Outsourcing the Faculty

Finding the right faculty role in distance education is a tricky question at many colleges.
At Delaware State University, already tense relations between professors and the administration may implode over the issue. The American Association of University Professors, the faculty union at the university, has filed a complaint with the state labor board over plans to hire an outside company to offer a master’s degree online. The controversy comes at a time that alumni leaders are also angry over the direction of the university, which some fear is at risk of losing its identity as a historically black institution.
The AAUP complaint charges that the administration is directly violating the faculty contract by offering a new degree program without faculty approval — and without faculty members playing any role in designing the curriculum or teaching it. Carlos Holmes, a spokesman for the university, said that the faculty group was distorting the contract. “The Faculty Senate is an advisory body and great weight is given to their recommendations, but they are not binding recommendations,” he said.
The controversial new master’s degree is in graphic arts and Web design and would be offered through a New York City company called Sessions.edu.

Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/05/17/delstate