Extra Credit for Barrett?

Apparently, some teachers on campus are offering extra credit for going to hear Barrett speak. The presentation is scheduled in a space that only holds 160 people, so student have not been able to get in.

Barrett has "sold out" reeve auditorium, so some students have been left out. Earns and Roter just sent out a memo, asking whoever might be giving extra credit to make sure that students can get credit for going to other activities that bracket the Barrett show.

Lets hope that whoever is encouraging their students to go will do so with a critical eye. The proponents of Barrett's visit have yet to acknowledge that there might be anything wrong with his ideas, and I have to imagine that those are the people who are giving credit for this.



Here is the memo:

October 23, 2006


To: Faculty and Staff


From: Lane Earns, Provost and Vice Chancellor
Petra Roter, Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs


Re: Student Extra Credit for Attendance at Barrett Presentation



It has come to our attention that some faculty members have required student attendance at Kevin Barrett's presentation on Wednesday, August 26th. Since all of the available tickets for the Reeve Theatre presentation have been distributed, as of today, it will be impossible for any student not already in possession of a ticket to attend.


The Campus Greens, who invited Mr. Barrett to campus, chose the Reeve Theatre venue and all subsequent plans have been made accordingly. It is impossible at this late date to change the location of the presentation.


May I suggest that you offer your students the opportunity to attend not only the Barrett presentation, but one or more of the many other fine events and presentations that the campus will host over the remainder of the semester.


We appreciate your efforts to encourage student attendance at campus presentations, but we hope that you will be flexible in terms of extra-credit assignments, given the fact that seating will be limited at the Barrett event.


Thank you for your cooperation regarding this matter.

Academic Freedom at Columbia

The NY Times ran an article (reg. required) about the troubles balancing academic freedom with angry constituencies in Sunday's paper.

The issues,of which Columbia has had 4 in the last few months, are similar to our own. Our own discussion of religion on campus fits. Barrett, of course, is the most divisive issue at the moment. It seems to me that Palmeri and crew might claim that my anti-Barrett comments are similar in spirit to those who caused a brawl during a speaking engagement there.

The article dwells on the political aspects of the controversies at Columbia, noting its attempt to raise its profile in admission.

It also discusses the president's complaints that nuance is being ignored for belligerency.

Any meeting reports?

There were several interesting meetings on campus this week, all of which I missed.

The two that I should have gone to, in particular, were the academic freedom panel on Tuesday and the all-COLs meeting on Thursday.

Are there any readers out there who might post a report?

As I write this post, I stikes me that we should do this as a regular feature of campus life. Someone at these meetings should volunteer to take notes and post a small summary and commentary on the web. Anyone want to sign up for that duty?

**Tony Palmeri has done part of this by posting Miles McGuire's comments on his website.

**Update # 2, The A-T also has a brief story about the meeting. Tom Lammers pointed this out in his comments. I really should consistantly look at the paper.

How did other panelists and audience members respond? Were there many people there?

The Crisis of the Modern University

The New Yorker is running a long book review on this history of universities. It is a thought provoking piece about the divided nature of our occupation. With one foot in the medieval world and one in the modern, universities have always struggled with defining themselves.

The ending suggests that we face a new junction, when we are being faced with a new choice of redefining ourselves as purely profit driven institutions in order to survive. The medieval roots are falling away.

It does make me want to read the book . . .

Adjuncts lower graduation rates

Did you see this story over at Insidehighered.com? A study shows that graduation rates at community colleges decline as percentage of adjunct faculty increases.

The author argues that this is because adjuncts are not paid for time outside the class room.

It makes you wonder if our graduation rates will get worse as we increase our own reliance on adjuncts and part-timers. It would hardly serve our goals if this were the case!

Professors accused of dishonesty on sick-leave

The state legislative audit bureau released its report on UW sick leave policy on Friday. You can read the AP report here.

It has already become another 'reason' for the UW-haters to attack us. We can, of course, add Mark Green to that number, as he seems to think running against the universities will bring him additional votes.

In any case, I think the audit bureau report demonstrates another fundamental misunderstanding of the world of academia. Most of us see flexibility as one of the most important parts of our job. We are not clock-punchers. However, you are more than likely to find us sitting at home on the couch grading or reading that latest journal in our field. Our work does not stop at the office door--instead it is our passion and our life.

Sick-leave is something that is tangential to our work. For example, I have not cancelled a class since I have been here because I was sick. I have, however, spent the rest of one of those days miserable in bed (usually reading material related to my position). Technically, I should have taken a sick-leave day, according to the standards proclaimed by the audit bureau. But then that should also mean that I shouldn't finish that grading or make another revision to that journal submission in the evening or on the weekend. We don't worry about sick-leave because we never really leave our work behind.

The other aspect to this is that unused sick-leave works out as a retirement suppliment to counteract our below-average pay. UW pay has slipped and is getting worse in relation to other academic positions across the country. Providing a boost at retirement is a way to make up for some of the salary loss during our years of service.

In the end, however, since we have no strong advocates in Wisconsin, we will continued to be pummelled by politicians looking only for political points. Administration in Madison will sit meekly by and apologize. Riley and crew will probably be proposing some sort of new, wasteful and onerous reporting requirements. I wish they would spend their energy making people understand why the work we and the UW system do is crucial to the future of our state and our citizens.

A response to Tony's "dialectic" claims from last week

I wanted to respond to Tony's poorly thought-out post about dialectic nature of Kevin Barrett's position, but didn't have the energy. Diamond Dave from Madison did it very well.

I couldn't have said it better myself. . .

Barrett working hard for his 15 minutes of fame

Mostly so that he can keep his name in the press, news has come out that Barrett is assigning a book of essays in his class, which includes one written by himself that compares Bush and Hitler, making an analogy between the Reichstag fire of 1933 and 9/11.

I looked it up and the Reichstag burned, it was used as an excuse to suppress the communists, but the building wasn't actually destroyed. Bad analogy, but then Barrett isn't an expert in anything that we have ever heard him talk about. . .

Regardless, you can read what Madison Law Prof Ann Althouse and her readers have to say about.

