precarious life & times: Bob Samuels

Showing posts with label Bob Samuels. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Outsourcing California #HigherEd

…today's higher ed news broke outside the higher media silo, immediately mainstream. Proposed California legislation would identify and approve up to 50 online courses for the three public systems, UC, CSU and CCC, to accept as credit for admitted students.

Bob Samuels' focus, UC, University of California, may be the best known of the state's three systems: a top tier system of R1 universities, all world class and more than a few world famous and in the top 100 international ranking. CSU, California State University system is the largest and most diverse university system in the nation, with 23 campuses, almost 437,000 students, and 44,000 faculty and staff. CCC, California Community Colleges system is the largest system of higher education in the nation, with 2.6 million students attending 112 colleges.These are the interlocking elements of legend, the visionary California Master Plan.

Bob Samuels writes:

#MLA13 #S112

…a significant event & busy day for #adjunct/ency today, and not just MLA & AHA...As for the other stories, you'll just have to wait for them. Tomorrow has another major, don't miss adjunct relevant session too. Meanwhile, catch up with general higher ed news with the Inside HigherEd Daily Newsletter.

For now, it's all about, #S112 The Presidential Forum: Avenues of Access: Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Members and American Higher Education, Thursday, 3 January, 5:15–7:00 p.m., Constitution Ballroom, Sheraton.

Session Description:

This session will discuss and review recent efforts to address the working conditions of faculty members off the tenure track and will ask what those working conditions mean for the future of American higher education. If, as the New Faculty Majority slogan has it, faculty working conditions are student learning conditions, then how should we seek to improve those conditions without devaluing the work that non-tenure-track faculty members do?

Here's an #S112 Storify (long but could have been longer). Special thanks to virtuoso tweeps, Brian Croxall, Roger Whitsun and Lee Bessette for making this Storify possible and packed with tweetalicious goodness.

View the story "MLA13 ~ Presidential Forum, S112" on Storify MLA13 ~ Presidential Forum, S112 Avenues of Access: Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Members and American Higher Education, Thursday, 3 January, 5:15–7:00 p.m. Presiding: Michael Bérubé, Storified by · Thu, Jan 03 2013 22:02:16 Pres @MichaelBerube1 into his Pres Forum on adjunct fac. Hurry over! #mla13 #s112 Constitution Ballrm. http://pic.twitter.com/ck2R7RAVRosemary G. Feal #mla13 Presidential Forum (#S112) on role of NTT faculty members in higher ed starts in 30 mins in Constitution Ballroom, Sheraton.MLA Convention

1. "Free-Market Faculty Members: The Adjunct Project and the Disposable Professor," Joshua Boldt, Univ. of Georgia

2. "Human Resources: Employment Practices and the Future University," Elizabeth Landers, Univ. of Missouri, St. Louis (?)

3. "Addressing the Scarlet A: Adjuncts and the Academy," Maria Maisto, New Faculty Majority

4. "Reinventing Access: Free Public Higher Education, Quality Instruction, and Job Security for All Faculty Members," Robert Samuels, Univ. of California, Los Angeles

Session Description: This session will discuss and review recent efforts to address the working conditions of faculty members off the tenure track and will ask what those working conditions mean for the future of American higher education. If, as the New Faculty Majority slogan has it, faculty working conditions are student learning conditions, then how should we seek to improve those conditions without devaluing the work that non-tenure-track faculty members do?

