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Volume IX |
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Number Seven |
Weld Cuts Higher Education Budget
Threatening to cut the higher education budget by $25 million, the governor submitted his budget, House 1, with a $10 million cut, tuition retention, an increase in our health insurance to 75%-25% by underfunding the Group Insurance Commission (GIC). So much for the governor' s commitment to public education. In addition, similar to last year, the governor put almost all of the money in HECC's line budget for distribution. The legislature supported our position to line item budgeting in all accounts, including the colleges.
Most egregious for the community colleges is the governor's statement that since he has been increasing the higher education budget, it is time for the colleges to share the burden of getting additional monies through fundraising. You may recall, however, that the legislature, not the governor, has increased higher education's budget, but it is still below the 1988 level.
Political action organizing and activities surrounding the budget,
early retirement, and contract funding will begin on all higher
education campuses this month. Our jobs now include political action
if we are to stop the governor and his associates from gutting public
higher education. Please respond when asked to make a call.
With the advent of a new Welfare Reform bill, the MCCC and other
higher education units are in the process of trying to determine how
many of our future students will be impacted. Since the bill
grandfathers students on welfare who are already in school, the
segments and the MTA will work with legislators to file corrective
legislation if it appears there will be problems for welfare
recipients going to college.
The MCCC is processing some grievances which focus on unit members serving on search committees and unit members being applicants for a job. One case on its way to arbitration concerns a situation where a unit member serving on a search committee made negative remarks about a unit member who was being interviewed. This applicant did not get the job and the notes from the search committee were requested. The notes contained unfounded and very negative statements against the applicant.
As a result of these grievances, MCCC President Tom Parsons requested a legal opinion concerning the confidential nature of statements made by faculty members serving on selection committees. Below is a paragraph from the legal opinion from MTA Attorney Brian Riley. Because of a charge being filed, the entire opinion cannot be reprinted. But a salient paragraph in the opinion should alert unit members to be careful when serving on a search committee.
President Parsons asked whether the members of a selection committee may be held personally liable for negative comments made in the course of their committee activities. Attorney Riley wrote:
"In my opinion any negative, unsubstantiated [emphasis added] comments concerning an applicant for a position made by a member of the selection committee could result in a lawsuit for either defamation or intentional interference for contractual advantage. Members of the selection committee are not per se exempted from such a lawsuit."
Once the arbitration and the charges on the outstanding grievances
are processed, MCCC Grievance Office Dennis Fitzgerald and MTA
Consultant Donna Sirutis will be putting together a booklet to serve
as a guide to unit members' responsibilities of serving on search
committees.
On January 30, 1995, the MCCC Negotiating Team met with the presidents' bargaining subcommittee members to discuss political action strategy for our contract funding. Both teams agreed that MCCC president Tom Parsons would expand the workload information which he had already submitted a couple of weeks earlier. He broadened the base of workload information and comparisons of our workload to other industrial states and made the information current. That information was then sent on to the Chancellor and Secretary of Administration and Finance Charles Baker. A meeting was scheduled for February 8, 1994, with the Chancellor, HECC Chair Richard Wiley, and Secretary Baker, and others. As of print time, there was no information available concerning that meeting.
The MTA Political Action Strategy Committee (PASC) now has
representatives from all higher education segments in place. In
addition, the Student Government Association (SGA) invited MTA
representatives to meet with their organization. As a result of that
meeting, the SGA will have two representatives on our higher
education PASC. Plans are underway for each committee member to work
on his or her campus to coordinate in-district meetings with area
colleges and area legislators. They want to begin the process of
getting representatives and senators on board to support our
contract. Though no one knows what route-to-funding the contracts
will take, the political action group is paving the way. In addition
to contract funding, other issues in the forefront of the political
action arena are the budget and early retirement.
Two years ago, the delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly voted to let the NEA enter into merger discussions with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and report back at the following year's Representative Assembly. Last year, the team requested a year's extension.
In a recent joint statement the two union's announced that the talks had broken off "amicably," and "both parties reluctantly agreed that many of the internal issues separating the two organizations were insurmountable at this time." They agreed, however, to discuss ways to develop a better working relationship as separate organizations.
Over the past few years, a few states have seen the NEA and the
Federation working together, and in some instances merging. On the
national level, however, differences over governance procedures and
the AFT's affiliation with the AFL/CIO created problems which could
not be resolved. The two unions, higher education's biggest,
represent about 200,000 professors and over one million K-12
employees.