The Northwestern did publish a letter from him last week, but I didn't think it was worthy of mention. Tony blogged about it as well.

The whole thing is just a waste of energy--Barrett is such a distraction to the important activities at our institution--but he is good at demanding our attention.

Grade Inflation Discussion sizzles list

SoTL is organizing a forum on Grade Inflation for Halloween. Here is the announcement:

Grades: Tricks or Treats?
Tuesday, October 31, 12 to 2 p.m., Reeve Union 221

A frank discussion on the issue of grade inflation at UW Oshkosh from both faculty and student perspectives. What are the causes? Is it really a problem? Professor Bryan Lilly will moderate the discussion. Panel members include Bill Wresch, Undergraduate Program Director of COBA; John Koker, COLS Interim Dean; and Peter Meyerson, Associate Professor, COEHS. Please bring your own lunch, though “treats” will be provided.

This posting has fired up the discussion list as nothing else has in quite awhile. It began with some thinking about correlation between SOS evaluations and grades in the class. Brian Lilly argues that he has found a clear correlation. Others have written in asking if this is truly a problem. Perhaps the higher average represents better students or students fulfilling requirements better than they used to (Ha!).

It has been a very intriguing discussion and I look forward to the Halloween discussion and more dialogue on our list serve. I suppose I will make a comment about it in more detail myself, when I feel like I have a bit more time.

Back to grading now. . . .

Wells still looking to flee

As announced yesterday, the Chancellor's desire to leave UWO has not waned. He has been nominated as a finalist for a job at the College of Charleston. Does he really expect us to believe that he is not actively pursuing other opportunities?

Just as it did last spring, it still makes sense. Why would he want to put up with all the legislative BS that dominates Wisconsin?


The Northwestern ran a front page story about it this morning
Here is the text of his announcement to the university community:

Dear Elected Officials and Colleagues,


The College of Charleston has just announced that I have agreed to be a finalist for the position of President. I was nominated for the position, and after careful consideration I agreed to be a candidate. Christie and I greatly appreciate and enjoy the support and success of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh community. We fully realize that if it were not for the support of the outstanding people that comprise UW Oshkosh, the UW System, and the state of Wisconsin, Christie and I would not be in the position to consider this excellent opportunity. For this, we are thankful. The College of Charleston Board of Trustees expects to conclude the search on or before November 1st. I regret any distraction this situation may cause for our academic community, and I will continue, with your help, to stay fully focused on moving forward the priorities of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.


Richard H. Wells
Chancellor

Do we take care of our LTEs?

Inside Higher Education reports that Madison is moving a number of long-term limited-term employees from part-time status to full time status. They are also making sure that they are meeting the Madison city's living wage mininum ($10.23/hr).

This is a great thing for Madison to be doing. We should be doing it too. I wonder what our policy is?

Tony accuses me of being a McCarthyite today

I am generally very sympathetic to the arguments and positions that Tony puts forth on his blog, but I have trouble taking seriously his attack on me as a McCarthyite.

I didn't watch the little video he posted, so I am not sure what it says in there.

I just want to come back to the question I posed in yesterday's post. Are we supposed to let all and sundry viewpoints be presented on campus in the name of academic freedom, no matter how repulsive and unfounded they are?

I have never once said that Barrett should be banned from campus or not allowed to speak. I also don't think that 9/11 conspiricists are the equivalent of holocaust deniers.

What I have argued consistently is that we as an institution need to work on our reputation as a solid, intellectual community. Barrett does nothing to enhance that. When the Greens sponsor their candidates for elections, I am very glad to see it. When the Earth Charter brings serious people to campus to discuss important environmental issues, I applaud it. When we have Barrett coming to campus, we have to waste our time dealing with the controvery.

As a final note, I have never made any spurious allegations of illicit infiltration by Communists or demanded that anyone be arrested.

For a few links, here is the chancellor in the Northwestern today.

Here is a philosopher discussing why people believe in conspiracy theories.

Tony continues to defend Barrett

Tony added two more posts about Kevin Barrett today and yesterday. It turns out that part of the reason that Tony is so defensive about the invite to Kevin Barrett is that he was involved in inviting him here to speak.

In any case, as you read all of Tony's defenses of Barrett's views, he continues to refer to the cowardice of the faculty for not embracing, or accepting Barrett's conspiratorial premises.

Barrett is not an expert in any of the topic about which he speaks (except that he is a scholar of Islam who seems to agree with many Islamists), but is convinced that the U.S. Government is evil.

Why is it cowardice to say that this is not what our university should stand for? How is it problematic to say that it only causes us political harm? The reality of the situation is that we teach at a public university, funded by state taxpayers with legislators looking over our shoulders. To give Barrett an unchallenged platform only makes us look foolish.

As Tony is our free-speech expert, I want him to respond to the question I have asked several times--where do you draw the line? Would he be as excited about a speaker who repeatedly pushed the falsehood that Saddam was responsible for 9/11? Would we see this adament defense of a holocaust deniers right to speak and not be challenged on campus? How about those who speak of racial differences in intellegence? Do we have to accept all views as equal in our intellectual community?

Should the Liberal Arts include the Trades?

I found this interesting article this morning, where the author suggests that students should spend their summers in the trades, working with their hands to gain a full appreciation of the human mind.

I find it an oddly compelling argument--building things is not rocket science, but gives you great perspective on how things are put together and challenges your mind in ways complementary to intellectual endeavors.

Enjoy!

Petra Strikes Again

In shades of last spring's uproar over the Freshman Experience course, student government expressed dismay that Student Life didn't bother to consult them about changing the structure of dorm living here. The A-T reported this in Thursday's paper.

There is even a quote from some administrator who says that the students are right in their complaint. He just promises that there will be more consultation in the future.

Student government doesn't have the power of the faculty, so I imagine their complaints will go nowhere. Petra and her staff don't seem to realize that our campus is supposed to be based on shared governance. They are not haughty aristocrats who get to act "in our interests" without bothering to inform us.

The paper editorializes about it here

This is now the third time that Petra and staff have ignored the rules and tried to implement changes without consulting anyone. As I was writing this, I remembered the arbtrary change of movie-viewing policies on campus. I wonder who they will ignore next?

