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<DIV><FONT size=2>Nick,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>In my years at the UI both as a student and later in the early
1990s teaching in the Math Department, the School of Business, and as your
colleague in the Philosophy Department, my experience compels me to respectfully
disagree with you.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I taught Finite Math, for example. There were several
sections of this class. One was taught by the very conscientious tenured
Bill Voxman who did an outstanding job. Some of the other sections were
taught other tenured faculty. There were not just student complaints, but
I had one of these tenured faculty when I was a math student here. This
faculty member was an atrocious teacher, and his attitude toward
students was that if they didn't get the subject the way I taught it,
tough, I'm not changing!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>In the business school one very key class in an area where
there was rapidly changing/advancing knowledge was being taught by a tenured
faculty member using notes 10 years old; not only were the students being taught
useless, out-of-date material, they were being harmed. I talked to
the department head about it; he agreed basically with my assessment
but said there was nothing he could practically do about it given the
circumstances. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Also when I was teaching in the School of business, students
were required to take a certain computer science course with which all of them
had a difficult time if they had a particular instructress. Many banded
together to teach themselves. I had observed this instructress in this
class because in the previous semester she kept students in the class right
before mine well after the bell and sometimes after the second bell. She
was an atrocious instructress, very abusive to students, and presented material
which was in error. She was later tenured without dissent.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>When I taught Ethics, a multi-section class in the philosophy
department, there was more than one tenured faculty whose teaching style and
rate of success in this class was under constant criticism by students.
The attitude of these instructors here again was that if the students didn't get
the way I taught it, tough, I'm not changing!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>These kind of teachers need to change their attitudes and
approaches or be sent on their way. We are hired to teach. That
means that the students actually learn, and professionally this means that we
continue to improve our methods and presentations so that student learning is
maximized. If student performance is poor in a class semester after
semester, it is highly probable that it is not the students, but the instructor
and his/her approach responsible for these results. If no learning is
taking place, no teaching is either.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I could give you many further examples from my student and
teaching years. Hence, </FONT><FONT size=2>if in all your years at
the UI only one tenured faculty member was deemed incompetent to teach,
that is more than a real condemnation of the tenure system; it is a
mockery, and a monument to administrative blindness.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Like you, I don't trust some in the administration
either. I don't trust that all of them are always fair with faculty
evaluations or evaluations of other administrators. I don't trust them to
look after student interests as a priority. Unlike you, I don't
completely trust tenured faculty to review themselves or candidates for
tenure. There is too much self-interest at stake.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>The entire system needs to be reformed and to be replaced so
that the fundamental goals of the university are accomplished with maximal
effectiveness and with fairness to all: students, staff, and faculty
alike.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I omitted two other reasons for dismissing faculty. One
is obsolescence of subject matter. The other is that the importance of
certain subjects become marginal in light of the changing world, the resources
available to the university, and the attendant changes in the specific missions
of the university. The UI cannot be all things to all potential
students.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow,
ID 83843</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>208
882-7975</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=NGIER@uidaho.edu href="mailto:NGIER@uidaho.edu">Gier, Nicholas</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=deco@moscow.com
href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">Art Deco</A> ; <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Vision 2020</A> ; <A
title=president@uidaho.edu href="mailto:president@uidaho.edu">UI President</A>
; <A title=Ttrail@house.idaho.gov href="mailto:Ttrail@house.idaho.gov">Tom
Trail</A> ; <A title=SRingo@house.idaho.gov
href="mailto:SRingo@house.idaho.gov">Shirley Ringo</A> ; <A
title=GSCHROED@senate.idaho.gov href="mailto:GSCHROED@senate.idaho.gov">Gary
Schroeder</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, March 03, 2010 12:02
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> RE: [Vision2020] UI to Furlough
Employees</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><!-- Converted from text/plain format -->
<P><FONT size=2>Hi Wayne:<BR><BR>I don't see how eliminating tenure will save
the UI any money. It would, I submit, cause the UI a lot of grief, least
of all in recruitment of new faculty members. You think that you had
some bad teachers; just wait until you see the applicants who send their
credentials to institutions that don't have tenure.<BR><BR>UI tenured faculty
members can be terminated for professional incompetence. A post-tenure review
process has been in place for over 30 years. I remember a physics professor
who was judged incompetent by a post-tenure review panel, but the UI
administration refused to follow through on the faculty
recommendation.<BR><BR>More recently faculty in the College of Engineering
asked the Provost to set up a tenure review committee for Gary Maki at the
research institute in Post Falls. The Provost refused, and recently the