The next scheduled bargaining date between the two teams is March 7, 1995. The team is in the process of continuing its political action strategy. The surveys are being compiled, and each chapter will be getting a printout of the comments part of the survey.
Over the next few weeks, you will be notified of the petition
drive and button campaign. Each campus will be attempting to contact
DCE unit members to sign a petition indicating their support for the
DCE bargaining team and their concern over the lack of any real
proposals by the college presidents. Unit members will also be asked
to wear a pin supporting the Negotiating Team.
On February 8, 1994, MTA attorney Sandra Quinn went before the Massachusetts State Supreme Court to argue that the furloughs were a unconstitutional breach of our collective bargaining agreements. When the MTA won in Superior Court, the governor appealed to the Supreme Court. A decision is expected in about 45 days.
If the MTA prevails, then it can go back and claim damages for
monies lost on interest and forced vacation days, for instance.
Over the next month and one-half, all unit members will be
receiving two sets of ballots - one from the MCCC and one from the
MTA. Since there are no statewide elections this year, the MCCC
ballot will be for MTA and NEA Annual Meeting Delegates. The MTA
ballot will be for two seats for NEA Director and higher education
delegates to the NEA Annual Meeting. Do not throw these ballots away.
Envelopes will be clearly marked "Ballot" to distinguish them. If you
have any questions, call your chapter president or director.
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Bill Peirce, a professor of Mathematics since 1971 and chair of the Mathematics, Engineering & Technology Department for the past ten years at Cape Cod Community College will be headed to Russia in June as an international keynote panelist for the Higher Education in a Market Economy Conference. The conference's focus is to promote intense discussion between educators in the "former socialist republics" and a global range of faculty and staff representing every level of tertiary education. Peirce will be serving on a panel which will include Alexander Sokolov from the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chris Kapp from the University of Stellenbosch, Stephanie Marshall from York University, and Shantilal Patel from Hong Kong City Polytechnic.
In the 1960's, Peirce went to the USSR. This trip began what is now a 30-year involvement in international education. During the 1970's he became heavily involved in the European Society for Engineering Education particularly with regard to cross-border recognition of professional credentials. For the last 15 years he has been involved with faculty and staff development in the former socialist countries like Hungry, Poland, East Germany, and the Czech Republic and in the past ten years, South Africa. Peirce does a lot of consulting work in engineering with foreign countries, and for the past 20 years has traveled extensively around the globe to participate in panels and present papers. Since research is very closely linked with the university structure and the Academies of Sciences in most countries, education and the universities are an integral part of his consulting work.
Last spring, Peirce was a consultant with Russell Weg Kollege, Port Elizabeth, in the Republic of South Africa. Russell Road Technical College serves a largely Xhosa speaking student body and is struggling to meet the needs of a changing economy in "the Detroit of South Africa." Peirce net with every member of the college faculty and staff to share ideas on curriculum, developmental education, staff development, fundraising, and a host of other topics. The visit culminated with a workshop session with the College Board of Trustees.
In June 1994, Peirce presented a paper entitled, Conflicting Expectations for Higher Education--United States Perspectives Differ on the "State of the Art" at SAARDHE Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. He was one of two international participants at this biennial conference of the Southern African Association for Research and Development in Higher Education. With growing interest in community and technical college models as tools for improving economic and social development, the three-day conference, hosted by the University of Cape Town, drew participants from most sub-Saharan countries as well as Europe, the Pacific rim, and the Middle East.
A graduate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor's and Master' s in Engineering, Peirce also has an M.B.A. from Northeastern and is a registered professional engineer. He has had over 50 articles published in national and international journals including the European Society of Engineering, the Pacific Telecommunications Council of Honolulu's journal and the Society for Research in Higher Education's journal that is based in the United Kingdom.
On a completely different note, Bill Peirce and his wife Marilyn were U.S. National Water Ski Champions which led to Peirce's being a nationally certified judge and coach for over thirty years. In 1989 he coached the United States Water Ski Team for the World University Games that were held in Sophia, Bulgaria.
Peirce and his wife live in Forestdale, a village within the town
of Sandwich.