Green attacks UW system

I haven't seen the ad myself, but Gubernatorial candidate Mark Green is running an ad attacking the admissions policies of the UWs.

The link is to a TV station site that points out the misrepresentation in the ad, including the use of actors to portray upset parents.

One of his complaints is high tuition. So should we be expecting him to promise a big reinvestment in the system if he gets elected? Is he going to put some monetary pledges where his mouth is?

Wasteful Wireless on Campus

I just thought I would post a petty post today. I noticed this grand article on the front of the A-T today. We have installed wireless in academic buildings.

In a time of scarce resources, do we really need to spend money on this? I don't see how this is going to enhance learning on our campus. It allows the annoying click of keys and students to randomly surf the web when they should be taking notes. Great!

I suppose I'll now have to circulate to the back of the room to see if students are doing something productive on their laptops during my classes.

If someone can find me a decent pedagogical reason for having this, I'll relent, but I sure can't think of one. . .

Students complain about being checked for plagiarism

High school students in Virgina got written up in the Washington Post for their complaint against Turnitin.com. They claim that the for-profit site steals their intellectual property when they are required to submit versions of their paper to the site without compensation.

The article goes on to discuss a few of the intellectual property right issues, but it mostly raises the question about the validity of the complaint.

Do you think students really worry about the "intellectual property" of a paper written for English class, or are worried about getting caught plagiarism?

We don't subscribe to a service like this, but I catch a plariarist or two a semester, so this would be incredibly useful to me!

Economist attacks higher ed

For a change of pace, here is an attack on the elitism of higher education from the editorialist "Lexington" in the economist. The attacks the increaing inequality of admissions procedures.

It is is a two pronged attack: One against the policy of legacy admissions, including for children of faculty. The second is against diversity policies.

He proposes instead a class-based system in which poor children gain preference.

Most of this doesn't affect us. I don't know that we get special treatment for our children (unfortunately and unusually in the world of academia). We are an incredibly monocultural campus and we are increasingly pricing poorer families out of the system. However, I am not sure that we have a restricted enough admissions policy to turn anyone away!

Does UWO fail in teacher training?

I read this article in the Northwestern yesterday (but I can't find the link, so here is a different story from inside higher ed), about a new study that claims that institutions such as our are doing a bad job training new teachers. He argues that statistics demonstrate that Masters granting institutions like UWO do a much worse job training teachers than PhD-granting schools.

I don't know what the data say about UWO, but if we look at the criticisms that the author levels, we have many of them. Low admissions standards, low graduation standards, high student-faculty ration and low spending per student are a few that we meet.

Does this critique hold water for us? Does it hold for Wisconsin in general? I am not in the school of ed, so I don't know what they might say about this study.

Berube on liberals in academia

The NY Times Magazine ran an editorial piece (reg. required) by Michael Berube about liberals in higher education. Berube has been one of the most outspoken critics of Horowitz and his ilk. This piece, I imagine, fits with the arguments he made in his recently published book.

It goes without saying that I agree with the arguments that Berube is making here and the article is accompanied with a nice chart showing that not much has changed in terms of ideological makeup over the last couple of decades. Professors who identify themselves as moderates have declined, while both left and right have slighly increased.

Low Graduation Rates Raising Questions

The NY Times is running a story today (reg. required) about dropping graduation rates at universities across the country. The focus of the story is on African-Americans, but is clearly applicable to all groups.

Our own 6-year graduation rate is around 43%, if I remember correctly.

These stories always present complicated emotions, because they ignore the question of quality, as if graduation is more important than actually learning something. As we have often discussed on this campus, raising enrollment and graduation rates can most easily be fixed by lowering standards.

That is a path that we shouldn't go down, but it always lurks under the surface in a topic like this.

Oil Change and a Hair Cut

I had been meaning to post a comment on Dean Koker's introductory remarks last Tuesday, but I have been distracted by all of the Barrett arguments.

John Koker gave his address to COLS just over a week ago and I think that it bodes well for the next year. He used the fact that on the day that he was appointed interim Dean, he got both an oil change and a haircut. These two events served as the metaphors for his vision of leadership.

His general theme was that things are going fairly well in COLS, and he doesn't envision major changes. There needs to be routine maintenance and only cosmetic changes.

Koker's relaxed demeanor and friendly attitude should serve the college well over the next year. It is good to see that he had no grand plans for change as well.

We are getting to hire 20 more faculty members this year, so we might actually break even in terms of total numbers. He is promising another 20 next year. This is very good news.

What do readers think should happen in COLS this year? What should we be looking for in a new Dean?

BYU puts 9/11 doubter on paid leave

A BYU researcher in a continuing position, but without tenure, was suspended with pay for claiming 9/11 was caused by explosives.

BYU apparently is notorious for its repression of academic freedoms.

See the story at InsideHigherEd.com

Andy Sabai in the Northwestern about Barrett Visit

In case you didn't see it, Andy Sabai had an editorial published in the Northwestern this weekend. He argues that inviting Kevin Barrett to campus is really about the calls for his removal from various political figures.

He suggests that this is all part of the Green Party's desire for peaceful, progressive change in Amerian politics. As one who has been generally disillusioned by major party politics in this country, I applaud that. It is a shame that they decided that the best way to get their message across is to invite Barrett here.

I would also point you to Prof David Siemers comments to my post entitled, "Andy Sabai responds over at Tony's blog." from Sept. 5. He explains better than I have why the arguments in the letter are problematic.

Wisconsin fails in affordability

A national education group released a report today, rating state college systems. Wisconsin did quite well for education, but received an F for affordability.

Here is a link to the AP story describing the Wisconsin results.

It is a depressing story for students, but it gets even better when you hear UW-hater Rob Kreibich's response, as noted by Wisconsin Radio Network, "The Eau Claire Republican says the report shows the need for the UW system to cap tuition."

No talk about refunding the system after the big cuts or help from the legislature, just more cuts as a way of solving the problem. . . .

Barrett and Intelligent Design

After contemplating Andy Sabai's letter in defense of Barrett, it struck me that argument by believers in 9/11 conspiracies are almost exactly the same as that which comes from supporters of Intelligent Design.

