Talk:Faculty Availability on Campus
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Scheduling Meetings
Regarding the question as to whether it is difficult to schedule meetings among faculty members at SPSU:
Yes, it is notoriously difficult. From what I can tell, the primary problem is not `faculty availability,' it is that there are too many committees for us to handle right now. Faculty numbers are down. In Mathematics, we are at roughly half strength from where we were six or seven years ago. Committee work seems to go up every year, with the formation of ad hoc committees, hiring committees, and more Byzantine promotion and tenure committee trajectories. Faculty are continually confronted with time-consuming tasks like rewriting policies governing promotion, tenure, expectations, seemingly year after year. There are committees that have huge membership numbers, making them unwieldy in several ways, only one of which is `when can everyone meet?'
I think we should streamline our overall committee structure, and, except in cases of dire need (e.g., hiring committees,) put a moratorium on any new committees until we have a larger force of permanent, full-time faculty.
Meg Dillon
Availability
It seems to me that "being available" does not mean punching a clock, and I don't think anyone has suggested that we should do that. Instead, I think "being available" means that one meets one's obligations as a faculty member. One of those obligations is having a predictable schedule of classes and office hours and meeting that schedule.
I have recently reduced my days on campus from seven to three or four, or sometimes fewer, because of the expense of the commute and (more importantly) the fact that I can get more done at home.
That does make me less available for drop-in consultations by either students or colleagues. However, I am writing this from home. I've answered email several times today and checked voice mail approximately hourly. That's about what happens when I'm in my office, too. So, with the exception of the drop-in visitor, I am just as available today as I was yesterday, when I was on campus from mid-morning until 9:30 PM. Uhhh, and I'll be heading in to campus in a few minutes to participate in an evening activity that will last until nine or so tonight.
My office hours are set on the same days as my classes on the theory that my students are on campus then. I do try to steer meetings with students to office hours if possible, but I also make it clear that I am available at other times. If that means a trip to campus, I consider that to be a part of the job.
Concerning meetings, I've taken the position that the only time I cannot meet is when a class is scheduled. Otherwise, I'll be there. If two meetings conflict, that becomes a judgement call for me, but I'll be at one or the other.
With all that said, I think Zvi's list is a reasonable one, and I think Meg's observations about the number of committes may be bang-on. Because of my temporary status, I don't have as many committee assignments as some of you, but I have my share!
Why we ought to show up more often
I think that Bob's attitude is admirable. If a student does need to see him, even on a "day off," he'll be there, and if there's a meeting at any time other than his classroom hours, that's part of his job.
I don't think that all of us have the same work ethic, however. When we have a General Faculty meeting, we scrape to come up with the one-third membership requirement for a quorum, often haveing to wait five or ten minutes to start the meeting. That's not good. The times--Thursday noons--are times when few or no classes are scheduled. As professionals, we should be there.
Meg's right--streamlining committees would be a good idea, but I disagree with her that scheduling isn't much of a problem. It strikes me as a big problem. In our department and on senate subcommittees, it's hard to get folks together regularly.
And it's easy to be somewhere else. I did some quick stats for my department this semester: 45% of us have all our classes and office hours scheduled on only two days per week.
Showing up on campus for only a couple of days a week seems to me to affect more than just meeting availability too, though when we cram all our teaching and office hour into two days, that leaves little time to schedule meetings. Furthermore, I think it affects the culture of campus: we stay the minimum, which leaves us little time to get involved in the life of the campus outside of our classes. When I go to lectures, games, activities, and events, I often don't see many colleagues. We connect little with our students outside of class, and I think our low retention rates and low alumni giving are reaping what we've sewn.
Professionals show up--and more than the bare minimum. What profession doesn't show up a lot? Doctors? Lawyers? Business perople? Engineers? I've got one brother who's a computer scientist manager for Haynes and anotehr who works in an accounting firm--both professionl positions--and man do they ever show up! I encourage us to show up for more than the minimum too.
Mark Stevens
Classes and Office Hours on Two Days
I am one of those 45% who have classes and office hours on two days per week. The main thing that means to me is that I don't wear a necktie the other days. It does not mean that all of my teaching responsibilities are concentrated in two days. Prep and grading necessarily happen on other days. I do try to do that from home when I can, but often that doesn't work. This week will be five days on campus unless something unforeseen brings me here on Friday, which will make six days.
