[lorend]

Two Hundred McMaster Sessional Professors Face Potential Layoff

BY DANIELLE LORENZ, MACINSIDERS

McMaster University Administration, according to CUPE 3906 is encouraging all academic departments to eradicate Unit Two (i.e. sessional) faculty members from their budgets. This is not the first time that this issue has been brought forward, but this is the first time that such a huge layoff has been mentioned. Over the past five years, more and more sessional professors have been denied tenure, and most are now only hired for an academic year.

In addition to this, individual course with low enrolment will be elimated, “under-valued” programs may be shut down, and course sections are to be merged. The majority of McMaster faculty is considered to be sessional, which means that we, the students, will be facing huge problems in the 2009-2010 academic year.

If this layoff occurs, students will be forced into large classes with little interaction from teaching staff. If you are considering post-graduate studies, you need a minimum of two references to vouch for your scholarly abilities. If you are going to be in large classes, it is very difficult to have a relationship with a professor. There is also the looming possibility of some classes no longer being offered; or (at best) being offered every other year or every two years. This is problematic when you have specific course requirements and a very finite opportunity to take certain classes.

As Juliette Merritt, a professor in the English Department laments in an editorial piece: “I have been teaching at McMaster for over 10 years, and am facing for the first time the possibility that there may be no teaching for me in the 2009/2010 year. Many of you may be facing the same loss of employment as the Employer forges ahead with plans to expand class sizes for full-time faculty who, having no Collective Agreement that can deal with the problem of burgeoning class sizes, are helpless to halt the rush towards larger and larger classes and greater workloads, at the expense of quality in education and fairness in employment relations”. This proposed mass layoff is making the sessional professors at McMaster quite nervous, and for just cause. I don’t think any of us at this point in our lives can imagine having the same job for ten years and then worrying that you may not be employed in the next three months. Pretty scary stuff.

It seems that there is a lot of question as to who exactly these sessional professors are, and aren’t. Sessional profs are anyone who is not considered tenured, or tenure-stream. This translates to a large number of the faculty at McMaster, and this affects every single program currently offered. Ironically, many of these professors are renowned and praised by students for their teaching abilities and their classes; and some even more so than their tenured counterparts.


One of the professors who is affected by this proposal is Cultural Studies professor Marc Ouellette. We mentioned Dr. Ouellette recently at MacInsiders when he was involved in McMaster’s first Civic Engagement Week, by providing the Introduction at the film screening of Michael Moore’s Slacker Uprising. We also wrote about Dr. Ouellette as one of this year’s Humanities Teaching Awards recipients. It turns out that Dr. Ouellette is one of the profs who may be let go, and the course for which he was nominated for the award may also be cut.

So what can YOU as the student do to try and prevent the loss of excellent professors like Dr. Ouellette? There is an online petition available for you to sign, which will be sent to McMaster’s Provost, Ilene Busch-Vishniac. Check it out and sign it here. Please do something about this: it will not only affect students, but it will also have a huge affect on those who lose their jobs and the families they support.

I am the 298th signature, and I recognize the names of several of my peers who have already signed, in addition to several profs I have had in the past. Please add your name and any comments you can think of, and pass along the petition using email and other forms of social networking media.

[feonateresa]

This is honestly just ridiculous and unfair. Now is the time more than ever for universities to be investing in their students, and in turn their professors and staff to give their students the best education that they can give. It really gives a feeling of anxiousness and apprehension to what could happen in the next few months.

I'm guessing that this isn't a final decision yet, when is it supposed to be made and will the petition be considered seriously?

[Allan]

Good. Larger classes means more people to copy assignments from.

[ferreinm]

While I am not necessarily for professors losing their jobs, I kind of understand why it is being done. Both of my parents lost their jobs recently. Numerous companies need to make cut backs because they simply cannot afford to keep their workers anymore.

[Bobble]

Just a slight correction on your piece.

Not all non-tenure stream professors are sessionals.

Many professors are hired as contractually limited appointments (CLAs). They are offered a yearly contract to teach a slightly higher courseload than tenure-stream profs, but enjoy most of the same benefits (other than job security) as tenure stream profs. They are represented by the McMaster Faculty Association (MUFA). Their contract is not guaranteed from year-to-year.

