Posts Tagged ‘union’

25
Nov

   Posted by: ktmahoney   in Uncategorized

OK, folks…it took almost a week, but we finally have a statement from President Cevallos about the administration’s intentions regarding the Chancellor’s remarks regarding College of Business accreditation.  As you’ll recall, the Chancellor made it clear that any move forward toward accreditation needed to be part of a shared governance process.  Here’s what Cevallos wrote to faculty late yesterday afternoon:

From: “Cevallos, F. Javier” <cevallos@kutztown.edu>
Date: November 24, 2009 3:10:22 PM EST
To: COB-Dept <cob-dept@kutztown.edu>
Subject: COB meeting re: AACSB/December 3 at 11:00 a.m.

To the Faculty in the College of Business;

There has been quite a bit of conversation since the Chancellor’s November 18 visit to our campus regarding the College of Business and the pursuit of AACSB accreditation.  Although in the past there have been several conversations regarding this particular subject, and we have made significant investments in the College for this purpose, these decisions were made under a PASSHE mandate to accredit academic programs.  The Chancellor has suggested that we should have additional conversations on the campus regarding this issue in light of his new policy regarding accreditation, and I concur.  Given the importance of this issue, and the tight time line we face, I would like to invite the faculty in the College  (as well as APSCUF and University Senate representatives) to a meeting to discuss the matter, on Thursday, December 3, 2009  from 11 to 12:00 p.m. at DeFran 100.  I look forward to a productive discussion that will help us move forward in the best way for the College and the University.

Let’s hope that President Cevallos does not intend for a one hour meeting in the second to last week of the semester count for “shared governance.” At the very least, I hope that a timeline for future discussions will be established.  We’ll see.

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22
Nov

Latest email from APSCUF-KU President to Faculty

   Posted by: ktmahoney   in Uncategorized

From: Quinn, Paul
Sent: Saturday, November 21, 2009 20:55
To: Faculty
Subject: College of Business Accreditation

Fellow Faculty,

I wanted to provide you with a brief update regarding the College of Business and the remarks made by PASSHE Chancellor Cavanaugh on Wednesday.  As you may or may not recall, the recent reorganization of the College of Business has been planned based on a mandate from the Chancellor’s office for AACSB accreditation.  This was a mandate issued by the previous Chancellor, Judy Hample, and supported by the Board of Governors.  On Wednesday, the Chancellor stated that there was no longer a mandate in effect.  He further supported this with a direct email to me and Ken Ehrensal.  His email reads as follows.

***********************************************************************************

Dear Paul and Ken,

During my visit to Kutztown this week, I was asked whether I mandated AACSB accreditation. I responded that I did not. However, I want to ensure that you understand that my predecessor, Chancellor Hample, did indeed mandate such accreditation, and did state that failure to obtain accreditation would likely result in departmental or program elimination. Consequently, decisions on campuses were made, including hiring decisions, that were in response to that mandate. My recent change in that mandate reflects a fundamental shift in system requirements. This shift in mandate happened in the past few months as a result of ongoing discussions regarding the new directions for performance funding being addressed by the Task Force.

John

John C. Cavanaugh, Ph.D., Chancellor
Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
Dixon University Center
2986 N. Second Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110

***********************************************************************************
This new information changes the rules of the game.

Given this APSCUF-KU thinks the following:

1) the reorganization of the College of Business needs to stop immediately while we have a chance to digest the Chancellor’s Decision and process its effect on our University;

2) the administration and the faculty of the College of Business need to immediately revisit the accreditation process and discuss whether or not to pursue this or any other accreditation

On Monday, November 23 at 4pm APSCUF-KU will hold a special Executive Committee meeting at which time, we will discuss how to best move forward.  The Provost, Dr. Vargas, will be coming to the meeting to answer any questions we have and discuss the change in the mandate with us.  Then, on Tuesday, November 24, members of APSCUF-KU Exec will be meeting with the faculty in the College of Business to discuss how to best move forward. Thanks.

