The Colorado chapter of the American Association of University Professors has slammed the decision by Fort Lewis College trustees to switch the curriculum from a mix of three- and four-unit courses to an entirely three-unit format.
In a March 3 letter to FLC board Chairman John Wells, the state AAUP said that in the absence of faculty review or approval, it “condemns” the decision.
“The board’s decision violates Fort Lewis College written policies on curricular change and fails to honor the cardinal AAUP principle of shared governance in matters of curriculum,” the letter said.
It was signed by state AAUP Co-Presidents Jonathan Rees, Colorado State University/Pueblo, and Stephen Mumme, CSU/Fort Collins. All FLC trustees were copied as was the national AAUP and the north/central association of The Higher Learning Commission that accredits FLC.
Reaction from the campus came quickly.
“We’re stunned that AAUP Colorado would send a letter like this without first talking with the Faculty Senate president, Provost Barbara Morris or President Dene Kay Thomas to try to get both sides,” campus spokesman Mitch Davis said last week.
Two surveys – one leaning pro, the other con – show there is no majority opinion regarding the change in curriculum, Davis said.
Faculty Senate President Chuck Riggs was more blunt.
In a letter to the co-presidents, Riggs expressed “dismay and deeply felt concern” about the AAUP letter going to The Higher Learning Commission. Few on campus would say the action of the co-presidents was not, at least, “heavy-handed,” he said.
Riggs said he found it “disturbing, unprofessional and highly irregular” to mention the Faculty Senate without giving him the opportunity to respond. Regardless of how divided the faculty is on the issue, Riggs said, “There does seem to be a growing consensus that you have overstepped your authority.”
FLC administrators say restructuring the curriculum is necessary to allow students to make seamless transfers between schools, to meet demands of The Higher Learning Commission and to resolve internal conflicts such as with scheduling.
Faculty members who oppose the change to three credits say it would unhinge many courses, requiring professors to redesign and rebuild the curriculum.
The unanimous decision Feb. 7 by the FLC board to change the curriculum to an all-three-credit model has divided the faculty.
Positions have hardened, and tension and bitterness have increased, Janine Fitzgerald, a professor of sociology who favors the three/four-credit system, said recently. But the sense of collegiality hasn’t been lost, she said.
An outside mediator has been retained to meet interested faculty members Wednesday to work on healing hurt feelings, Fitzgerald said.
At a meeting Tuesday of the FLC chapter of AAUP, seven members were nominated for an executive committee to represent the chapter, Fitzgerald said. Five will be chosen by election April 1.
Rees, the state AAUP co-president, said in a recent telephone interview that the sudden formation of an AAUP chapter at FLC indicates the seriousness of the credit issue.
“Three months ago, there was no chapter,” Rees said. “Then, in no time, we had 32 faculty reach out to us.”
Every campus has faculty members who are unhappy for some reason, Rees said. At Pueblo, where he teaches American history, one issue is a workload increase from three to four courses; at CSU/Fort Collins, it’s whether students and faculty should be able to carry a firearm into class; at FLC, it’s the three/four-unit issue.
“It’s not that we’re for or against either side at Fort Lewis, but we support shared governance,” Rees said. “It’s about respect for the process, listening to the opinion of everyone, finding a solution that everyone can be happy with.”
FLC student body President Alex Thompson said students aren’t pleased by the turn of events.
“The vast majority are disappointed, disillusioned with the board decision, but they think it was inevitable,” Thompson said. “No student has come to me to say he or she wants to fight the matter.”
daler@durangoherald.com
