The Executive Committee of the NMU Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is seriously concerned about our university’s current budget situation and the lack of administrative transparency and candor.
During the last two months, there has been much discussion about a budget deficit caused by falling tuition revenue from reduced enrollment (estimated at either $2.6 or 2.8M—both have been reported). Yet the NMU Administration has provided little information to the campus community. Consequently, there has been much tension and speculation among the university community about whether classes, services, faculty, or staff might be eliminated. At fall convocation, President Erickson did not mention the budget situation, but focused on core values and strategic planning. At a “Town Hall” meeting for faculty held on September 22, attendees learned very little about how the administration plans to deal with the purported budget shortfall, but were repeatedly encouraged to view the situation as “an opportunity” for innovation and strategic growth. We would like the administration to refocus their comments from all the things they are not doing—and all the things they would like to be doing–to state clearly what budget-cutting measures are being enacted.
It is the position of the NMU AAUP that the NMU Administration has done a very poor job of explaining how the $2.6M short-term budget deficit is being managed. The reason why there so many “rumors” currently in circulation is because there is so little legitimate and reliable information available. The Administration has provided little concrete information about what goals, targets, guidelines, criteria and/or policies are being used to decide what cuts to make. Lack of clear communication creates an information vacuum that encourages speculation, and gives the impression of indecision, uncertainty, or a hidden agenda.
One advantage of administrative “decentralization” is it accommodates local decision-making, but it also allows upper-level policymakers to deflect responsibility and criticism. For all the waffling, it is clear that painful decisions have already been made. Most notably, non-tenured faculty, including adjunct, contingent, and term, regardless of degree or qualifications, are being laid off due to the non-renewal of contracts.
Recently we learned that the university has received a $9.4M refund from the MPSERS pension system–a large unanticipated influx of discretionary income. Generally a windfall (“a piece of unexpected good fortune, typically one that involves receiving a large amount of money”) is good news that would be quickly shared. For a fuller discussion on the 9.4 million dollar refund and the pension fund obligations, read “The Mysteries of the MPSERS Monies”
At NMU, a portion of the refund would allow us to cover our immediate short-term obligations and still have $6.8 to add to university reserves. Why is the NMU Administration downplaying this good fortune and continuing to implement “necessary budget reductions”? One explanation is that this refund makes it hard to justify a deeper agenda intended to impose austerity budgets and to achieve further faculty reductions.
Therefore, it is the position of the NMU AAUP Executive Committee
- That it is impossible to proceed with efforts to resolve the “budget deficit,” when the NMU Administration is unable or unwilling to present a coherent plan identifying specific ameliorative measures.
- That immediate cuts imposed without systematic and strategic review, solely to save money in the short term, run the risk of causing permanent damage to university programs and run counter to the goal of recruiting students.
- That the current budget deficit can and should be resolved by using some of the windfall refund, and a moratorium on budget reductions be imposed until the end of the current academic year.
- That a moratorium will allow the time necessary to develop the proposed university-wide program reprioritization process in order to establish clear criteria for program evaluation and future resource allocation.
It is important that administrators are fiscally responsible, and accountable for their decisions. At NMU, the lack of “transparency” and trust between the upper-level managers and the people who work to fulfill the university’s educational mission has been a problem for a long time, creating a difficult and demoralizing environment. Currently Northern Michigan University is facing many challenges, and we all need to be part of the solutions. For these reasons, we encourage the NMU Administration to try again to seriously address these and other issues through sustained engagement with the campus community.
We invite you to comment on how the budget cuts have affected your department or you personally. If you are comfortable sharing this information on this website, you can e-mail our NMU AAUP President Becky Mead at rmead@nmu.edu
NMU AAUP Executive Committee
See how Ferris State is using its refund at: http://fsutorch.com/2015/09/30/ferris-receives-18-3-million-refund-from-michigan/
See how other universities plan to use the money:
Other useful links:
“Faculty Fear Job, Course Cuts for Winter 2016 Semester” Northwind, 30 Sept. 2015.
