personally worked with some tenured folks who are not performing as well as some of the non-tenured instructors. It feels unfair to lose quality instructors to protect a few bad apples.

Sorry. Just venting now.

We don't have a category for extraordinary circumstances. If we did, that's what we'd call what we're doing: hiring freezes almost across the board. (The exception is for distance learning support, which we clearly need if we are to survive.) All expenditures approved by the budget office. Non-essential travel cancelled. Department budgets cut, amounts to be determined.

However, you'll note that furloughs and layoffs are not on that list. We'd need to declare financial exigency for that to happen, for most people.

(Some staff and management positions are more vulnerable; that was always part of the deal. Some contingent teaching positions might not be filled, depending on enrollment; that was always part of the deal. Some subcontracted services might furlough, lay off, or cut hours for staff; that was always part of the deal. Does the deal suck for most of these people? Yes, it does. That was always part of the deal.)

[polly_mer]

https://www.newstribune.com/news/local/story/2020/may/08/lu-declares-financial-exigency/826858/