EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second installment of a three-part series in which members of the USM community discuss their concerns regarding the part-time faculty situation featured in a Dec. 3 article by Steve Allan.
This week’s column is by Donald Anspach, president of the full-time faculty union. Last week’s column was by Dennis Gilbert, the part-time faculty representative on the Faculty Senate. Next week, the Provost Joseph Wood will respond to both columns.
I want to thank the editor, Steve Peoples, for an opportunity to make a contribution to this discussion about the role of faculty. The views expressed are my own and are not the official position of AFUM or other faculty.
It is my pleasure to take this opportunity to discuss the role of different faculty in a University setting. Typically, full-time faculty are hired by the University after a national search following Federal EEO guidelines.
Most faculty have completed their terminal degrees, such as a Ph.D, Ed.D. or MFA. Once appointed to the University, the full-time faculty person enters a six year probationary period. During this period, faculty are expected to engage in scholarly work, publish, and teach several courses each semester. They are also required to participate in the life of the University, advise students, serve on committees, and perform a variety of other tasks.
At the end of the first six months of their initial appointment, new full time faculty members may join their faculty union. The Associated Faculty of the University of Maine (AFUM) is the bargaining agent for full-time faculty, excluding law faculty who have chosen not to be represented. AFUM negotiates binding labor contracts with the administration, assists faculty in grievance disputes with the administration, and provides information and assistance to faculty in areas such as providing advice about retirement and health care options.
The University of Maine System agrees that its faculty rank 47th in the nation in salaries. They so stipulated in their most recent contract agreement with AFUM. The mean salary for bargaining unit members in the UMS system overall is $51,896.
However, cost of living in Portland is much higher than elsewhere in the state and that is one of several reasons that average salaries for faculty at USM, $53,340, is slightly higher. Most full-time faculty make much less than the average. The range in salaries for full-time faculty at USM is between $18,203 and $100,000. Full time faculty also receive fringe benefits such as health care and retirement.
The majority of the undergraduate course offerings at the University of Southern Maine are provided by its full-time faculty. The number of courses offered by faculty is stipulated in the faculty’s contract of employment. Additional courses may be offered by full-time faculty on an as-needed basis. This is considered overtime work and referred to as an “overload course”. The base pay for these additional courses is determined through union negotiations with the administration.
Adjunct faculty also teach these “overload” courses. Adjunct faculty are comprised of administrators, retired full-time faculty, and part-time faculty who are recruited from the local community. The pay scale for part-time faculty is also negotiable but tends to be the same as that negotiated by AFUM. The pay scale for courses taught by administrators is often discretionary and I have heard that it has exceeded $10,000.00 for a single course in individual cases. No one seems too concerned about that issue.
The American Federation of Teachers Association (AFTA) is the bargaining agent for part-time or adjunct faculty in the UMS. Over 40 percent of USM’s courses are taught by part-time faculty. Part-time faculty are as underpaid for their teaching as full-time faculty – perhaps even more so.
Their union, AFTA, might negotiate a better contract for them. I would certainly support that effort but it is not on AFTA’s agenda.
I have been at USM for a number of years and have observed the increasing use of part-time faculty by the administration. I am certain the number of new students highly correlates with the number of part-time faculty – as it does with full-time faculty.
Having been fairly active in AFUM, the full-time faculty union. I am also aware of numerous employment/labor contract issues between part-time faculty and the administration – as there are with full-time faculty.
This was the context of my remarks that the two unions have somewhat separate battles to fight. They do have different battles to fight.
The one issue that students and all faculty should be concerned about is the diminished role that teaching plays at USM.
The danger signal is that proportionately less money is spent on teaching than other items in the budget. AFUM was discussed this issue in recent contract negotiations with the administration. Instruction plays a smaller role on all UMS campuses!
Each year teaching occupies a more diminished role in the budget. This is reflected in the smaller amount of E & G funds in the overall USM budget. This should be everyone’s concern. However, no one seems to be raising that issue.
Donald Anspach
Full time faculty member
Co- President of the Local Chapter of AFUM
Vice President of the Statewide AFUM