Those who accept Barrett's argument about 9/11 are driven by faith that the Bush administration is an evil regime, aspiring to dominate the world through violence and deception. Thus, you can accept the idea that the government would do something like 9/11. What use is there for real evidence?

IDers do the same thing. If you start with an unshakeable belief that evolution is a secular demon, it doesn't matter that there is 150 years of good scientific evidence supporting the theory.

It was Sabai's comment on Galileo that made this connection for me. I read an article a few months ago about how a few IDers saw Galileo as a hero for challenging the established doctrine. Their attack on evolution seemed to them to be like Galileo's challenge to the church. Sabai, of course, makes exactly the same argument.

Thus, we have the left and the right agreeing in their distrust of reality, for completely different reasons. . . As someone once argued, the political spectrum looks more like a circle than a line!

Perhaps the link between 9/11 conspiracists and holocaust deniers, suggested by a few comenters, is more real than we would like to think. . .

Andy Sabai responds over at Tony's blog

Andy Sabai, chairman of the campus greens, has a response letter posted over at talktotony.

It is a nice thoughtful letter, though I take issue with comparing Barrett to the great scientists who challenged the traditions of the church. They had evidence provided through detailed observation. If Barrett were actually a structural engineer who could demonstrate any of his claims, I might be more inclined to take him seriously. He is a scholar of Islam--how that gives him authority to make claims about the sinister nature of 9/11 is difficult for me to fathom.

In any case, read Andy's response. . .

Tony Palmeri weighs in on Barrett.

Tony has posted a comment on the Barrett visit to campus, arguing that since Barrett has not expressed his conspiratorial views in the classroom, he is protected by academic freedom. He claims that Wells dodged this issue, but I don't see exactly what he means here. Perhaps we'll find out in his part II.

Tony wants to claim that politics should not be taken into account, but unfortunately, that is all Barrett's visit is about. There are few, if any facts or research here. Barrett continuously defames us with his crackpot theories and then claims protection of the academy.

In any case, as one of my irate posters pointed out, he is an adjunct, teaching one lousy course. What claim does he have to the protections of academic freedom? Doesn't that come with some demonstration of scholarship and responsibility, accepted by peers in granting tenure??

I feel like such a conservative in this comment, but giving Barrett a public forum mocks what higher education is about. Well's response of bringing in someone to talk about how crazy conspiratorial beliefs develop seems like a great idea!

Well's shrewdly responds to Barrett visit

After the story of Barrett's visit ran on the front page of the Northwestern today, Wells went into damage-control mode and is going to try to turn his visit into a campus-wide learning experience. The most interesting part is that we are inviting a speaker who will talk about why people believe strange things.

I think that this is a great response--the chancellor is handling the situation as well as he can! Here is Well's press release:

Campus Greens, a recognized UW Oshkosh student organization, has invited Kevin Barrett to speak at a program it has scheduled for Oct. 26 at the theatre at Reeve Memorial Union, a student fee-funded building. No state or taxpayer dollars will be used for the program. Members of the campus community will decide on their own whether or not to attend.

We will take all necessary steps to ensure a safe, civil and tolerant setting for the student-sponsored event, which also will include the showing of the controversial film, “Loose Change 2.” We will work with members of Campus Greens to make sure they follow the necessary protocols. Failure to adhere to these protocols would require me to postpone the event, and it would not be rescheduled until I am convinced we have ensured a civil environment.

Many believe that the highly controversial views of Mr. Barrett, who has said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were orchestrated by U.S. government officials to spark war in the Middle East, should not be protected by freedom of speech.

I do not in any way endorse the 9/11 ideas advocated by Mr. Barrett. In my opinion, his ideas are nonsensical. His visit, however, provides our students the opportunity to assess critically his views. Any analysis of the tragedy must conform to the most rigorous standards for scholarly analysis.

Mr. Barrett’s visit offers us a chance to reaffirm our belief that with freedom comes responsibility. Members of a university community do not have absolute freedom of speech in their official capacities. They are free to pursue academic, artistic and research agendas essential to the university mission, but they must also contribute to an open and collegial environment that promotes reasoned inquiry, intellectual honesty, scholarly competence and the pursuit of new knowledge.

Wisconsin has a long-standing tradition of academic freedom. It was eloquently summarized by Helen White of UW Madison in 1957:

“There is today a good deal of dispute over the advantages of various types of bomb shelters for our bodies. But there is no dispute over one fact, and that is that there are no bomb shelters for our minds. Indeed, I know of no readier way to disarm ourselves than to try to hide from disturbing knowledge, and, conversely, I know of no surer way to steady our nerves and find the courage we need than to take arms against a sea of rumors and alarms and by understanding end them.”

In addition, in order to provide a responsible campus environment and a rational, critical analysis of the ideas espoused by Mr. Barrett and the film “Loose Change 2,” we have planned the following events:

· During October, panels of UW Oshkosh faculty, staff and students will discuss such questions as “Why Do People Believe Weird Things?”, “What Social and Psychological Conditions Predispose People to Develop and Accept Conspiracy ‘Theories’?” and “What is the Responsible Exercise of Academic Freedom?”

· On Nov. 7 or 8, we have tentatively scheduled a public talk and classroom lectures by nationally renowned author Michael Shermer, who wrote Why People Believe Weird Things. His topics will include “How thinking goes wrong: 25 fallacies that lead us to believe weird things” and “Why smart people believe weird things.”

These events will supplement the critical thinking that takes place every day in hundreds of UW Oshkosh classes. I know that our students are entirely capable of judging the validity of Mr. Barrett’s views.

Academic freedom is inextricably linked to the equally important need to exercise responsibly that “freedom.” Anything less threatens and diminishes academic freedom. I hope members of the university community will take advantage of our faculty panel presentations and the talk by Mr. Shermer to help engage in the civil exchange of ideas guided by the best use of our critical thinking skills.

Susan McFadden in the Dean's Office

Susan McFadden was part of the interim appointment of John Koker as Dean of L and S, and took a position as "faculty liaison to the interim dean" (I wonder how big of a pay raise she gets for doing it). She sent out a memo this week describing some of her goals for the year.

