The First Step Is Recognition

Yesterday, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed Executive Order 7-13 establishing a Post-Secondary Quality Education Commission.  This is more exciting than it sounds because part of the work of this commission is aligned with the goals set forth by AFT's FACE campaign.

"We know we need solid information regarding the use and treatment of part-time faculty and graduate employees in our system to help us identify next steps toward meeting the goals of our FACE legislation" said Rob Wagner, AFT Oregon's Director of Political and Legislative Affairs. "We're happy that the Governor recognizes the importance of looking at this issue as a central part of the effort to determine what our system of higher education should look like in the future."

The commission is charged with developing a model for the Oregon higher education system. One part of that charge is to:

Study the impact of the use of part-time faculty and graduate student employees on program quality and student success, and recommend a consistent definition to describe adjunct, contingent and part-time faculty.

This is no small step.  For a state to recognize that developing a model system necessarily includes examining its staffing structure is remarkable.  More often than not, the focus is solely on costs and outcomes.  What's more, anyone who works on these issues knows how important consistent definitions are. Institutions love to use multiple categories and titles for faculty to make it less than clear what their hiring practices are over time. 

Establishing the Commission is a critical first step, but ensuring that all of the appropriate voices are heard will be an equally important step.  The Executive Order calls on the Commission to "solicit input from educators, education policy experts and others about the elements of the model," and to develop the model based on "research, data, public input and experience."

"You can be sure that our members will make their voices heard," comments Wagner. "They were there when we introduced the FACE legislation and lobbied for that bill and we will be active in this discussion as well."

We have no doubt about that--remember this?

More on AFT Oregon's efforts on FACE, including testimony from members at their legislative hearing March 29, 2007 can be found here.