APSCUF, the faculty union at the State System of Higher Education schools, has problems with the System’s “redesign” strategy, and the union’s legislative assembly has passed a resolution that essentially calls for a seat at the table.
The resolution, which you can read below, cites specific areas of concern, including the fact that there are no students or faculty serving on the State System’s task forces which are tasked with addressing the three redesign priorities identified by the consulting firm hired to help facilitate the redesign, the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.
The union also takes the State System to task for conducting task force workshops that are not open or transparent, their recommendations are not well publicized and there is no widespread attempt to gather feedback.
APSCUF says the consulting firm’s report called for “robust shared governance”, but that the redesign process does not meet any standard of shared governance. The union calls on the Board of Governors and interim Chancellor Karen Whitney to “immediately establish a more inclusive, collaborative, and legitimate redesign process.”
The task groups were launched in December. The State System has not announced a timeline for the next step, the task groups’ recommendations for specific action.
HERE IS THE APSCUF RESOLUTION:
Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education redesign
Apr 17, 2018 | Position Statements
APSCUF’s April 2018 legislative assembly approved the following statement about Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s redesign.
Whereas, the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) conducted a review of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (State System);
Whereas, the Board of Governors established three priorities for the redesign: ensuring student success, leveraging university strengths, and transforming the leadership/governance structure;
Whereas, the interim chancellor and the Board of Governors have created task forces associated with the three priorities;
Whereas, no students or faculty are serving on any of these task forces;
Whereas, these task forces often meet in “workshops” that are not open or transparent;
Whereas, recommendations of the task forces are not well publicized and there is no widespread attempt to garner feedback from constituency groups;
Whereas, solicitation of comments on a website is not an adequate substitute for actual participation;
Whereas, APSCUF’s request to have faculty directly participate on the Defining Student Success Task Force was denied;
Whereas, when APSCUF was asked to have faculty comment on the definition of student success, the faculty provided meaningful and important feedback;
Whereas, no other task force has solicited faculty input;
Whereas, the NCHEMS report specifically calls for “robust shared governance”;
Whereas, the redesign process does not meet any standard of shared governance;
Whereas, participation by students, faculty, coaches, and other State System constituencies would provide for more thoughtful, balanced, and educated solutions;
Whereas, the interim chancellor suggested at the April 5, 2018, Board of Governors meeting at Shippensburg University that she was receiving inquiries about the redesign plans and would be presenting about it at conferences;
Whereas, the interim chancellor intimated that the process is moving quickly and is efficient;
Whereas, authoritarian leadership models are generally understood to be quicker and more efficient than those that involve serious collaboration;
Whereas, collaborative leadership models enhance the legitimacy of policy outcomes, and authoritarian models detract from legitimacy;
Therefore be it resolved that APSCUF objects to the process of redesign as it has thus far been implemented and calls on the Board of Governors and the interim chancellor to immediately establish a more inclusive, collaborative, and legitimate redesign process.