Sessional professors are hired on a course-by-course basis. Sorta like piecework. They are paid far less than contract professors and tenure-stream professors.

Both CLAs and sessionals are being phased out without being replaced by full-time tenure stream professors. The result will be lower course selection and large classes. How much did that stadium cost again?

[deadpool]

This is stupid. And I mean the uproar here about this. This is a case of a unionized body fighting for jobs while forgetting the fact that they are not the most important party in the issue.

Bobble says it best. The CLAs are being replaced by TENURED professors. Aka, people who are hired based on the fact that their research, and their work is considered very high level. I disagree with the rhetoric that CLAs are more important than tenured staff. They are not. Tenured faculty is what makes a University good. The research they do improves the quality of a school, amount of research grants the school gets and we are a research based University, that people come to in order to learn about the specific streams of research. More tenured staff means more opportunity for thesis students looking to specialize in stuff and find a career, whether they be undergrads, Masters, or Doctorate students.

McMaster happens to be one of the lone academic institutions in North America who is actually hiring full-time tenured staff instead of stop-gap measures done at other Universities bringing in CLAs who they can underpay. Our money is being used properly, and the full time tenured faculty who are hired will be hired from the batch of sessionals.

As if McMaster, an excellent academic institution, is going to suddenly turn its back on the best of the sessionals WHO ARE ALL VYING FOR TENURED POSITIONS. Yes, some people will not be rehired, but those people will include the sessionals who are the instructors we have who teach first-year low intensity courses that has nothing to do with their PhD specialization.

I am a Social Science student who is fed up by the insipidness of our faculty. We are consistently given inexperienced sessional instructors who don't teach us anything, and give exams with questions straight out of courseware. They do so because they want better ratings to get tenure. I am tired of sitting in exams where my knowledge is not tested nearly as much as how well I memorised specifics in a textbook. I am tired of sitting in economics classes and being taught by CLAs who actually have degrees in statistics.

This issue is ridiculous. It is being framed by a ridiculous Union with a history of ridiculous plays for power. Look at York. They got screwed over by CUPE and the students there suffered. On the other side of the coin, look at Laurier. They went on strike, but a non-CUPE CLA/TA union managed to get collective bargaining done properly in two weeks and students did not suffer consequences.

I am fed up with CUPE's sensationalization of issues that are wrongly presented to students because of the politically charged nature of the issues. CUPE has no interest in the education of the students. They care about their membership dues, and how the people who draw income from CUPE can best benefit. Sid Ryan is a ridiculous farce of a leader whose anti-semitism polarizes many who CUPE should represent.

This petition being circulated is as disasterously misleading as the Women's Centre issue put forth by CUPE earlier this year. STOP MESSING WITH MY EDUCATION. I WANT THE TUITION I PAY (which rises 5.5% a year with no forseeable end) TO BENEFIT ME, NOT SOME OVERPAID UNION HEADS WHO BELIEVE IN QUANTITY OVER QUALITY.

I am, and will always be a STAUNCH opponent to what happens in the name of students by a body who does not represent the students. CUPE is there to represent the interests of the CLAs and TAs who pay the membership dues. McMaster University is there to represent the interests of it's reputation to attract as many students as possible to pay for the salaries of the people in charge. Neither party is for students.

I believe in the MSU, I believe in OUSA, and I believe in CASA. We the students are part of one of Canada's most powerful Student Unions as it pertains to Post-Secondary Education Advocacy. We have a National Director of the most relevant research-based lobbying organization in Canada who 2 years ago was the person who set the direction for the MSU's advocacy wing. We have very strong ties, and allies in the most relevant research-based lobbying organization in Ontario, who's alumni includes members who are in the PMO's PSE policy department.

We are safe in the hands of the next MSU, including a President with extensive experience with federal and provincial lobbying, an incoming Vice-President Education who was the driving force behind a very informative quality of education assessment and who understands the problems with each faculty. We have an incoming SRA University Affairs chair who led the project for the Quality of Education assessment, and House Leader who is one of the most knowledgeable individuals in the field of PSE and the government.

