The Flat Hat October 10, 2017

Page 1

Vol. 107, Iss. 19 | Tuesday, October 10, 2017

The Flat Hat The Weekly Student Newspaper

ACADEMICS

Flathatnews.com | Follow us:

of The College of William and Mary

Inside COLL

Professors raise questions, concerns about implementation of the COLL curriculum EMILY CHAUMONT // FLAT HAT MANAGING EDITOR

T

he COLL curriculum first debuted in fall 2015, replacing the GER system. When the class of 2018 graduates, the last of the students following the GER system will be gone from the College of William and Mary and the COLL curriculum will be fully unrolled. The COLL curriculum was intended to provide a more structured, interdisciplinary path for students than the checklist format of the GER system. Each department on campus has been developing its own methods for implementing the new curriculum within the frameworks and courses that already exist for their majors. Some departments have been able to gain COLL designations for already existing courses, particularly for courses that were previously designated as freshman seminars that can now be taken as COLL 150 courses. Other classes can be slightly adapted to fit into the COLL curriculum. Still others must be created completely from scratch. Regardless of how long the course has existed, in order to garner a COLL designation, professors must apply through an online system called Curriculog. In this system, they must submit a draft syllabus for the course and answer specific questions about how the course fits into the COLL curriculum. According to Dean for Education Policy John Donahue, the rollout of the COLL curriculum has encouraged faculty to be

creative in developing and adapting courses. “The feedback has been very positive,” Donahue said in an email. “The COLL curriculum encourages innovation and risk taking. The faculty has really embraced this challenge. … The most exciting part of the COLL curriculum is the opportunity it presents for faculty to teach new things or to present material in new ways while continuing their close engagement with students. This is what [makes] W&M so special. Also, it’s been very satisfying to implement a program that focuses on specific skills and approaches to learning that are integral to the liberal arts and will set up students to be life-long learners.” For many departments, the COLL 300 is the most difficult piece of the curriculum to develop courses for. Designed to encourage students to encounter other cultures and experiences, the COLL 300 can be fulfilled through studying abroad, taking a course with a significant off-campus component or through a COLL 300 course. The on-campus COLL 300 courses must adhere to a theme that changes every semester, which faculty say is what makes this the most difficult requirement to fulfill. Chair of the theatre, speech and dance department Christopher Owens said that the shifting theme makes it difficult for his and other departments to design courses to fit this requirement. “The on-campus component of the COLL See COLL page 3

KYRA SOLOMON / THE FLAT HAT

ACADEMICS

Non-tenure-eligible faculty face high pressure, non-inclusive community Professor positions with no tenure prospects precarious; oppotunities for faculty, campus engagement minimal CAROLINE NUTTER FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR

The College of William and Mary, like other higher education institutions, hires faculty on non-tenure-eligible or tenure-eligible tracks. NTE positions are more numerous and pay less than tenure-eligible faculty salaries. Neuroscience professor and Vice President of the Non-Tenure-Eligible Faculty Association Christy Porter said that there are many reasons to have different employment tracks in higher education.

They would not offer, in writing, any kind of renewal. I love it here, but it’s not a position that provides security.

CHRISTINA BAKER, VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

“The purpose of tenure in the higher education system is to protect academic freedom,” Porter said. “In order to teach, we need to know that the things we say are protected.” NTE faculty, who make up two-thirds of the arts and sciences faculty, will never be eligible for tenure. These staff members include visiting assistant professors, who are temporarily hired to cover individuals on leave for sabbatical or personal reasons; lecturers; adjunct professors; and graduate students. Lecturers are typically hired because they are an expert in a specific field or a department needs more teachers. According to Porter,

Today’s Weather

Index Profile News Opinions Variety Sports

lecturers typically do not conduct research. “To the extent that we can grant parity, we should be working towards parity,” Porter said. Over the past five years, the College has shifted its approach to NTE faculty. Porter said the biggest problem in the past was that there was little opportunity for NTE faculty to engage with each other. “I thought that there were a small number of people like me, and it turns out there was a large number of people like me,” Porter said. “The solution was to start a Non-Tenure Eligible Faculty Association. The NTEFA held meetings and social events, talked to administrators and got on committees.” Now, Porter said NTE faculty are allowed to be on college-wide committees. There is more information-sharing about procedures for promotion, and the institutional mechanisms for addressing problems are better publicized. “For anyone who is not feeling that parity, not feeling welcome, respected, ... energized, optimized … we have to work on that,” Porter said. Christina Baker is a visiting assistant professor in the Hispanic studies department and has been at the College since fall 2016. Baker said that sometimes, being an NTE faculty member affects her at work. “I don’t even have the security of a multiyear contract,” Baker said. “I have to maintain good [course] evaluations, but because I’m on the job market [every year], I have to continue to participate in research. I still have to produce articles [and] go to conferences to be viable for a more permanent position, whether that’s outside or inside William and Mary.” Baker said there was no renewal language in her contract, even when she attempted to

negotiate. “They would not offer, in writing, any kind of renewal,” Baker said. “I love it here, but it’s not a position that provides security.” Baker said that her faculty orientation session left much to be desired. “I had a really hard time even getting answers to what I was supposed to do when I got here, and they wanted me to attend a training which was before my start date, which is kind of against the law,” Baker said. Orientation, Baker said, was focused mainly on benefits and administrative information. Baker and other new staff members did not receive information about the NTEFA. “On one hand, I believe in tenure because it is a protection with changing governments on local, state and national levels,” Baker said. She added, however, that this protection comes with much less space for NTE faculty to do cutting-edge or controversial research, as job security is not guaranteed and term appointments are so short. “There’s not space for [my research] because of this old guard holding onto positions nationwide,” Baker said. According to Baker, there is systemic overuse and abuse of NTE faculty at public institutions, which are hit hardest by funding cuts. Baker said she has read articles citing increased corporate and donor pressure as the reason for the development of a hierarchical, “multi-tiered” faculty culture. More short-term, lower-paid hires and less overall TE, longer-term job offers are further representative of these changes. Not all NTE faculty have reported the same problems. Annelise Duerden is a visiting assistant professor in the English department

Stormy, High 85, Low 72

GRAPHIC BY MEILAN SOLLY / THE FLAT HAT

Inside Sports

Inside Opinions

The need for informal campus communication

2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10

See NTE page 3

Kevin Richeson ’20 discusses how the multitude of Facebook groups inefficiently replace Overheard in informal campus communication. page 5

Undefeated in CAA play

The Tribe is ranked No. 18 nationally and defeated Towson and Davidson this weekend. page 10


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.