Unfortunately, she has quickly taken up the role of chaperoning administrative priorities through COLS.

Project # 1: A healthcare emphasis that will stretch across several departments. It is unclear exactly what this means, except that students who are interested in health care issues will take more courses and get some sort of additional listing on their transcript. It isn't nursing, which we already have, it isn't pre-med, so is it meant to train students to be nursing home employees? Is it a supposed outlet for all the students who can't get into the nursing program? She claims it is secretly an attempt to make students work harder, but I am not sure how that is going to work . . .

Project # 2: Convince the faculty that the administration's already-in-place plan for a Freshman experience course is a good idea. We saw what happened when Petra Roter tried to defend the program last Spring. Someone hopes that McFadden will do a better job convincing us of the usefulness of this class.

Project # 3: Shakespeare on the Fox. Now here is a better initiative. Bring an important literary tradition to campus and bring the community into the intellectual life of the university. She wants people to volunteer to give talks on their expertise that relate to the project. Step up and do your part!

She leaves us with the strange metaphor of a "gift" of an interim year. Perhaps I haven't been around long enough to know that COLS works better without a long-term dean. Perhaps this is a dig at Michael. If it is such a gift not to have a dean, lets turn the position into one held internally on short-term contracts.

I don't know what to make of her approach to this position. I have a lot of respect for McFadden, and I hope that she will not become the latest administrator who thinks she knows better than the faculty as a whole.

Barrett coming to Campus

The campus greens have invited Barrett to come to campus in October. I am posting the information left in a comment below.

As much as I believe in academic freedom, dragging out Barrett all over the place is not the way to demonstrate the seriousness of our scholarship and bolster our reputation as a solid academic environment.

The major speakers that get invited to campus are almost invariable of this fluff. Perhaps if we had a series of well-respected academics, instead of provocateurs, we might draw the academically-minded, instead of the party-minded new students. . .

The UW Oshkosh Campus Greens are sponsoring the following event in the University Theater on Thursday, October 26 from 6pm - 9pm. The plan is to show Loose Change 2 at 6:00pm. The movie is 1 hour 29 minutes and discusses several ideas regarding the events that took place on 9/11.

Kevin Barrett will then offer a presentation at 7:45pm about Academic Freedom and outrageous actions of many state politicians.

Board doesn't take Barrett Bait

The Winnebago county board voted down a proposal to cut funding for UW extension the equivalent of Barrett's pay down at Madison. It is nice to see that they did this, but it is an amazing tactic of the right to keep this topic alive.

I don't think that legislators down in Madison will be this kind when the system budget comes up, however. We have become the easiest target in the entire state!

Here is the story from the Northwestern.

I'll add this link to Inside Higher Ed, to read about the tempest-in-a-teapot generated in New Hampshire by another prof. who questioned the offical line on 9/11

Wells responds to quality discussions

Chancellor Wells sent this long memo to the university community. He has apparently cut and pasted all of the promotional material he has been using over the last year into the message.

After looking over the letter, it doesn't seem that he addresses any of the comments that have been flowing over this or the other discussion directly. And unfortunately, the letter starts with the fact that we are growing and he wants us to keep growing (while not increasing full-time faculty).

I don't accept the argument that growth is the factor that determines improvement, but that is the line the chancellor continues to push. Where are the quality initiatives? Where is the desire to get faculty/student ratios down to the others in the system, let alone higher status institutions? Where is the understanding that a quality university is based on significant interactions between students and faculty, not having a swanky new facility for the athletes?

Will Wells acknowledge that there are obvious problems that need to be addressed or will he continue to be a snake-oil salesman?

August 28, 2006



TO: University Community

FROM: Richard H. Wells, Chancellor

Lane R. Earns, Provost and Vice Chancellor

RE: The Constant Pursuit of Educational Quality and Distinctiveness at UW Oshkosh



Recently a dialogue has emerged on campus about the quality, distinctiveness and reputation of UW Oshkosh. This is a discussion that the Provost and I welcome. We believe that while we must remain open to “brutal facts” and squarely face the related challenges, we must also recognize and be proud of our progress and the outstanding accomplishments of our faculty, staff and students. In this memo, we want to bring some of these accomplishments to your attention and explain what we are doing to address the issue of the University’s reputation.



As you know, we are entering the final phase of accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission. In preparation for our HLC report, we will also be re-examining our Key Operational Plans and participating in UW System Equity Scorecard Project. The entire process will allow a detailed inspection of quality on our campus.



At UW Oshkosh, we are always working on improving the quality of education that we provide and building upon our reputation. We have clear evidence that we are an outstanding institution.



For those of you who would like an extensive examination of our progress, we suggest that you take the time to review the University’s Strategic Plan updates, critiques and annual reports. (see www.uwosh.edu/strategicplan) For those interested in a more abbreviated version, we have noted below some accomplishments between 2000 and 2005 for your perusal:



We have larger enrollments and FTE, and we have increased the number of students of color, degrees conferred and the retention rates for our first-year students:

* Headcount enrollment has increased by 6.2% (726) to more than 12,000 students (11,000 on campus);
* FTE enrollment has increased by 9.4% (873);
* Enrollment of students of color has increased by 240, up 58%, the largest percentage increase among the UW System’s eleven comprehensive universities;
* Enrollment of older students has increased by 5.5%, the largest percentage increase among the UW System’s eleven comprehensive universities;
* Credit-to-degree has decreased by 3%;
* Degrees conferred have increased from 1,712 to 1,856, up 8.4%; and
* Retention rates for first-year students have improved from 70.8% to 76.8%.



We have secured more grants and more private dollars than ever before:

* Grant dollars have increased from $3.7 to $11.7 million, up 216%;
* Foundation gifts and pledges have increased from $1.7 to $4.9 million annually;
* Funding was identified for 80 no-cost Academic Excellence Scholarships; and
* UWO Foundation total net assets have increased by 82% ($7.2 - $13.1 million) from 2002 – 2006, while total assets nearly tripled going from $7.4 to $19.2 million.



