4/17/03 Board
meeting
Trustees:
Perhaps you've
noticed a change in the demeanor of the Senate reps in the last month. You might assume it is because of
outrage over losing colleagues and programs. Of course that is true. But what if it is because we are right about some
things? What if we know some
things that you don't know?
You might feel
overwhelmed these days with the decisions facing you as Trustees of
WVMCCD. I am here to help simplify
your task.
You have one
extremely important decision to make:
1. Should you
let go tenure track and tenured faculty members or
2. Should you
retain them?
Let's look at
WVMCCD goals and budget priorities---commitments you have already made.
1. The
District's Strategic Plan includes these values: student success, service,
engaged learning
2. . The
District's Strategic Plan vision statement says we strive to be student
centered; a leader in teaching & learning; dynamic & responsive; highly
accessible; a leader in technology. . .
3. The Board's
Budget priorities for 03-04 puts people first
HOW CAN YOU BELIEVE IN THESE IF YOU LET
FACULTY MEMBERS GO?
As time goes
by, it becomes clearer that the decision to send nearly 60 March 15 notices was
either the result of a hard line bargaining strategy or an example of very poor
planning for the academic programs of the colleges. Faculty such as the librarians, counselors, and lab faculty
ARE as essential to student
success as classroom faculty. Do
you think students will come to our colleges if they don't have the support of
these faculty---guiding them in
their decisions, helping them with assignments, keeping them in their classes.
Believe me, it
will not take long and students will go elsewhere---where they receive the
instruction and support they need.
Do you think
our students do not need support outside their classes?
Did you hear any of the hundreds of
students who have told you how much they need their counselors, teachers, etc?
Where have we
gone wrong?
Some decision
making errors have occurred.
We teach students about these errors in our communication classes. One error is called "solution
centeredness." This occurs
when a group prematurely jumps to a solution without considering all options. Did we have options? YES! Did the district look at all options? Nowhere near.
A second
problem in group decision-making is called "Group think." This fatal error occurs when the
following are present in a group : a) the group overestimates its power and
morality---assuming only their answer is the right one; b) the group is close
minded & only considers information that confirms their pre-conceived choices .
I plan to use this district as a
textbook example of poor decision-making
Belief in some myths has
also contributed to the poor decisions made by this district. Let me share a few.
MYTH #1 We only had a few days to decide about lay offs---no time for a group to
meet.
REALITY We had at least a
week---maybe longer---from Feb 24-Mar 3 .
That was the time period from when the Presidents spoke to their
Performance Goals Committees until the Presidents submitted a list of names to
the Chancellor. Check it out. An emergency task force could certainly
have been convened----to look at ALL options----not just ONE.
MYTH #2 The only way to save the
district money was through faculty layoffs.
REALITY Who would know? Who seriously looked at
alternatives? ACE has provided the
District several solutions to prevent all layoffs and the District has turned
all of them down.
Personnel such as faculty members,
administrators, and groups such as GAP and the Student Services Council have
stated that a larger share of the deficit should come from central services and
areas away from students------who has heeded that wise advice?
MYTH #3 the district had to take
the worst case scenario
REALITY Already the worst case
from this year (mid year cuts) has been proven too drastic. The working groups did NOT recommend
taking such an extreme view----its not reality (see email from Ian Walton)
MYTH #4 Some faculty are
dispensable, unnecessary
REALITY The Board---in policy--- has agreed to rely primarily on the
advice of the AS in academic matters.
The AS has repeatedly said : we need ALL faculty in order to provide the
curriculum & services our students need. The Board and Chancellor have repeatedly ignored the advice
of the AS. And you have not responded to our requests in written form as agreed upon in policy.
MYTH #5 The trustees and
Chancellor keep repeating "we do not want to lay off faculty."
REALITY Where is the reality??? Where is the action???
Clearly this statement is simply not true.
MYTH #6 The only way to return
faculty remaining on the lay off list in through the
negotiations process.
REALITY Obviously that is not true. You have already rescinded many this week---outside of negotiations. Why not all? Obviously it is because the
district has decided to use trusted employees, dedicated teachers, as pawns in
their hard line bargaining.
In addition, the faculty union has
already provided solutions to layoffs-----so the district has other agendas.
MYTH #7 Faculty have not stepped up to the plate
REALITY The Chancellor asked the Senates to suspend hiring next year
and sign a waiver request for the FON.
After prompt deliberation, the Senates agreed, knowing that while e it
was NOT the best thing for their programs and colleagues, they felt that it was in the best interest
of the district overall.
The shared governance bodies at MC
readily participated in major reductions---both mid year and for next year.
Please open your hearts and minds
and do the right thing.
--
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Jane Patton,
President
Academic Senate
Dept. Chair,
Communication Studies
Mission College
(408) 855-5296 office S2-403
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