There are many opportunities to connect with students and alumni. Last night I worked for a few hours with the BEST program. Several of the judges were alumni, and two were recruited by me. They seemed happy to be here. I only have one alumna involved in the Girl Scouts activities, but I'm working on it! It is no trouble to get students to "work" the Saturday open houses. They might not like being here at 08:30 on a Saturday, but they enjoy helping the school. What motivates our students, especially the best and brightest, is the opportunity to contribute. The opportunities are there... we just need to recognize them and take advantage of them.
Another Faculty Perspective on Campus Hours
Another Faculty Perspective on Campus HoursI am relatively new to SPSU (fifth year and up for tenure). I have worked as professional staff for a large private university and I have been a member of the faculty at two other state universities (one in Georgia and another out of state). One of my strongest impressions when I came to SPSU, and one that lingers and troubles me, is that the campus often seems sterile and abandoned. I miss the casual and often serendipitous "rubbing shoulders" with faculty from other areas that I enjoyed at other institutions. Some of my most satisfying and productive academic projects and professional networking opportunities came from the simple fact that faculty passed one another in the hallways continuously. I see very little of that here, and often spend an entire day feeling as if I have driven to campus on a Sunday and worked alone, just as I would work alone at home. There just don't seem to be many faculty around except on certain seriously overbooked week days. We have office hours and say that students are welcome to visit us but I think our students got the message that we don't really expect or want a lot of out-of-class contact. I think it says something to students and prospective students (and their parents) who visit campus to see faculty doors on whole building wings closed and locked most days of the week. It gives a strong impression that our faculty can't stand the place, and spend the absolute minimum number of minutes required on campus.
Keith Hopper, HTC
Mis dos centavos
Sure, there are a lot of committee assignments, but if more folks participated, the work would be spread over a greater number of faculty. I, too, enjoy the unexpected running into colleagues for ad hoc chats that many times are more fruitful than sitting for a lecture. I notice, too, that the same folks show up for the events on campus time after time. I also know that many of my colleagues are spending time off campus in intense writing/research sessions or in class preparation. This is not an easy issue. If it is good for our students that we be here, then we should be here. But, is it not equally good to raise the SPSU profile by participating in scholarly activities, and therefore, also benefit the students? What incentive would the administration offer the faculty for "being there" beyond the minimum? That it somehow count as service, professional growth and development, etc., when it comes to annual reviews? Frankly, there is no monetary reward for faculty for being on campus more than we are minimally expected to. Maybe there should be. But perhaps the only reward is the satisfaction of a job well done, or of having made a contribution to something we believe in. bnh
Committees and appropriate off-campus activities
I've been following the discussion with interest, and I've noticed that the prevailing trend among those contributing is that professionalism and collegiality should impel faculty toward a greater presence on campus. I agree. Although it might be a benefit that there is some flexibility built into our schedules (great for running mid-day errands, etc.), we are all full-time employees of SPSU, and our flexible schedules are a privilege we should not abuse.
A great deal of discussion has centered around committee participation. This is just the most visible manifestation of a larger problem. When committee meetings can’t be scheduled because some members “don’t come in on Thursday”, we all notice.
A few comments on committee participation: 1 - Service is required of all faculty. Your participation and contribution in committee activities is not negotiable. 2 - Obviously, there are workload issues arising because of our overdependence on part-time faculty, but that is beside the point. 3 – When you are not in class, you should be available for committee service.
So when is it appropriate to be off-campus? When you are engaged in activities that support teaching, service, scholarship, or professional growth. These include the obvious, such as attending conferences, workshops, classes, meetings, etc., off-campus (for which a request to travel is normally required), but could also include activities such as traveling off-campus to participate in collaborative scholarship activities, or in representing SPSU or your department in recruiting or fund-raising activities, or in performing a public service. Here are some examples of activities I would judge to be valid reasons for being off-campus:
1 - Dr. X regularly volunteers to do counseling once a month
2 - Dr. Y goes to Friendly University every Thursday to collaborate with a colleague on a research project
3 - Dr. Z visits local high schools periodically to work with students on projects
4 - Dr. W is using resources unavailable at SPSU (for example, the library at Friendly University) to collect data or do research.
Even if you are engaged in off-campus activities such as these, you should be able to make yourself available on campus when required.
