The Jacobs Administration has initiated new teaching workload policies based on research activity which is defined as publications and/or grants. New teaching workload policies based on research activity have been and are being introduced in the Bancroft Campus colleges including Business Administration and Engineering. The new policy in the College of Business Administration (COBA) was emailed to COBA faculty by the Dean on March 9, 2009 during semester break.
 
These new policies are in violation of the AAUP-BOT Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), particularly Article 10 that defines workload in terms of teaching, service, and professional activity. Research activity is not mentioned.

The issue is not whether faculty should be doing research, but whether the Jacobs Administration can unilaterally define professional activity as research activity and assign teaching workload based on research activity.  During the recent negotiations, I repeatedly asked the Administration to consider a definition of research and research active faculty, but they declined. Now they bring to the faculty teaching workload polices based on research activity unilaterally created by the Administration without input from the faculty or the AAUP and are attempting to implement it in direct violation of the CBA. This will be strongly opposed by the AAUP. Class action grievances are being filed for external arbitration.   Additional actions are being considered. 

Faculty are free to sign a workload agreement or not. This is an individual decision.  If you feel forced to sign a workload agreement, you may want to note on the form that you are doing so only as an acknowledgment of receipt of the document.  Furthermore,  faculty are free to note their protest on the document.  You may also file a grievance if you believe that Article 10 has not been followed.  The AAUP will assist anyone interested in filing such a grievance.