We have raised the level of academic preparedness of our first-year students:

* 3.4% more are from the top 10% of their high school class;
* 11.1% more are from the top 25% of their high school class; and
* Academic Excellence and National Merit scholars increased from 44 to 92, up 109%.



We have expanded support programs for student, faculty and staff development:

* New Student Compact provides $1,000,000 annually through differential tuition to enhance and integrate student academic support services;
* Faculty Compact launched a new teaching and learning program; and
* New Leadership development programs for faculty, academic staff and classified staff have been implemented.



We have added new academic majors and significantly increased baccalaureate degree completion programs:

* New undergraduate majors in Theatre Arts, Athletic Training and Environmental Studies;
* New accelerated Math and Science Teacher Education Program in collaboration with five UW Colleges;
* New Bachelor of Fire, Emergency and Response Management Degree;
* New collaborative Master’s Degree in Social Work with UW Green Bay;
* Eleven new Graduate Certificate Programs;
* Accelerated Bachelor’s Degree Program for non-nursing graduates, as well as a MBA foundations online program; and
* The state’s only “2 plus 2” Aeronautics Bachelor’s Degree Program.



We have enhanced our facilities by completing $75 million worth of capital building projects with another $100 million of projects on the near horizon:

* Acquired funding and completed $1.8 million of classroom and lab upgrades (including funding for a major renovation of the Aquatic Research Laboratory);
* Purchased and renovated a 30,000 sq. ft. building for Academic Support Services and a new Women’s Center;
* Convinced the State to earmark funds for the Fall 2005 purchase of a 36 acre addition to our riverfront campus;
* Have undertaken a campus beautification project including landscaping, lighting and signage;
* Are constructing a new $21 million Student Health and Wellness Center (to be opened in 2007);
* Authorized the purchase and renovation of the Newman Center and Credit Union buildings by the UWO Foundation;
* Unveiled a new parking plan, with first 400 car parking ramp to be opened in the Fall of 2007;
* Completed $3.5 million of the planned $5.7 million transformation of the Oshkosh Sports Complex, as well as a $1.0 million improvement of Kolf Sports Center;
* Completed a $13 million renovation of Taylor Hall; and
* Received authorization from the State to place a new $48 million Academic Building on the high priority new construction list to be planned in 2005-2007 and constructed in 2007-2009. The State has already released $1.2 million for design costs.



We have won national recognition for our commitment to “green” principles by using EPA LEED building design standards, by decreasing negative environmental impacts through the conservation of water and energy, by reducing pollution, and by recycling:

* Reduced water consumption by 24,484,000 gallons/year, a savings of $130,986;
* Reduced energy consumption by 563,017 kilowatt hours, a savings of $27,600/year;
* Reduced emissions of coal/natural gas boilers by constructing a $2.8 million heat plant stack;
* Renovated rather than demolished existing buildings to minimize contributions to landfills;
* Reused light poles resulting in more energy efficiency and less light pollution, a $300,000 savings;
* Received the 2003 EPA Leadership Award, one of the first 11 ever presented to a university; and
* Received the 2004 National Wildlife Federation Award, the 2005 Energy Star Award, and the 2006 Wisconsin Clean Air Award.



We have been recognized as a national model for developing and highlighting exemplary campus-wide Liberal Education programs:

* Featured by the American Council on Education’s “Solutions for Our Future” at www.solutionsforourfuture.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr002=ko4z5bgg66.app8a&page=NewsArticle&id=5867&news_iv_ctrl=1203 ;
* Lauded by the Association of American Colleges and Universities for linking their initiative entitled Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) to the ACE’s “Solutions for Our Future” campaign at www.aacu.org/aacu_news/AACUNews06/June06/news_events.cfm#LEAP2 ;
* Devoted three issues (Spring 2006, Fall 2006, and Spring 2007) of the UW Oshkosh Magazine to a three part series on the value and importance of a liberal education by featuring the outstanding accomplishments of the students, faculty, and staff that comprise our four colleges.



Additional points of pride include:

* The proposed growth agenda submitted by UW Oshkosh to support additional faculty and new programs was approved by the UW Board of Regents, and the Board will recommend to the Governor a level of funding that is higher than any other single comprehensive university in the state;
* UW Oshkosh has won more Regents’ Teaching Excellence Awards than any other UW institution. Three individual faculty members and three departments have been awarded this recognition;
* UW Oshkosh’s recruitment program, which has dramatically increased undergraduate student diversity, won the State Council on Affirmative Action 2005 Diversity Award;
* UW Oshkosh has had the most successful Model United Nations Program in the nation for two decades running;
* Since 1999, the College of Nursing graduate students’ pass rate on the American Nurses Credentialing Center-Family Nurse Practitioner Exam has been 100 percent;
* Senior business majors at UW Oshkosh taking the ETS business knowledge assessment test have ranked in the top 5 percent nationwide.
* UW Oshkosh students who took the CPA exam placed the university in the top 10 schools nationally;
* Since 1990, 35 UW Oshkosh graduates have gone on to be awarded the Herb Kohl Teacher of the Year Award;
* More special education teachers graduate from UW Oshkosh than any other UW institution;
* Our students volunteer approximately 65,000 hours each year in service to the community;
* Productions and scripts by UW Oshkosh radios-TV-film students have won 21 grand prizes in National Broadcasting Society competitions;
* The Advance-Titian has won the top national award for student newspapers four times;
* UW Oshkosh has won 37 national championships, including 23 NCAA Division III competitions;
* UW Oshkosh sponsors the largest annual Earth Charter community summit in the world. The Earth Charter promotes ecological integrity, social and economic justice, and democracy, nonviolence and peace; and
* UW Oshkosh has received the Governor’s Top Special Minority Business Award for the past three years.



Given the recent budget cuts by the State, the scope of accomplishments noted above is astonishing, and represents a tribute to the unity, vigor, and dedication of our students, faculty, and academic and classified staff members. By focusing our resources on identified priorities, we have been able to accomplish many remarkable feats during the past five years.