Alan Gabrielli
Committee and appropriate off-campus activities
I agree with much of what Alan has said, but do not believe he goes far enough. There are several other "legitimate" reasons for being away from campus. One of these is grading. It can be very difficult to have concentrated time to grade papers if one is constantly interrupted by phone and office visits. Another, related reason to be working off-campus is when one is writing, composing, preparing for lectures, presentations, etc. For some, campus might be an escape from a more hectic life at home or elsewhere. For others, campus may be much more interrupting and hectic than working from home. As long as we are accessible to students by email and to departments and administration by phone or email, it seems to be a matter of personal choice whether the on-campus or off-campus environment is more suitable. While casual visits with other faculty is a nice thing, as might also be the idea mentioned above of a general faculty presence around the campus, these are matters which should be left to the discretion of the individual faculty member. Doing these things, and not doing them, would seem to be part of the notion of professionalism and professional conduct, which is part of why we have this freedom concerning our time on and off campus. It might also be worth noting that MANY companies are either implementing or exploring ways to implement flex time and commuting from home. Clearly, except for on-line classes, teaching does not allow commuting from home, nor does committee meetings. But so long as we have email and telephone access, time spent away from campus closely fits the idea of commuting from home and should be considered as such - rather than (as seems the implication from some things I have been hearing and reading) time spent loafing or taken away from productive on-the-job activity. It seems that the "bottom line" for this entire issue, including the discussions so far, is that beyond teaching and office hours, we need to be available for committee and faculty meetings unless other scheduled commitments make that impossible (and most of us do have conflicts occasionally). And finally, we should be expected to also participate in some "discretionary" events on campus. It seems to me that this is exactly what Zvi has proposed in his revised statement on availability. Rich Bennett
Professionalism is more than "showing up"
Mark Stevens has written: "I did some quick stats for my department this semester: 45% of us have all our classes and office hours scheduled on only two days per week.
Showing up on campus for only a couple of days a week seems to me to affect more than just meeting availability too, though when we cram all our teaching and office hour into two days, that leaves little time to schedule meetings. Furthermore, I think it affects the culture of campus: we stay the minimum, which leaves us little time to get involved in the life of the campus outside of our classes. When I go to lectures, games, activities, and events, I often don't see many colleagues. We connect little with our students outside of class, and I think our low retention rates and low alumni giving are reaping what we've sewn.
Professionals show up--and more than the bare minimum."
I disagree with his assessment on several counts. I want to respond to Mark's statement, as well as the associated statements of others, as follows:
1. It is regrettable that Mark has chosen to use our department as an "example" of what Mark considers a lack of professionalism. In his example, Mark is making the erroneous assumption, it seems, that if 45% of his (and my) department hold office hours and classes on two days per week, we are not professionals and we are restricting our participation in the activities and responsibilities of faculty membership to these two days only.
2. As Bob Brown has replied to this point, Bob is one of those who hold office hours and classes on only two days a week, yet he makes himself available whenever needed for students, his colleagues, and his committee assignments. I'm confident that is a statement that many of us could make.
3. It is regrettable that Mark and, it seems Alan, feel that there are only a limited number of reasons why a faculty member would "legitimately" be off campus (doing what Alan defines as appropriate professonal things).
4. Rich Bennett has made the point I would have made that there are numerous other reasons a faculty member might be working more conducively in productive and professional activities that were not on Alan's list but that I agree with Rich should be.
5. I am getting increasingly concerned (and agitated) with the debate over how much "policing" may be required to confirm that faculty are "working" in appropriate ways and behaving "professionally."
6. I think Zvi's revision to his original statement, the one that kicked off this discussion, is reasonable and appropriate; and I suspect that 99% of the faculty behave this way already, as professionals should.
7. I don't know how Mark can say that "we connect little with our students outside of class." Is he trailing the activities of faculty to determine this is so; is it evidence that he attributes to the posted office hours and class schedules?; why should his statement that "professionals show up--and more than the bare minimimum" be the basis for defining professionalism? Are we talking about productivity or are we talking about punching a time clock at "headquarters"?
Carol Barnum
Invitation
I invite any of my SPSU colleagues (and students) to have a discussion of this or any other relevent topic during my office hour from 9PM until 10PM on Mondays. My office is J361, but at that time, I am often still in a spirited discussion with my students in J213, so if you don't find me in the office at 9PM, try J213. (If nobody shows up by 9:30, I might sneak home to get an extra half hour of sleep in preparation for my Tuesday AM meeting--As a professional courtesy, I'll leave a sign on the door ;))
I also invite any of my SPSU colleagues who feel that the campus does not "buzz" enough with collegial and learning activities to sit in the J Building Atrium any M-Th evening between 5:45 and 8:00PM. On M W you'll see me; on all four days, you'll also see many other of our fine, dedicated, professional, SPSU teacher colleagues contributing to the "buzz."