Video of Faculty Town Hall meeting, 22 Sept. 2015: http://mediasite.nmu.edu/NMUMediasite/Play/36540fa2b5f64296b1f1641a9d58e0701d
“AAUP Hopeful Pension Refund Could Save Jobs,” Northwind, 7 Oct. 2015, http://www.thenorthwindonline.com/aaup-hopeful-pension-refund-could-save-jobs/
“Erickson Addresses Packed Town Hall Meeting,” Northwind, 14 Oct. 2015. http://www.thenorthwindonline.com/erickson-addresses-packed-townhall-meeting/
I am happy to see that the AAUP, as a representative of the faculty, has taken an official position. This is much better than trying to influence the administration through individual faculty comments offered at open meetings with President Erickson. I wish more representatives of the faculty, such as the Academic Senate, the EPC, and the CACs, would do the same. Their collective weight could–and certainly should–influence the administration in ways that individual faculty comments should not. It is certainly reasonable to expect that the administration would respond to positions, positive and negative, taken by representative bodies, something it need not do with respect to individual faculty comments. Will President Erickson respond publicly to the AAUP with the same speed that he has responded to mere rumors?
The AAUP’s call for transparency, accountability, and faculty participation in planning are certainly appropriate. So is its call for the use of some of the windfall money to avoid unnecessary cuts in course offerings this academic year. I stress the word ‘unnecessary’, however, because a 4% reduction in students should occasion a reduction in the number of courses offered. The burden of such cuts will primarily affect adjuncts, contingents, and terms , since one of the purposes of such appointments is to allow the university flexibility in the face of a decline in enrollments.
I wholly endorse the AAUP Position statement regarding NMU’s budget cut as published in the most recent newsletter. As a faculty member whose contract was not renewed, I speak on behalf of the many faculty who I understand are experiencing a similar situation.
Last winter semester, our department offered two additional sections of MA171 which have been cut from this winter’s schedule. These classes all filled rapidly beyond capacity and I received the usual flood of email requests from students begging to be added to these already overloaded classes. In fact, this has been my experience EVERY semester for the past five years since I have been teaching this course. One of the hardest things I’ve had to do since coming to NMU has been to turn away students who desperately need this class to fulfill their degree requirements and winter semester appears to be critical for many anticipating a timely graduation.
One of President Erickson’s suggestions to those of us who aren’t “tenured” is that we strive to attain this cherished status to guarantee “job security”. Well, I’ve been a tenured full professor at Texas A&M but I’ve always been a strong believer that “job security” should be a result of exceptional “job performance”. NMU is fortunate to have many exceptional adjuncts and contingents who simply teach because they love what they do and not for a “guaranteed” paycheck. It is indeed a sad situation that they may now be denied this opportunity because they aren’t “tenured”.
I am among those who are here because we love to teach. I came out of retirement because I found that teaching and sharing my knowledge with students has been one of the most fulfilling experiences in my life. It extends far beyond the accolades and awards I received for my research and teaching during my 20 year tenure at Texas A&M, Mississippi State and the University of Georgia.
I have frequently volunteered to participate in the parent orientation summer sessions organized by Christine Greer, and at these sessions I always poll the parents as to their reasons for choosing NMU. The response has been overwhelmingly because they felt their child would receive greater individual
attention and interaction with their professors. Those of us who aren’t under the pressures of attaining “tenured” status are often the ones who have the greatest opportunity to provide this individual attention to students. We may be losing many of those special people who are just here
because they love it.
However, I am not as concerned about those faculty members losing their jobs as I am about the students caught in this crisis. What happens now to those 70 plus students I taught last winter and whose email requests could not be granted? Will these students just “disappear”? Were they all in that “400+” students who didn’t enroll this year? Or did some of those go to Bay de Noc and Tech and those schools that saw an increase in enrollment this year? (By the way, I find it hard to believe that all of the increased enrollment in other schools was a result of their recruitment efforts abroad.)
In conclusion, I just wanted you to know that I endorse and encourage the role that AAUP is playing here and will do what I can to support your efforts.
Olga Herman, PhD
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science