Dear fellow CAS NTT faculty,
Last night at our bargaining session, the University stated that because of underenrollment, they could not commit to honoring the courses they’ve promised to any NTT faculty for next semester – even courses that are currently meeting minimum enrollment. This leaves dozens of us in limbo, potentially losing out on our courses for next semester.
We made several proposals about how to address the situation to protect our members, but the University did not even comment on our ideas. Instead, they said they would be emailing department chairs to tell them to “deal with” the situation and reiterated that loss of courses is something we all should “expect.” The University’s comments and stance are unproductive and inhumane.
If you are concerned you or colleagues in your department may be affected by underenrolled classes next semester, please:
- Talk to your Department chair about how to maintain your courseload. For example, ask if your course can be changed to a class that more students might find more attractive (e.g., converting a language class to a culture class), if your course can be permitted to run even if it doesn’t meet the usual enrollment minimum, or if the department can split up classes that are at capacity and/or have a waitlist so you have a course to teach.
- Email us at adjunctsusd@gmail.com if you are concerned about your courseload next semester. We are fighting to maintain courseloads and/or pay for every affected member, but the University has declined to share any concrete data with us about who will be impacted by this. The best way for us to figure out who is affected is for YOU to email us.
- Come to our bargaining session with the University’s team on December 5th, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm, in the conference rooms of KIPJ on the first floor. The University said it would respond to our proposals about protecting courseload and pay for members then, and we as a bargaining team will be presenting our economic proposals to the University. Let’s show the University the real people affected by their uncompassionate actions. If you plan on attending, please email us at adjunctsusd@gmail.com so we know who will be attending or RSVP here.
In solidarity,
Your Contract Action Team