#Adjunct Update: #MLA13 #S112, Presidential Forum: Avenues of Access: Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Members & American... http://fb.me/GpEr6FibNew Faculty Majority Now let's see how much conscience the profession has. How full will this session be? http://mla13.org/112 #mla13 #S112Paula Krebs .@josh_boldt: Profession of college professor is becoming less and less sustainable. but that's old news. #mla13 #s112Brian Croxall Adjunct ProjectThe Adjunct Project exists for the growing number of graduate degree holders and adjunct professors who are unemployed and underemployed. Adjuncts' jobs depend on keeping quiet, not protesting. Josh Boldt's adjunct project helped change that dynamic. #mla13 #s112Rosemary G. Feal RT @readywriting: Over one million faculty members teaching off the tenure-track. Wow. #mla13 #s112Melonie Fullick Half of the total faculty in higher education hold a Ph.D. - Majority of contingent labor hold an MA or are ABD. #s112 #mla13Roger Whitson MT @rogerwhitson: Much of the support for the adjunct project have come from tenured professors. #s112 #mla13Johannes Wheeldon A gen call to convert part-time to f-t has 2 probs: only abt half of part–timers want f-t work, and only abt half hold PhD. #mla13 #s112Rosemary G. Feal YES!!! Starting to advocate with the accrediting agencies about staffing practices! #mla13 #s112Lee Skallerup @rogerwhitson Seriously. So tired of the hypocritical of groups like SACS about "academic standards" #mla13 #s112Lee Skallerup @readywriting Hopefully this will make something happen. #hitemwhereithurts #s112 #mla13Roger Whitson MT @MariaMaistoNFM: New Faculty Majority leads with statement: "Faculty working conditions are student learning conditions." #mla13 #s112David Hull .@MariaMaistoNFM: Students, "so you mean I'm paying for steak and getting hamburger?" No, your food handlers are bad though. #mla13 #s112Brian Croxall "Who is Professor 'Staff'?" http://www.futureofhighered.org/uploads/ProfStaffFinal.pdf Great report on working conditions of adjunct faculty #mla13 #s112Lee Skallerup Research CenterMISSION STATEMENT The Center for the Future of Higher Education is an advocacy think tank bringing together academics to address current ... .@MariaMaistoNFM recommends "A is for Adjunct," which collects different stories about NTT life: http://bit.ly/YZStOj. #mla13 #s112Brian Croxall A is for Adjunctcollected sightings of the academic precariat in cyberspace [Page 1] The expression "extraordinary faculty" might be a good term for non t-t faculty. T-t = ordinary fac, says @MariaMaistoNFM..#mla13 #s112Rosemary G. Feal Get involved in debates that involve definitions. Names matter (misclassification) #mla13 #s112Lee Skallerup Robert Samuels is next. #mla13 #s112Roger Whitson Changing Universities Robert Samuels is going to present a comprehensive plan for solving everything. #s112 #mla13Brian Croxall Samuels: Education is a universal public right. #mla13 #s112Roger Whitson Samuels: We already have enough money to do it. #mla13 #s112Roger Whitson Samuels: Students often flock to majors that they think will potentially pay off their debt. #mla13 #s112Roger Whitson Samuels: That's per student, so the total cost was $128 billion. #mla13 #s112Brian Croxall Samuels: UCLA in-state tuition is 12k, but cost per year to student average is $32k. Need to lower these other things. #mla13 #s112Brian Croxall Government is now funding private debt collectors for student loans. #mla13 #s112Lee Skallerup Samuels: #mla13 #s112 $180 billion in college savings plans. Much of these act as tax shelters. 529 plans in 48 states. Gift plans, etc.Roger Whitson Samuels: #mla13 #s112 Only people profiting from college savings plans are wealthiest people.Roger Whitson #mla13 #s112 | The session is a "happening" not just another panel | @MichaelBerube1RCB Samuels: #mla13 #s112 Only people profiting from college savings plans are wealthiest people.Roger Whitson Samuels: In 2010, the federal govt spent #35b on Pell grants and $104b on student loans. States spent a total of $90b. #mla13 #s112Brian Croxall Government is now funding private debt collectors for student loans. #mla13 #s112Lee Skallerup Yeah, sure. RT @rgfeal: This Pres Forum is ultimate occupy MLA act. All adjuncts at the podium. Where are YOU right now? #mla13 #s112Trent M Kays Samuels: #mla13 #s112 How much would it actually cost to teach every student in classes of 25 or less?Roger Whitson Question: What role do perspective students and parents have in this discussion? #mla13 #s112Roger Whitson Time for questions! #mla13 #s112Lee Skallerup #mla13 #s112 Wage recommendations? How about enforcement? Accreditors and legislators and the people (students, families) please wake upRCB Following the #s112 panel at #mla13 on Twitter--fascinating as they post on the panel concerning adjunct and ntt faculty issues.Benjamin Vogt Need to get adjunct faculty on accreditation teams. Really makes a difference. Awesome. But need help of tenured faculty #mla12 #s112Lee Skallerup #mla13 #s112 Final tweet 4 Prez Session | All the strategy you need is found in this story | http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/12/31/college_tuition_on_the_rise_laura_brod/Blessings from VTRCB Reviewing and sorting tweets, a natural shape emerged, from adjuncts' number telling stories, to taking control of telling our stories and the words used to tell them, and then back to numbers ~ this time from the student perspective ~ college costs and debt. Numbers knit together by words, telling our stories, which are the learners stories too. Inseparable.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

#HigheredNews: post-election musings on what it means for us

…from #Academe Today & @InsideHigherEd's Daily News Updates (in particular, Four More Years, A Status quo Congress & more). From California, Changing Universities' Bob Samuels writes "We Won the Battle, Now the War," and Remaking the University's Chris Newfield delivers a, "Bullet Dodged by Ballot." Snarky and smart Lawyers, Guns & Money offers briefly annotated election reflection links, Victory, include education,. Robert Valiant has launched a website to gather information about who funded campaigns for charters and vouchers and against teachers, unions and public education.

Yes, I'm till pushing academic news aggregation posts even if they don't have the bling or get the clicks of single items. Being informed matters and the day after a presidential election is a for read news day. Besides #nanowrimo and #digiwrimo = #wrimo all month long: I have not fish but other words to fry. Expect rewarmed leftovers, reblogs and otherwise recycled posts. Upside: more posts.