While we can thus speak with confidence and pride of the quality and distinctiveness of UW Oshkosh, efforts must continue to enhance our reputation beyond the campus boundaries. In response to this need, we are revamping our currently inconsistent, uneven, and highly decentralized communications and marketing activities. Our image and reputation are not aligned with the quality of our academic community, and this “brutal fact” is being addressed by the Integrated Marketing Team that was charged on February 17, 2006 to help focus the University’s image/brand in an honest and ethical way, and to enhance public awareness, appreciation and accessibility. Professor Birgit Leisen Pollack and Susan Neitzel are the team co-captains. The full membership and six-page charge can be found at http://www.uwosh.edu/chancellor/documents/TeamCharge-Goals-Roles-Responsibilities.doc . A draft of this plan will be filed and input will be solicited at numerous campus presentations this fall.



We are currently completing the search for an Executive Director of Integrated Marketing and Communication. You may recall that when Robin Asbury vacated her Director of University Relations position, we did not fill it in order to help meet our budget challenges. We did, however, dramatically revise the nature of the position and change the title to Executive Director of Integrated Marketing and Communication. The Search Committee, chaired by Professor James Tsao and Professor Birgit Leisen Pollack , has done outstanding work and, consequently, we have three excellent finalists for this important position.



In addition, the College of Business has opened a satellite center in Green Bay and we are in the final stages of opening a satellite UW Oshkosh office in Milwaukee. These “out-of-town” sites will enhance awareness of UW Oshkosh.



Regarding the issue of rankings of higher education institutions, we believe in measuring and evaluating our performance and in holding ourselves accountable; however, we agree with the August 16, 2006 NY Times editorial that states, “rank colleges, but rank them right.” This attitude is doubly important now given that the recently released draft of the Spellings Commission Report on the Future of Higher Education recommends that colleges and universities use standardized testing to assess student learning in terms of outputs. It is clearly time for colleges and universities to step up to the plate and take responsibility for carefully accessing the relationship between student experience and student learning if we are to identify value added in a way that that would respect the diversity of student and social needs.



One step in this direction is our participation in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which unlike the US News & World Report rankings measures output. Our latest NSSE results have improved and will be shared and discussed during the fall semester. Another is our plan to facilitate further campus-wide dialogue by supporting a Faculty College on the evaluation of higher education, centered on the Spellings Commission Report on the Future of Higher Education, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), and other ranking systems, such as those found in US News & World Report.



In closing, the following are examples of initiatives that we will support over the course of the coming year that will continue our commitment to enhance the quality and distinctiveness of our academic community.



University Initiatives, Programs and Projects:

Center for Scholarly Teaching

University Honors Program (increased support)

American Democracy Project (increased support)

Office of International Education (increased support)

Campus-wide Sustainability Team

Black History Project

Institute for the Study of Religion, Violence and Memory



College Initiatives:

COLS (Health Care Emphasis, minor in Social Justice, major in Bimolecular Science, and Informational Research Methods)

COBA (Family Business Center and CASPER)

COEHS (Special Education Outreach, Collaborative Baccalaureate with UW Sheboygan)

CON (Laboratory Simulations, Clinical Simulations, and International Partnerships)



We hope the ideas and information provided above are of some value as we continue to engage in a transparent exchange of ideas and actions focused upon adding value to all members of this wonderful academic community. It is not possible in this memo to enumerate the many individual accomplishments of the faculty, academic staff, and classified staff. As you know the annual reports, the UW Oshkosh Magazine, the Bulletin, and the numerous press stories detail the every day excellence of our faculty, academic staff, and classified staff. The Opening Day activities will provide another opportunity to celebrate individual achievements.



We look forward to seeing you during the Opening Day ceremonies and to continuing our dialogue on the important issues of quality, distinctiveness and reputation at UW Oshkosh.


Chancellor Richard Wells
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

Discussion of rankings continues on the list

Discussion has raged the last few days, continuing with the basic themes I mentioned in my earlier posts. Mike Lizotte has been arguing that the ratings benefit private colleges, not state institutions, so we shouldn't give them too much credence.

Others have suggested we need a plan to improve our institution.

Jonathon Gutow makes the best argument (because he basically agrees with me). He argues that class size is the biggest issue, but there is very little that we can do. We can abandon our research and teach more students or we need a large infusion of cash to hire new staff to get our ratios back down to our comparable institutions.

The first one is not very palatable, since UWO, I think, has established quite a strong research base, which is also one of the cores of higher education.

The second is completely unfathomable. We know that the legislature is not going to find extra money to hire more staff, unless we can show 'growth.' Tuition is already rising astronomically, so there is no hope that students could help fund this project.

That leaves us between a rock and a hard place. Could we play the statistics, and get our ratings up. Would that get us more money? Is there a way to attract higher ranked students without spending more?

I'm stumped as I type this. . .

Here are some statistics about how bad we are!

From the UW system promotional material sent out to parents (thanks to Bill Wresch for the link)

We have the highest average class size (32). We have the highest percentage of lower division classes over 100 students, the lowest percentage of upper-division classes under 30.

We have the second lowest percentage of full-time faculty teaching classes (55%) among our peer schools (excluding Madison, Milwaukee, and the Colleges).

We do a little better with our student body, falling in the middle of the UWs, though we have the smallest percentage of students from the top 10% of their high school class.

Wow--if only our alumni giving rate were better, we'd be a pearl among universities!

UWO fails in US News ratings: faculty upset

The discussion list has been fairly active this week, as many members of the university community discuss the fact that UWO rates very poorly in the U.S. News ratings that were just released.

Most of the discussion has focused on the gimmicky nature of the survey, that gives emphasis to small class sizes (that's terrible they emphasize that!) and alumni giving (of which UWO has none).

We'll surely hear no talk about this from the administration--instead we only hear about the need to keep biggering and biggering (to borrow a line from Dr. Seuss).

It is pathetic to see a discussion about how we can game U.S. News and not address the significant academic shortcomings on our campus.

USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2007: Universities-Master's (Midwest): Top Schools

Regents vote for big spending increases

The regents met yesterday and approved a big request to the legislature. This is not particularly surprising.