Invitation Sender
Oops, the Wiki doesn't automatically sign.
The invitation for Monday evening is from Rich H-N rhalstea@spsu.edu
appropriate off-campus activities
Carol's post and an email from Bernice Nuhfer-Halten have prompted me to clarify my meaning in my first post. The list of activities I gave was not intended to be an exhaustive list. In the full spectrum of activities one could imagine, there are some that are clearly appropriate, some that are clearly inappropriate, and some that fall between. I chose to address only the first category, and I'm sure there additional clearly appropriate activities that could be added to that list. The grey area is one we will have to discuss as a collegium.
Alan Gabrielli
Thanks for the Input
Dear Colleagues,
Thanks for all your comments. It seems that the new sample language "hits the mark" more closely. If anyone has any disagreements with it, please post them or let me know by email. If I don't get any in the next day or two, I'll share the sample language with the Faculty Senate for possible incorporation into P+P's or a revived Academic Manual, as appropriate.
Zszafran 24 October 2005 11:00 (EDT)
Why Don't We Spend More Time On Campus
I did want to ask a question that came to mind from Carol's posting. Is it possible that people don't spend more time on campus because they see little reason to?
To be really clear:
- If my interaction with my colleagues on a committee consists of reviewing a few student petitions and calling it a day--I don't want to make a special trip for that.
- If my interaction with my advisees consists of reviewing what courses they need to take next term--I don't need to be on campus to do it.
- Etc.
If these are the experiences we are having, I can understand why some folks don't want more!
My point here is that time spent for the sake of spending time is not what anyone is after. No one has a time clock that they're dying to have people use. No one wants to be the Time Police.
We need to make our committees more productive, and have them wrestle with the issues that we consider to be really important. When we meet with our advisees, we need to get to know them in a much more mentoring way--What are their dreams and how can we help them accomplish them? What problems are they facing, and how can we help them overcome them? We need to get together and talk about the reasons we went into teaching in the first place--the chance to make a difference in our students' lives, and how we can do that even better.
Those of you who've said that the way to build a community isn't to force people to come on campus are right. Let's work together to make being on campus productive and a pleasure--a chance to interact with wonderful colleagues and students, doing things that really matter. And who wouldn't want to spend more time doing that?
Zszafran 24 October 2005 11:34 (EDT)
What's the enforcement?
I agree with most of the concensus discussion on this topic...I think Zvi's new wording is good, professionals know when to be on campus and when they can be available for business yet accomplish work off campus, etc. But my concern is where is the enforcement for following (or not following) the policy? As has been noted, it is the same group of faculty that volunteer for committees and show up at "discretionary" events over and over. We also know faculty members that rarely, if ever, attend department meetings, faculty meetings, and any "discretionary" events. Yet they continue as well paid faculty members getting their 1-2% raise along with the rest of us. If we are all so professional, then why is it so painful to get a mere 1/3 of the faculty to show up for a faculty meeting to establish a quorum? There seems to be no accountability for not being present.
I would ask that as the senate consider the policy for addition to the P&Ps or to a faculty handbook, that it also contain some "teeth" for non-compliance. It seems that for many, unless they know there are consequences, they will continue to behave as they wish.... --Bmorrison 25 October 2005 10:47 (EDT)
Faculty Availability on Campus
THe Humanities and Technical Communication Department meeting voted unanimously to support the proposed statement of faculty availability posted on this discussion board.
Ken Rainey For the HTC Department
Enforcement??
The proper enforcement of faculty performance lies with department chairs who should do that when necessary individually with the alleged perpetrator. Then in the annual performance evaluations faculty performance on all scores should be accurately and fairly assessed.
Ken Rainey
Teeth??
If there are no teeth in the performance evaluation of faculty by department chairs, perhaps you need a new chair.
Ken Rainey
Are we interested in the methods or the outcomes
Zvi's proposed policy:
Faculty should maintain a presence on campus sufficient to accomplish the following outcomes:
Having classes scheduled at times that are optimal for their students and departmental programs Meeting classes on time and for the duration scheduled Meeting with students outside of class on a reasonable basis to provide necessary additional help Scheduling at least 5 office hours a week during hours that are reasonable for students, and being available to assist students during those hours Meeting students being supervised in research/projects/independent study/internships on a regular basis Meeting advisees on a regular basis Being readily available for (and attending) departmental, school and campus meetings Participating in campus activities on a reasonable basis
It seems to me that the faculty are already charged with the above outcomes. Now we are going to propose a "method" to achieve the outcomes (maintain a presence). Is this because some faculty are not meeting the existing outcome goals?
