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As UMUC instructors, we are concerned about the University's trend toward standardization in academic and pedagogical matters. While we appreciate efforts to help us improve our teaching and the quality of education at UMUC, administrative intrusion into academic matters with little or no faculty consultation is inappropriate and academically unsound. For example: |
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1. Some of us find the new Course Evaluation forms, now standard
across all three divisions and machine-coded, less useful than our old
forms and procedures. The form is long and lacks adequate space for
student comments. The summary is returned to us many months after a
course ends, so we cannot react to student feedback promptly and
productively. Mandatory DE evaluations confuse students and cause
resentment when they are "locked out" of their DE classes.
Evaluations should be available to instructors much more quickly, and in a format we can understand. Faculty requests for more "write in" space for comments should be implemented. DE students should not be required to complete the evaluations. |
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2. Standard syllabi, intended originally to meet a European Division
contractual requirement, are very uneven in quality, partly due to
poor and conflicting guidance by the administration. While having
models for good syllabi can be valuable to new and experienced faculty
alike, these syllabi are not all good. It is rumored that ALL parts of
these syllabi may become mandatory, which for those of us confident in
our ability to design our courses would be an inappropriate imposition
on our academic freedom.
Within the parameters set by the Catalog course descriptions, instructors should remain free to design and implement their courses as they see fit. |
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3. In the DE courses, the course content modules have been valuable
resources to some instructors and irrelevant or inappropriate
annoyances to others. While we welcome resources to help us improve
our teaching, we do not welcome the insertion of mandatory boilerplate
academic materials into our classrooms.
DE instructors should have the discretion to leave or remove the course modules from DE classes as they see fit. |
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4. Some departments have begun mandating standard examinations (e.g.,
final exams in the Adelphi-sponsored DE History courses are now
standard). Again, it may be helpful for instructors to have models for
exam questions and other assignments, but requiring that all use the
same tests or assignments is pedagogically unsound.
Faculty should be free to design the methods for assessing student achievement in their own courses. |
| While the UMUC administration has moved steadily toward standardization in various academic matters, there has been little progress toward equity across the divisions in employment conditions. For example, maximum course loads differ between Adelphi and the overseas divisions. Maximum class sizes, similarly, vary among the divisions. Experienced faculty in the overseas divisions have been told they are "not qualified" to teach for Adelphi. There are great disparities in pay and benefits among the three divisions, as well. |
| We ask that addressing these matters of employment conditions be a priority. We also ask that all academic policies which affect our work in our classrooms, including those outlined above, be reviewed and approved by the faculty themselves. |
| As we rise to the challenge of becoming a "global university," the experience, energy, and diversity of the faculty will be UMUC's greatest strength. We fear that the move to standardize so much of what happens in the classroom will demoralize instructors, diminish opportunity for academic excellence, lead students to see their University education as mere "training," and weaken the University overall. |