legal case involving Open Records law and PASSHE University foundation

This little gem popped up on one of my google alerts earlier today.  This case may be important for other APSCUF chapters to brush up on as it concerns the legal relationships between East Stroudsburg and its Foundation.  Briefly, the case involves a request for information from East Stroudsburg’s Foundation.  Dan Berret, a reporter for the Pocono Record, requested “donor information and minutes of meetings held by the [East Stroudsburg’s] Foundation. ”  The Administration denied Berret’s request.  How the case is sorted (sorting?) out is quite interesting.

The reason why I think APSCUF and APSCUF chapters should check this out has to do with PASSHE’s claims of a budget crisis and its decision to pursue retrenchment.  It would be useful to know what each university’s Foundation is up to, the kind of money involved, and the particular discussions at their meetings.  I am especially interested in this at Kutztown because I suspect that we will learn more about KU’s accounting practices and the way money moves between different accounts.  I may proven wrong on this one, but it seems like something worth pursuing.  It’s just another version of that famous line from Watergate: “follow the money.”

Laws, Life, and Legal Matters – Court Cases and Legal Information at Leagle.com – All Federal and State Appeals Court Cases in One Search.

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Mansfield University announces retrenchment too.

In the latest round of PASSHE retrenchment announcements, Mansfield U signals cuts in the order of $4 million.

http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/543763.html?nav=5011

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Excellent article/analysis from PSEA on PA’s pension mess.

As I sit here in the mountains, I am grateful for this little phone I’ve got. While the phone reception is in and out, the web comes through just fine.

I am even more thankful for this analysis coming out of PSEA. The only way we all get out of this “budget crisis” for real is to resituate the public discourse…to refeame how these issues are understood.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10139/1059083-109.stm

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Higher education advertised job openings jump 47 percent | Pennsylvania Business Central

This is an interesting article from the on-line site, Pennsylvania Business Central.  There’s no “gotcha” in this article, but it provides some useful data for our current discussion and an analysis of trends in higher ed in PA.

Higher education advertised job openings jump 47 percent  | Pennsylvania Business Central.

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XChange gets PASSHE retrenchment plans: SCOOP!

If there was ever an argument for swinging by campus during breaks even when one is not required to be there, this is one for sure.  It seems that the XChange is developing a bit of a reputation as a place to leak information.  That’s especially valuable during a time like this when Kutztown University is retrenching.

Let me put it like this (to borrow a line I first heard from Greg Palast when he was speaking at Politics & Prose bookstore back in 2001): I was just sitting there at my desk when out of nowhere, this landed on my desk.  Actually, it’s more like: I made my way to campus today to take care of some business and opened my door to find this little gem.

The gem?  I’ve got a copy of PASSHE’s “Retrenchment Overview and Instructions.”  Maybe this will turn out to be old news, but just in case, I am going to alert our State Meet and Discuss team and APSCUF President Steve Hicks of this document in case they haven’t seen it yet.  In any case, this is the kind of document that I think should be PUBLIC: so, here it is (PDF format):

PASSHE Retrenchment Plans

It’s at times like these I’m glad I bought a decent scanner last year.  I’m also grateful for my recent acquisition of Adobe CS4 (thanks KU).  As you’ll see, I’ve inserted some comments and highlighted certain sections that were of particular interest to me.  You should be able to check out the comments by clicking on the yellow dialogue bubbles.

Two items jumped out upon my first read:

1. This document was authored 8/6/2009 and updated again on 10/8/09.  That says that PASSHE has been actively planning for retrenchment since AT LEAST last summer.  Given that this document found its way into my hands, I am going to assume that President Cevallos has a copy of it as well.  In that case, there are questions as to whether or not he was following the procedures outlined in this document on his own or from an order from the Chancellor’s Office.  Regardless, it is clear that Cevallos is following PASSHE’s playbook for the most part.
2. PASSHE’s interpretation of the status of temporary faculty directly clashes with APSCUF’s interpretation of Article 29 (Retrenchment).  PASSHE is suggesting that the elimination of temporary faculty should occur BEFORE retrenchment–even when the reasoning is financial.  However,  Article 29 B.2 clearly states that “the following order shall be utilized to the extent feasible in the department where retrenchment is occurring:

a.         temporary, part-time
b.         temporary, full-time
c.         regular, part-time
d.         regular, full-time

Let me close by thanking the person or people who got this document into my hands.  The more information that we can get out there, the better faculty, staff, students, and citizens can become actively involved in defending the quality of higher education in PA.