We as students do not need to fill in some stupid survey, and listen to the bullshit being laid out by CUPE. Their vested interest HAS to be to represent their consituents in any way possible, and CUPE's seems to be with ridiculously polarizing and radical activism-based tactics.

We need to stand up and say "I want to be taught by a person who knows what they are talking about, and to teach me the things that let me get a job, and to keep a job, and to help me find a career that will lead to success." As much as everyone loves to bash on the MSU, they are the only party on campus who represents my viewpoint and students, even if they do it in a lot less antagonistic manner.

P.S. - If you have read my entire diatribe, you must be convinced that I think CLAs and sessionals are bad and I'm pulling things out of my ass. But here's the kicker. I am the son of a CLA who teaches at University of Waterloo, and Wilfrid Laurier University. All of my viewpoints stem from what my mother has instilled upon me, and from what we talk about as it relates to education.

[lorend]

Rohan, I do and don't agree with you on a few things.

But first...where are you getting the info from? I think it would be useful for students to get perspective for both sides if there is something tangible for them to read as well. Which is not to say of course I don't believe you. I do. But I'm curious to see where this information is from.

The following are a bunch of (mostly rhetorical) questions I have.

How many of these new tenured professors are going to be hired? Will it vary by department?

Why did it take Mac so long to start hiring more tenure stream professors? There have been CLA/sessional issues for the last five years.

Back on to my viewpoints...

I do agree that is sucks having classes taught by people who have no idea what they're talking about.

I am concerned regardless of the layoff/tenure-track hiring will increase class sizes and there are reports from CUPE that certain classes are going to be cancelled/eliminated. I have spent most of my years at Mac trying to complete my degree requirements and finding courses either not offered but in the course calendar or offered bi-yearly or every two years. It's incredibly frustrating if you've never had the experience.

You also state that McMaster isn't going to turn its back on the best of sessionals. I honestly think you're being incredibly optimistic here. Perhaps I'm being over cynical, but I'm not sure this may happen. I think it may be possible that the current sessionals/CLA's may be forgotten...what's to stop the school from offering positions to other individuals outside of Mac?

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by deadpool

Bobble says it best. The CLAs are being replaced by TENURED professors.

Read my post again. They are NOT being replaced.

Because of this, classes are being removed from the curriculum and class sizes are increasing.

This at a time when undergraduate and graduate enrolment has been on the rise over the past several years.

If these CLAs and sessionals were being replaced by tenured professors, that'd be fine. But this just isn't the case.

[Bobble]

Just a few figures, lest I be accused of pulling facts out of my ass.

According to the McMaster University Faculty Association (the people who represent tenure track and CLAs, not CUPE)

Over the past 6 years, undergraduate enrolment has increased 50%.

In contrast, check out the number of net hires of tenure and tenure track profs (net hires are the number of new tenure track faculty hired minus the amount that retired)

2005/2006: 4
2006/2007: -8 (yes, that means Mac actually had 8 less tenure track profs than when the year started)

2007-2008 figures aren't available yet.

You can read further in the newsletter on the MUFA website http://www.mcmaster.ca/mufa/newsSept08.pdf

[lorend]

Here is an article on the Daily News explaining the University's plan for hiring that MSU President Azim Kasmani forwarded to me.

It seems that 35 positions are already filled and "ten searches" are still underway. I'm not sure if that means ten more positions or not though.

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by lorend

Here is an article on the Daily News explaining the University's plan for hiring that MSU President Azim Kasmani forwarded to me.

It seems that 35 positions are already filled and "ten searches" are still underway. I'm not sure if that means ten more positions or not though.

This is a good sign. I'm cautious though, what's not mentioned is how many tenure-track professors have left the university (either to take a job elsewhere, or due to retirement) over the past few years. Or whether the hiring is enough to replace the teaching responsibilities that were being done by the CLAs and sessionals that are being released.

[lorend]

Cynicism rules! I'm really curious too...I'm not a big fan on the explanation; it seems kind of vague to me.