We already have methods in place to deal with faculty not meeting their responsibilities. Ken hit the nail on the head. If faculty are not meeting their responsibilities and they are not held accountable, maybe it is time for a new department chair.
What are you going to do when you impose policy that faculty should maintain a presence....yet the outcomes are still not met?
Glenn Allen
New Statement from Zvi
After reading Zvi's new statement on Faculty Presence on Campus on the Wiki, I think this statement covers the spirit of what we would like all faculty to adhere to. There seems to be a little confusion as to whether some meetings are "mandatory" - such as General Faculty meetings. I think the new statement clarifies that it is our responsibility as faculty to be present at such meetings and other things. There are many valid reasons why someone couldn't make a particular meeting, but this shouldn't be the norm. I believe that the majority of the faculty are professional, and if there are individual problems, they should be dealt with by the Dept. Chair.
Becky Rutherfoord
Reply to Glenn
It is my impression that while we all "knew" that these were the outcomes we wanted faculty to meet, and that some of these were even written down, we didn't actually have a general policy on availability per se. Is there a big current problem? Depends on who you talk to. I'd like to believe there isn't. How would we enforce this? Assuming that the Faculty Senate and Faculty agree with the sample statement, I'd argue we should do it exactly as Ken Rainey said--this is a Chair's responsibility. No new enforcement methodology is needed.
Hope that it works!
We have a superb department chair, but still have issues with faculty availability. Some are here on campus only 2 days a week and refuse to come to meetings (even our departmental ones) and other events. I am saddened by that as I wish SPSU was so attractive to others as it is to me that they would love to come here. They would hopefully futher be motivated to actually interact with our tremendous students. Of the folks teaching 2 days a week, some come on other days when there is a meeting or other necessity, but it has been rather difficult for some students to be advised with the limited availability of a few faculty. Now I have only heard from one side of the story (the students) and have mentioned the problem to our dept chair and will talk to the faculty involved to here from them, but I have on several occasions had to advise a student not on my list of 72 since our students do have a registration hold until they get advised. Supposedly, even one student was told by his advisor to come to me as it would be "better." I do enjoy working with the students, but I do not see why others do not salivate in this most critical aspect of our jobs. I also am happy to hear that from inside and outside our dept, students are sent my way. That is fulfilling, but others need to savor students as well. I realize that some are better teachers and advisors that others, but that is our most important job.
Other activities should be prioritized after our prime responsibility and directive of teaching our students. I hope this discussion will spur those naredowells doing nothing on campus to get involved. I hope that our department chairs will be bold and hold to our existing standards. Thankfully, some of our 2 day a week faculty do respond to email/phone/etc but when a few minority folks simply are not available, even if they are doing other great things such as scholarly activity, there remains a problem that they have not followed one of Covey's 7 habits of highly effective people : "put first things first" As professionals we should all realize this and strive to do better! I hope the dept chairs, will also be "proactive" in encouraging others to be available to our SPSU students while also maintaining that "sharpening our saws" is critical. If we "begin with the end in mind" and work together to "synergize", this will be a "win-win" for all as we "seek first to understand and then to be understood."
PS: I will be sure to thank Stephen for his registered trademarks in quotes above... :)
Faculty are available
I have been a fulltime student since Spring 2003 and have never had a problem meeting with a faculty member. If a student truly wishes to obtain help outside the classroom, help is available. Unfortunately, some students who complain about the availability of faculty are those who wait until the 11th hour to seek assistance and guidance. Faculty should not be expected to drop everything and be at a student's beck and call due to poor planning.
Additionally, if SPSU is to be known as Georgia's Technology University, then faculty should be utilizing the technology available (WebCt and WebVista for example) to conduct 'virtual' meetings and committee business. The research often cited by this very administration reflects a shift toward virtual learning and cyber classrooms. Are only the students expected to utilize these tools?
Finally, there is something to be said for face time. I enjoy the sense of community that comes with personal communication between professor and student. I also feel that it helps build relationships and improves the odds of student retention. I should know; I came back after a nine-year absence to complete my degree here. The primary reason was the smaller class size which enables greater accessibility to faculty members.
Joy Leake