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Morning Call: Kutztown U. makes $4.2 million in cuts + Commentary

For readers of the XChange, this article from the Morning Call will come as a surprise–it merely confirms the fact that President Cevallos is playing the hatchet man these days.  And the only guiding principle to his cuts seems to be his “projected budget shortfalls.”  The one “interesting” thing about this article is we finally have a number: $4.2 million.  That number is “interesting” because it seems to be right around the number that the university is expecting in surplus this year. That’s right.  APSCUF-KU President, Paul Quinn began going over Kutztown’s 3rd quarter data the day we received it from the university at Meet and Discuss.  Quinn’s initial calculations put the surplus right in the neighborhood of $4 million.  APSCUF-KU has sought expertise from our State leadership in parsing the data to get a final hard number on the university’s surplus.  But what is clear is that President Cevallos is using this “crisis” to reshape Kutztown University.  And from my vantage point, he is doing so willy-nilly, without rhyme or reason, haphazardly–pick your description.

Case in point?  President Cevallos has always been quick to point out that we are an “access institution” and that serving students from the surrounding communities is part of KU’s core mission.  So, how do you ensure that KU protects that “core mission” in a time of “crisis?”  Why, you cut programs such as ACT 101 and Upward Bound because those are the programs designed to serve at-risk students from the surrounding communities.  Confused?  Don’t be, because Cevallos is nothing if not consistent.  To ensure that students from the surrounding communities have supportive resources once they get to campus–especially those who are first-generation college students or who have been identified as “at-risk”–Cevallos is shutting down the Advisement Center.  If you take a look at the “Academic Support” category on KU’s “Academics” page (I took a screen shot in case the page is altered after this post), you’ll find that Cevallos has just cut 3 of the 8 of the programs devoted to supporting the very students Cevallos identifies as key to our mission.   And…the Department of Academic Enrichment is still on the chopping block, waiting.  Still confused?  Cevallos then decides to cut Nursing.  That’s right.  As APSCUF President Steve Hicks says in the Morning Call article, “To lose a nursing program when there is a commonwealth and national shortage of nurses seems shortsighted.”  Hicks is being kind.  So, get it now?  Let’s review:

• Cut programs designed to help recruit and retain at-risk students
• Cut almost 40% of the programs designed to support students with their academics once on campus
• Cut a major that has the potential to assist Pennsylvania citizens gain good jobs in a sector of the economy that is still growing.

Cevallos and his administration may claim that some of these programs were not “performing” the way the administration wanted them to.  They look at the program in Nursing, for example, and say there are not enough students enrolled.  Well, if you are a MANAGER and you notice there is a sector of your institution that is not performing the way you want to, it is YOUR JOB to make sure that it does.  This administration is acting as if it has only one tool in its toolbox: a hatchet.  That actually explains a lot.  If the imagination of the administration is limited to imagining what it can do with a hatchet, it explains why there has been so much inaction up until now.  Let’s face it.  This administration is choosing to cut now because it can use the excuse of the financial crisis and can wash its hands of any accountability for mismanagement.  Convenient.  But there is a lot of that going around these days…just watch the Big Bank CEO’s testify before Congress or Big Oil CEO’s dodge their responsibility.   Frankly, I’m ashamed by this behavior.

So, I think I’ll leave my commentary there.   I’ll never be able to get to sleep now.   Here’s the article from the Morning Call:

Kutztown U. makes $4.2 million in cuts – mcall.com.

Oh, and one more thing: The Morning Call story does not question the university’s numbers.  However, here at the XChange we’ve been poking holes in the administration’s case for crisis on several occasions.  Here’s links to the relevant posts:

• on group think and catastrophe
• Cevallos and the Seven Budget Crisis Myths
• how to divert your academic budget: breakage

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a bad time to hit the pause button

To all my friends in the blogosphere,

I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been deep in grading these past couple of days and will be finishing it up tonight.  It’s not a good time to be away from my keyboard, though.  The KU faculty listserv is alive with some excellent critiques of the KU administration’s decision to retrench faculty, programs, and departments.  Once I finish grading, I’m hoping to get permission to post some of those critiques here.

Until then…keep up the fight!

K

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correction regarding fall 2010 dance classes

Yesterday, I posted my notes from Tuesday’s APSCUF-KU Meet and Discuss.  In my post I wrote that “the administration announced that Dance classes will no longer be taught beginning fall 2010.”  I went back and checked my notes and that is indeed what I wrote down.

However, today I’ve learned that the Provost has communicated a different message to the Dance faculty.  According to the Dance faculty, the Provost said that “dance courses would run as set this fall” and that there would be another meeting to ensure that students get the dance courses needed to complete their programs.

I apologize for my mistake and appreciate, as always, folks paying attention and correcting any inaccuracies.  That’s the beauty of a blog.  So, to be crystal clear, according to the Dance faculty, the Provost has clearly stated that dance classes will run as scheduled for fall 2010.