Paul

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21
Nov

Chancellor says: info regarding change in mandate shared in September

   Posted by: ktmahoney   in Uncategorized

One additional piece of information regarding when the Chancellor’s office announced changes in the mandate for College of Business accreditation.  Here’s what the Chancellor says:

From: Cavanaugh, John [jcavanaugh@passhe.edu]
Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 3:04 PM
To: Quinn, Paul
Subject: AACSB update

My memory failed in relation to state Meet and Discuss. I went back and checked and it’s in the minutes taken at the September 18 meeting. The information that the system would be no longer be mandating accreditation was shared at that meeting. As I indicated earlier, we don’t have any new written policies/procedures. Those will develop over time.

So, according to the Chancellor, the announcement that PaSSHE will no longer be mandating accreditation was made in September.  What happened from that point, according to PaSSHE at least, is now the question.

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21
Nov

PaSSHE Chancellor reponds to APSCUF-KU's questions regarding College of Business

   Posted by: ktmahoney   in Uncategorized

Hey everyone.  New information about the College of Business.  APSCUF-KU President, Paul Quinn has been trying to get concrete information regarding new PaSSHE policy regarding AACSB accreditation.  Below you will find Paul’s questions to the Chancellor and the Chancellor’s responses.  The Chancellor’s responses are in BLUE:
Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 11:14 AM
Subject: RE: AACSB
Paul,
Thanks for your note. See specific replies below.

John

From: Paul Quinn [mailto:quinn@kutztown.edu]
Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 10:53 AM
To: Cavanaugh, John
Subject: Re: AACSB

Dr. Cavanaugh,

Thanks you for your email message this morning.  This is the first time we have had real clarity from PASSHE on this issue.  We are still trying to digest the impact of your words here on campus based on where we were in the accreditation process before your statements on Wednesday.

I have a few questions for you in regards to this matter.

1) So when you say that Kutztown needs to determine locally whether or not it wants to pursue AACSB accreditation, do you mean that the Kutztown Administration should determine it, or do you mean that the decision should be discussed through shared governance with the faculty and various governing bodies on campus?  I would say it needs to be discussed in a shared governance fashion, with very thorough discussion of the pros/cons. With AACSB, as I indicated in my remarks, there are real downsides for not doing it that should be considered. Some faculty indicated to me they came to Kutztown specifically because AACSB accreditation was a goal. Student recruitment also becomes an issue, as I discussed.

2) You refer to the shift in mandate that has happend these past few months in your email.  Has this shift been made known to the University Presidents prior to your statements on our campus? There has been general discussion only (i.e., that there would no longer be a mandate) recently. As a result, there have been no policy or procedure documents created yet.

3)Was State APSCUF made aware of this shift in mandate or the process that led to the shift in mandate via some sort of memo or the State Meet and Discuss meetings?  Because this change is very recent, I do not believe it has made it yet to the M&D at the state level (though I could be mistaken). That’s a result of the recency of the issue, nothing more. The actual process and details are still evolving, but in fairness to the campus I thought it would be an advance notice to make you aware of the upcoming changes. The performance funding task force will no doubt be recommending more when their work is completed; those will also be brought forward for discussion in appropriate venues (e.g., M&D). But because it had become clear that the accreditation mandate was not going to be one of them, I did not see a reason to withhold that information so decided to pass it along.

I apologize for the directness of my questions, but since your visit to our university, our College of Business has been thrown into a bit of chaos since WE were under the assumption that AACSB accreditation WAS a mandate until your statements on Wednesday.  I am just trying to construct a timeline to discern what happened and how to move forward.  Thanks for your time.  Your assumption was correct—it WAS a mandate until very recently.

Paul

I will try to provide additional updates later today or tomorrow.