Last year, the MTA voted $149,000 for a media campaign; the MCCC also voted a $100,000 media campaign. The MTA's campaign will encompass K-G while the MCCC's will focus on the community colleges. The MCCC Communications Coordinator is working with MTA in developing questions for a higher education poll. When that is completed, the MCCC radio campaign will be designed. The radio campaign, which is the only media that is affordable statewide, will probably run in the spring. When the ads are ready to begin, all unit members will be notified as to the radio station and time of the airings.
Last year the MCCC, through the Joint Study Committee, asked the
presidents to join with the MCCC in the media campaign. They declined
due to cost. On January 30, 1994, when the negotiating teams were
meeting, the MCCC asked that the president reconsider joining the
MCCC in its campaign at its next Presidents' Council meeting. No word
yet.
We need your help in compiling the first issue of the MCCC interdisciplinary journal, the MCCC Scholar!
Any MCCC member, full or part-time, may submit an article for consideration. The articles need to be submitted in APA style and should be from 1,000 to 3,000 words in length. The first issue will cover various disciplines and interests. We would like it to be a true academic sampler. We would like to include topics such as classroom research, pedagogy, assessment, productivity, cooperative learning, an analysis of various issues in particular disciplines, and other topics. Graphic may be included if they enhance the article. Opinion articles are not acceptable, and we are not considering fiction or poetry at this time. Book reviews, not to exceed 500 worlds, may be submitted. Book reviews should relate to general topics that would be of interest to all community college faculty and staff. Later issues of the Scholar may be thematic.
A review board has been established which will read and assess each of the articles submitted. If you have any questions, please call Dr. Peter Meggison, Chair of the Review Board, Massasoit Community College. Five copies of the article along with a 3.5 inch disk containing the article should be submitted to Catherine Boudreau, Editor.
We are enthusiastic about providing this forum for our colleagues
who teach and work in the state's community colleges. Why not plan to
spend a couple of hours over semester break at this professionally
rewarding activity? You will be glad you did--guaranteed!
Have you or a colleague published a book, coordinated a national conference, received widespread recognition for an accomplishment?
Send it in to the Editor. A regular column will focus on areas like publications and/or adoption of books, awards (national or local), publication of articles, coordination of national or statewide conferences, or any accomplishment that is of note. Information should be as specific as possible and include college, home address, and phone number. Send to:
Anyone having a complaint or concern about the Blue Cross Dental plan and coverage should direct his or her comments to
Abe Sherf,
North Shore Community College.
He is the community college representative on the Health and
Welfare Trust Fund.
The vacancies within the community colleges are easily accessible on the MTA Bulletin Board System (BBS) (1-800-523- 8883) You can read, download, and/or print these vacancies at your terminal. If you do not have access to a modem, a printout can be faxed to you. Fax your request to the Communications Coordinator at 617- 236-0448. You must include the name of the college(s) where you work.
For the first time user. When you call into the BBS, you will need to provide some information to the systems operator. You can get on the BBS immediately and choose your password. Once you get on the BBS, follow these steps to get to the vacancy area. Enter your name and password, Select F(ile); 6(Vacancies in community colleges); (F)files in this area; (V)iew and type in the first two numbers of the last dated entry e.g., 42-11-1996 (You would type 42).
Only questions specific to the MTA BBS should be directed to the
systems Operator (SYSop) Ron Miller, preferably through the BBS. If
you have specific questions about a vacancy, call the college.
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Feb. 21 |
New full-time and part-time hires list due to MCCC |
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Feb. 24 |
Course materials evaluated for non-tenured faculty |
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Mar. 5 |
Fall Leave of Absence applications due |
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Mar. 5 |
Fall Sabbatical Committee recommendations due |
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Mar. 15 |
Dean's recommendation for title changes due |
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Mar. 15 |
Unit Personnel Practices Committee tenure recommendations due |
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Mar. 30 |
Department chair evaluations |
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Mar. 30 |
Preferred schedule and courses submitted by faculty |
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Mar. 31 |
Department Chair vacancies announced |
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Catherine A. Boudreau MCCC/MTA Newsletter |
The MCCC Newsletter is a publication of the Massachusetts Community College Council. The Newsletter is intended to be an information source for the members of the MCCC and for other interested parties. The material in this publication may be reprinted with the acknowledgment of its source. For further information on issues discussed in this publication, contact Catherine Boudreau, Massasoit Community College, Brockton, MA 02402. |
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