[deadpool]

Bobble:

From the provost/vp-academic's report in 08:

Since the academic year 2000-2001, the full time undergraduate population has risen roughly 50%, the full time graduate student population by about 55%, the tenured and tenure-track faculty by 20%, and the tenured plus tenure-track plus CLA faculty by nearly 24%.

Yes. I agree with your numbers. However, these statistics include the infamous double-cohort year, and the after effect years. Enrollment is steadying now and McMaster is making the attempts to counteract the growth in the student population with an increase in tenured and tenure-track professors.

But here's my point. It's not that I am siding with the University, nor am I siding with the CLAs. I am speaking out as a student, and I think that this petition is incredibly biased. I want the University to address my needs. CUPE and MUFA don't do either.

Case in point for MUFA: at the recent town hall to discus the selection of the new University President, several MUFA members rose and spoke about the needs of the university but not a SINGLE member said a single thing about students. Not once did any of them speak about students.

I am a student who feels maligned from the University because there is a higher emphasis placed on volume and tuition revenue than there is on quality. I also feel that for my particular needs, I need professors who had research and dissertations on items relevant to my major, and I want to be able to write a thesis, and move onto a professional school or graduate school with the knowledge of my chosen major as opposed to verbatim recollections of my courseware's practice questions.

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by deadpool

Bobble:
Case in point for MUFA: at the recent town hall to discus the selection of the new University President, several MUFA members rose and spoke about the needs of the university but not a SINGLE member said a single thing about students. Not once did any of them speak about students.

I am a student who feels maligned from the University because there is a higher emphasis placed on volume and tuition revenue than there is on quality. I also feel that for my particular needs, I need professors who had research and dissertations on items relevant to my major, and I want to be able to write a thesis, and move onto a professional school or graduate school with the knowledge of my chosen major as opposed to verbatim recollections of my courseware's practice questions.

There are some good points in there. I'm still not convinced that the hiring has offset the increase in enrolment, even after the double cohort.

I agree that having professors who do research in an area you want is important. But the question is "Is that research knowledge transmitted effectively to us, the students." Or even further, is that research something that's teachable at the undergraduate leve?

The fact that you point out that the MUFA members who spoke said nothing about the students speaks to the fact that simply hiring lots of tenure stream professors does not mean anything for your, mine or anyone else's education. There's no guarantee that a professor who's hired for a tenure stream appointment with a glorious record of research achievements will be a competent teacher, nor that we'll have any chance to work with them. I'm willing to bet that some of these profs view teaching you and me as a nuisance.

Also, you imply that CLAs and sessionals are poor teachers. I'm not sure why. Being a good researcher doesn't equal being a good teacher. And just because someone's a sessional or CLA doesn't mean they're going to be poor teachers or uncommitted to students.

If we want better teachers, there we should probably be some sort of measure of teaching quality that actually carries some sort of reward for faculty.

If we want a quality education, I think the class sizes we have now need to decrease dramatically. Otherwise, we become another anonymous face to these professors.

All of this, of course, is a de-rail from the main topic of the thread.

[ash0000]

I am not going to comment on any of the numbers or statistics posted but I have a something I'd like to say. Just a couple simple comments:

This is a recession, and whether or not you like it, all companies like to use recessions as an excuse to weed out the less valued or more expensive (i.e cost-benefit not there) of their employees. Universities are no different, especially a research institution such as McMaster.

Sometimes the end result is that the customer (students, not people who benefit from the conducted research) ends up paying for it in terms of lower quality, or the remaining employees needing to work harder. Management has to decide what the better/safer route is, and its their decision to make, and throwing a fit over it is not going to do anything or anyone good. These things happen in any organization and an institution is no different.

It sucks that you may like Dr. So and So and he/she wont be teaching you that subject anymore, but the university clearly didnt value them, and since that's the case, it wouldnt have done any good for their career at the university. Would you promote someone in a team you are managing that you dont value? Think about it. Its better that they pursue other opportunities anyway. Better for Dr. So and So and better for the university.

This isn't an agenda to make education crappier for students. It may be and probably is a result of bad management in the past, but its a decision they felt nessecary to make.