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20
Nov

clarifying statement from PaSSHE chancellor

   Posted by: ktmahoney   in Uncategorized

Just in case their is any question about what the Chancellor’s meaning was when he stated on Wednesday there was no mandate for AACSB accreditation in the College of Business, I wanted to post this.  Paul and Ken (APSCUF-KU President and Vice President) were sent this email this morning from the Chancellor.  They forwarded it to APSCUF-KU Exec and I am posting it here:

Dear Paul and Ken,

During my visit to Kutztown this week, I was asked whether I mandated AACSB accreditation. I responded that I did not. However, I want to ensure that you understand that my predecessor, Chancellor Hample, did indeed mandate such accreditation, and did state that failure to obtain accreditation would likely result in departmental or program elimination. Consequently, decisions on campuses were made, including hiring decisions, that were in response to that mandate. My recent change in that mandate reflects a fundamental shift in system requirements. This shift in mandate happened in the past few months as a result of ongoing discussions regarding the new directions for performance funding being addressed by the Task Force.

John

John C. Cavanaugh, Ph.D., Chancellor
Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
Dixon University Center
2986 N. Second Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110

t:  (717) 720-4010
f:  (717) 720-4011
e:  jcavanaugh@passhe.edu
w:  http://www.passhe.edu

I think it’s important that we get absolute clarity on what has been policy, what changed, and when it changed.

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19
Nov

into the mess…

   Posted by: K. Mahoney   in Uncategorized

Last night the PaSSHE Chancellor was on our campus and had an open meeting with faculty.  We knew that one of the issues that faculty were going to raise would be the reorganization of the College of Business due to a mandate from the Chancellor’s office for AACSB accreditation.  Let’s say that the Chancellor’s visit proved to be a game changer.  Here’s what I posted on APSCUF-KU Xchange this morning.

I wake this morning with my Irish up as strong as it was before I went to bed.  Here is the Chair of Accounting and Finance, Keshav Gupta’s, account of what the Chancellor said last night at the open faculty meeting @ KU:

At today’s meeting with PASSHE Chancellor, Dr. Cavanaugh, I asked the following question:

It is well known that colleges of business are cash generators.  E.G. for the fiscal year 1998-1999 Accounting and Finance Department generated almost $2,000,000 in tuition and fees revenues with only $950,000 in expenses.  That resulted in $1,050,000 in cash contribution, after expenses, to KU.  In view of this why would you want to shut down the college of business, if it were unable to get AACSB accreditation, and what will be its impact on KU?

Dr. Cavanaugh’s response was something like this:

Thank you for giving me a chance to dispel a rumor.  I have never said that.  There are Pros and Cons of AACSB.  AACSB’s AQ-PQ requirements are very stringent.  AACSB focuses more on faculty qualifications than perhaps any other accrediting body.  Unlike some other disciplines, AACSB accreditation is not absolutely necessary.  From the studies I have seen, AACSB is probably helpful in recruiting faculty and MBA students.  Impact of AACSB on recruitment of undergraduate students is less clear.

KU needs to debate pros and cons of going for AACSB accreditation and pros and cons of not going for AACSB accreditation.

Later on in a brief private conversation, Dr. Cavanaugh stated that closing down college of business would be stupid.  He also said that when he took office he saw all these accreditation mandates from the previous chancellor and that he did not agree with them.  Finally, he said that if we go for AACSB accreditation we have to make sure that we get it.

Cavanaugh’s statement flies in the face of everything we have heard up till now.  Here’s what I wrote to our APSCUF-KU Executive Committee this morning:

I want to put my two cents in on this.  I agree with Paul that managements plans for splitting the College of Business needs to stop immediately without conditions.  Frankly, I am livid.  Here’s just a little summary of why:

  • Up until this point, we have been operating under the assumption there was a MANDATE for AACSB accreditation.  A Board of Governors’ policy was the source of that mandate and the former Chancellor had made it perfectly clear that any College or program offering a degree in business that was not AACSB accredited would face closure.  The effect of that would be the retrenchment of a significant number of faculty members.
  • The ONLY reason Paul demanded that the administration produces a coherent plan and present that plan to the union was to save the jobs of a significant number of our faculty.
  • It was clear if we HAD NOT forced this issue, the CoB Dean and the administration would have violated the contract, and potentially the law, which would have ended in a failed proposal for AACSB and the potential closure of the program and hence the loss of faculty jobs.
  • As a union–particularly those of us who met with the administration to review and critique their proposals, Paul, Ruth, and myself–we have taken some hits for being involved in the process at all.  Personally, I was willing to absorb those blows and deal with the trash talk in the rumor mills because I thought we could save faculty jobs.  A couple of years ago we did the same thing when it came to saving the Early Learning Center.  We knew that we would take hits from some people who didn’t see the value of the Early Learning Center, but we got involved with discussion with administration because we thought we could save the ELC.  And we did.
  • The chancellor’s announcement last night that there was no mandate for AACSB accreditation and than any decision to pursue accreditation should be a university wide discussion of strategic priorities–i.e. part of a shared governance process–raises several fundamental questions:
    • How is it possible that our administration did not know about this?  If they truly didn’t know about this, then that raises serious questions about what exactly President Cevallos has been doing this past few months when not in China.  If they DID know about this and hid this from us, all bets are off.
    • Given the significant cost of the accreditation process and the divisive nature of having a disproportionate amount of money being allocated to the College of Business in support of accreditation, HOW IS IT POSSIBLE that the administration–Cevallos in particular–not have someone in CONSTANT CONTACT with State PaSSHE regarding the process of AASCB accreditation and PaSSHE policy?
    • Why has the administration not released a clear statement today putting a halt to the reorganization of the College of Business given this new information?
    • Why did the CHANCELLOR not explicitly communicate this change of policy to all university presidents? From what we’ve been able to find out in a short period of time, this information is news to many of our colleagues across the state system.
I have to stop or I am going to get even angrier than I am at this point.  If we get additional corroboration of the Chancellor’s statements (there is a question as to whether the Board of Governors’ has actually approved this change of policy), then I think it’s time open the grievance flood gates.
This is a game changer folks.
Bread and Roses,
Kevin
It’s gonna get a whole lot messier before it gets better.
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24
Aug

a welcome to apscuf-ku xchange

   Posted by: ktmahoney   in blog info

Welcome to APSCUF-KU XChange. This blog is an unofficial, member-initiated blog for APSCUF-KU members (and others) to discuss all issues related to working at Kutztown University.  For the uninitiated, “APSCUF-KU” stands for the Kutztown University Chapter of the Association of Pennsylvania State Colleges and University Faculties.  APSCUF is the union that represents the faculty at Pennsylvania’s 14 State owned universities.

Why is this an “unofficial” blog? Well, for starters, I don’t think a blog devoted to discussion among members should have to have the approval of local or State leadership.  I believe that a strong union has its roots in an active membership.  And by active membership, I mean members who are invested in discussing issues that directly affect their work-lives and organizing collectively to solve problems, resist injustice, and improve work-life quality.  An active membership does not wait for dictates from its local or State union leadership before it acts–just the opposite.  An active membership organizes in order to set the agenda for its local and State leadership.  An active membership also privileges member-to-member communication.  Member-to-member communication is one of the best ways we have to keep on top of administrative decisions, to build solidarity, to gain a more complete understanding of the workings of our university, to develop effective responses to abuses of our contract, and to educate each other on 0ur contract and what it means to be an academic union member.

This blog can serve as a means for determining the merit of rumors that might affect our work lives (e.g. “Did anyone else hear that they were shutting down program X?” “What ever happened to the university’s plans to build a conference center?” “Someone told me that our State union is selling its building…is that true?”).  Sometimes rumors amount to nothing.  Other times, these little whisperings might key us all into something important.  The key is to separate the rumors with merit from the BS.

This blog can also serve as a clearinghouse of information about our union, our university, and the state of higher education.  Eventually, I hope that other members become interested in posting here too.  If you are interested in becoming a contributor to APSCUF-KU XChange, drop me an email at deepdemocracy@gmail.com.

Here’s to the discussion.

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7
Feb

APSCUF makes its way to YouTube

   Posted by: K. Mahoney   in Uncategorized

That’s right folks.  APSCUF entered YouTube in September 2008.  Here’s the link <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6EInZfXYUw> and here’s the video:   

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