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updates from APSCUF-KU meet and discuss

Hey all.  Once again I am bringing you my notes from our local Meet and Discuss on Tuesday, May 4th.  And, once again, I will issue the disclaimer that these are not the “official minutes.”  These are notes that I took at the meeting and then revised.

Here’s a quick look at a few of the most significant issues discussed:

• The Administration announced that it was eliminating the Department of Advisement
• The Administration announced that it was placing into moratorium the BA in Theater and the minors in Musical Theater and Theater.
• The Administration announced that it was placing into moratorium the RN to BSN in Nursing as well as the MSN in Nursing
• The Administration announced that Dance classes will no longer be taught beginning fall 2010
• No final decision has been made about the Department of Academic Enrichment, Electronic Media, or Philosophy.  These departments remain under review
• The Administration is currently reviewing ALL release time.  This includes release time for directing programs such as the Women’s Center, the LBGTQ Center/Allies, and the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching.  We were told, however, that the Director for Honors is safe for next year at least

Certainly cannot call these “highlights.”  It was a very grave meeting for the most part.  I’ll leave things there.  To check out my complete notes, follow the link below.

Meet and Discuss Notes May 4 2010

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let’s call it a summer school of action

First, let me say thank you to all of you who have written or called asking about the relative quiet on the XChange.  Last week I just crashed.  It was the last week of classes, student conferences, and end-of-the-year union stuff.  On top of all the work we have on our plates, I got a bunch more dumped on me unexpectedly.  Yes, union work is work.   And often there is more than enough of it to go around…and, generally, there is more work than can be done by those who are doing the work.  That’s the story of any kind of activist work, for sure.   But, I have to say, that just getting a few emails and calls about this blog was heartening.  It’s good to know that the XChange has it’s followers and fans.  I’ll do my best to not disappoint.

Second, I’ve had just about enough.  This morning–yes, it’s FINALS WEEK–I had a couple of students come to me about additional cuts the administration is making or in the process of making.  Let’s call it “rumor” at this point, but I am pretty sure we can assume that the administration is pursuing further cuts.  Based upon what these students told me and some preliminary work on my part to confirm their concerns, here’s what seems to be in the works:

• HONORS PROGRAM: potential cut in release time and pay for Director. I’ve heard that there is some kind of meeting today between the administration and the current Director about this potential cut.
• WOMEN’S CENTER: potential cut in release time and pay for Director.
• ALLIES: potential cut in release time and pay for Director.
• CENTER FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF TEACHING: potential cut in release time and pay for Director.

Let me re-emphasize that I need to confirm these cuts.  Good thing that we have Meet and Discuss this afternoon.  I will add these to the list of items under “budget cuts” we have on today’s agenda (May 4 2010 M&D Agenda).

While we are working hard to fight these cuts at the Meet and Discuss table, it is becoming pretty clear to this observer/participant that the Administration is going to proceed to cut and cut and cut.  They are doing so despite growing questions about the administration’s budget numbers and their financial projections.  We have covered this issue in previous posts (see, for example: on group think and catastrophe and Cevallos and the Seven Budget Crisis Myths, how to divert your academic budget: breakage).  It is clear that we need to move to action to save our university and protect the academic quality of our programs.  If we are not willing to do it for ourselves, then we need to do it for the citizens of Pennsylvania and our students.  In these economic times, they will be looking for us to help give them the edge.  We cannot meet our mission with a university administration that is too reliant on its fiscal hatchet.

So, it’s time for a little summer project.  Let’s call it a summer school of action. I think we need to devote this summer to planning a multifaceted campaign to combat this administration’s tactics and to connect their tactics directly with our contract negotiations which will begin in earnest this summer as well.  I know I mentioned this before, but perhaps we can start with a “Retrench the Administration” campaign.  We know that there is a ton of waste that goes on in management…we’re going to ferret it out.  It’s time to get every job description of every administrator on campus and conduct a retrenchment list of our own.  Let’s call this step one of our campaign, shall we?

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FRONTLINE: Coming Soon – College, Inc. | PBS

Here it is folks…what we have to contend with now and for the foreseeable future.  Perfect opening to this negotiations year.

Higher education is a $400 billion industry fueled by taxpayer money. One of the fastest-growing–and most controversial–sectors of the industry is the for-profit colleges and universities. Unlike traditional colleges that raise money from wealthy alumni and other donors, many for-profit schools sell shares to investors on Wall Street. But what are students getting out of the deal? Critics say a worthless degree and a mountain of debt. Proponents insist they’re innovators, widening access to education. FRONTLINE follows the money to uncover how for-profit universities are transforming the way we think about college in America.

FRONTLINE: Coming Soon – College, Inc. | PBS.

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