UI was terribly embarrassed by the legal settlement for the two people Maki
had harassed.<BR><BR>The original post-tenure review policy contained
provisions by which faculty members, department chairs, and deans could
initiate the procedures. Now only the Provost can do so, and I don't
think this administration has done its job to police tenure. Faculty go
through a thorough third year review in their departments and another thorough
review at 5 years. After that their credentials are examined by two
college committees where the dean and finally the provost can turn down
faculty recommendations.<BR><BR>With regard to a simple due process system, my
35-year experience handling faculty grievances on seven campuses (includes
WSU) has been that university administrators have a very poor track record
following their own procedures and honoring due process. I simply don't
trust them.<BR><BR>Nick Gier, President, Higher Education Council, Idaho
Federation of Teachers<BR><BR><BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From:
vision2020-bounces@moscow.com on behalf of Art Deco<BR>Sent: Wed 3/3/2010
11:31 AM<BR>To: Vision 2020; UI President; Tom Trail; Shirley Ringo; Gary
Schroeder<BR>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] UI to Furlough
Employees<BR><BR>Response to Mo Hendrickson's request (see below):<BR><BR>Here
are outlines of three ideas than could save the UI a lot of money, and at the
same time iimprove student performance:<BR><BR>1. Video
Classes<BR><BR>2. Refundable Performance
Deposits<BR><BR>3. Replace Tenure with Guaranteed Due
Process<BR><BR><BR>1. Video Classes<BR><BR>This is not a new
idea. Such things have been happening at some major universities with
effective results since the late 1950s.<BR><BR>For some classes, like science
and math classes, the best instructor based on effective instructional
performance is chosen. In the first semester/year of classes with
sections, the earliest morning class is taught by this instructor. The
class is videotaped. All the rest of the sections see the videotape,
monitored by TAs. If the videotape is of suffficient quality and new
advancements in the field do not render it obsolete, the tape may be used for
suceeding semesters without the need for retaping. Likewaise, single
section classes could be taped for use in succeeding
semesters.<BR><BR>Obviously, this will not work for all classes as they are
now taught, for example, Creative Writing, Intro to Philosophy, most graduate
level courses, etc. It has worked well for intro/lower level science and
math clases with lab/recitation elements. It can work well for classes
like English Comp where lab/recitation/practice writing elements are
added/subsituted for some of the lecture periods.<BR><BR>After video class
program is implemented, there are a large salary savings possible since not as
many faculty are needed. In addition, educational quality is frequently
improved.<BR><BR>Again this is not a new idea. The university ought
research other large universities where such programs have been
successful.<BR><BR><BR>2. Refundable Performance
Deposits.<BR><BR>Student fees/tuition only cover a small part of the cost of
higher education (10% - 15%?). Taxpayers, endowments, grant providers,
other contributors provide the rest. Given this cost to others, it is
not unreasonable to expect students to put forth their best efforts to learn
what is offered to them.<BR><BR>Hence, in addition to each semester's normal
fees/tuition each student should be required to put up a performance deposit
-- $500?, $1,000?<BR><BR>If the student performs satisfactorily, say passes
all courses, and has a certain minimum GPA, then they get their deposit back,
else not.<BR><BR>Of course, such a system would need to be fine tuned to take
into account illnesses, family tragedies, background, and other unpredictable
events/circumstances that might keep a well intentioned student from making
the grade.<BR><BR><BR>3. Replace Tenure with Guaranteed Due
Process.<BR><BR>Tenure was originally instituted basically to preserve
academic freedom and expression. In operation it frequently does not
achieve this goal, but may be counterproductive to such
achievement. <BR><BR>Simply stated, the hoops and accomadations that have
to met to gain approval of existing tenured faculty with their personalities,
insecurities, prejudices, other idiosyncracies often surpress new, useful,
original, controversial, etc ideas and result in the denial of tenure
especially if the ideas of the candidate are not in accord with those of the
existing tenured faculty, has angered one or more tenured faculty, or has less
than stellar personal relation skills.<BR><BR>After a probationary period no
one should lose their job except for failure to meet performance standards,
unethical/criminal behavior, or financial exigency.<BR><BR>We've all had
them: professors/instructors whose teaching skills are horrible, who
have retired on the job, and/or whose so-called research is at best cream
puffery, and at worst nearly worthless garbage. There needs to be a way
of getting these ineffective performers off the payroll. There needs to
be a gaurantted due process system where they are encouraged to correct their
performance, bring it to an acceptable level, and their failure to do so
would result in termination.<BR><BR>This is more or less the practice outside
the university system. Such a system would insure academic freedom
without forcing the university to carry substandard performing
baggage.<BR><BR><BR>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow,
ID 83843<BR><BR>waf@moscow.com<BR>208
882-7975<BR><BR><BR><BR>_____<BR>On Mar 2, 2010, at 2:45 PM, Mo Hendrickson
wrote:<BR><BR><BR> I have been wanting to ask folks this question for a
LONG time....How would you solve the financial problems at UI? You all
are great at criticizing and griping about the decisions that are being made,
but I have yet to hear from any one of you a better way. Yes, it sucks
that people are going to be required to take furloughs, yes it sucks that
programs are being merged and so on and so on and so on. But guess what
the economy is in the shits, the state is taking money away from everything
including higher ed, and the university has to do
something. <BR><BR> So please, all of you who are so wise and all
knowing how would you solve the problem? Without laying the
administration off, that won't solve a
thing. <BR><BR><BR></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>