As I think about it, I find myself quite ambivalent about it. If the legislature approves the additional money for UWO, we get stuck with the ridiculous Bachelor of Applied Studies degree. It goes towards the goal of expanding the university, not alleviating any problems that we already have. It will not really address our class size problems. The students quoted don't realize that the new money won't actually help them with the issues they raise. If we get the money, all we'll hear is about how lucky and flush with resources we are!

The second issue, of course, is how deeply the legislature will cut us in the next budget cycle. The threats from republican legislators who hate the system have been flying for months. Will they decide to vote us more money? I wouldn't hold your breath!


Oshkosh Northwestern - UW Regents include $3.4 million increase for UWO in budget

Is our new class ready for college?

ACT reports that only 28% of wisconsin ACT takers are ready for college work in the four areas that they test. I wonder what the percentage for UWO is?

Journal-Sentinal graphic appended below:


JS Online: Graphic

FOXNews.com on the liberal arts

You can read the fox news "exclusive" on whether college students should focus on a profession or the liberal arts.

Most interesting data: 64% of those surveyed see college as preparing students for a specific career. This is an unfortunate lack of communication on our part.

As the liberal arts college interviewees in the article argue, college should be about learning to think and write. The specific job skills may be added on top of that, but should not be the major focus of a student's time in college!


FOXNews.com - Choosing a College: Liberal Arts vs. Professional Training - College Life | Guide | Universities

Christian groups demand right to discriminate on campus. Will racists be next?

This story has been all over the news in the last few weeks and I have been meaning to make a comment, so here it is:

Christian groups are pushing very hard to force universities to give recognition and funding to them. They want access to university facilities and money, but want to be able to restrict membership to those who believe as they do.

They argue that it is a violation of their right to free assembly not to have access to university facilities and seem to have found a judge in southern illinois that agrees with them.

They should ask themselves if this isn't a slippery slope. Will they sit idly by when a racist group decides to ask for university recognition for a group that will exclude all people of color? How about groups that exclude everyone of a different gender? Are these okay too?

The university anti-discrimination rules are meant to make campuses a welcoming place--I suppose if we want our universities to be filled with little gated, frightened communities that refuse to admit one another, as some Christian groups demand, we are headed down the right path.

St. Paul Pioneer Press | 08/11/2006 | Official apologizes for mishandling Knights of Columbus announcement

Standardized testing coming our way?

The federal panel that has been studied higher education issued its report today. It seems as though there was little agreement, except for the idea that we are unaccountable.

Many seemed to think that standardized testing would solve the problem of college standards. Since the current administration loves standardized testing for k-12, can it be long before we see legislation aimed in this direction?



Panel’s Report Urges Higher Education Shake-Up - New York Times

Profs are responsible for grade inflation, says this writer

Here is another article discussing the problems of grade inflation. He argues that we are shirking our duties by succumbing to the ease of giving lots of Bs.

He does raise the real issue of collective action, but can't provide any solution, suggesting only that we have lost public confidence because of our dropping standards.

There is a lot of truth in what Mr. Gordon has to say, but it doesn't address the real outside pressures on us from administrators and students.


The Chronicle: 8/11/2006: When B's Are Better

Survey says some are suspicious about 9-11

As the Barrett story continues to make national news, the Journal-Sentinal ran a story that reports a survey that more than 1/3 of those polled had suspicions about the U.S. government's role in the Sept. 11 attacks.

This story was matched by an a-p story (which also ran in the Northwestern) describing a few members of the group of which Barrett is a member.



JS Online:Survey says some are suspicious about 9-11

Another take on Rate my professors. com

Here is another impression about ratemyprofessors.com, as it seems to generate endless discussion about the anonymous comments.

Is it really like being a contestant on American Idol?

Inside Higher Ed :: RateMyProfessors -- or His Shoes Are Dirty

Barrett saga continues to bubble

Google aggregated a whole series of news stories about Barrett. I hadn't been paying much attention, but my earlier post about the end to the saga were clearly premature.

61 legislators have signed a letter demanding Barrett be fired and are threatening funding for the system:
(Here is one version of the story)

Not surprisingly, Bill O'Reilly is using his show to attack Barrett and the UW (Here is the link)

In some sort of e-mail campaign, Barrett challenged UW-hater Steve Nass to a debate about 9/11, which Nass called 'silly' (This link)


Madison professors respond to Fish and others:
The Capital Times

Make room for our students

The Journal Sentinal makes a plea for more money for higher education in Wisconsin. They, of course, emphazize that UW-Milwaukee should get more, but the point is well taken!



JS Online:Editorial: Make room for our students

Stanley Fish on Barrett

The NYT (reg. required) published an editorial by Stanley Fish today, arguing that both sides are incorrect in their positions about academic freedom.

He argues that the key issue is freedom to do your job without external interference--in this case objectively studying the causes of 9/11--but no freedom for prostyletizing.

Sexism in science

I really enjoyed this interview with a scientist who had a sex change operation -- from man to woman -- who discusses the casual mistreatment of women students by their instructors!

Here is the link from the sunday NYT (bugmenot.com)

Barrett saga over for now

I have a feeling the Barrett story has come to an end as of yesterday. The Provost at Madison made the proper decision (and the only one he could and still maintain any vestige of academic integrity), which was to say that he wasn't going to censor Barrett's class based on his out of class comments.

This will fade away until the next funding cycle, when the anti-UW crowd will use it to whip up support for more cuts--why not punish students and the state's future for comments of one instructor?



Wisconsin State Journal

Barrett defends his theory in Milwaukee

The journal sentinal gives play to Barrett's speech in Milwaukee, and lists a few of the reasons he thinks 9/11 was an inside job.


JS Online:Lecturer denounces critics of his 9-11 teachings

Bad Boys in College

The NYTimes (Reg. required) ran a long article in the Sunday paper about underachieving college men.

Women are generally outperforming men academically in college, while increasing their relative numbers.

The 'men are slackers' is the new cultural theme at the moment. The recent movie, "Failure to Launch" makes the same kind of argument.

I am not sure there is anything to it, but it is an interesting new angle of reporting.

At Colleges, Women Are Leaving Men in the Dust - New York Times

Barrett's letter to Doyle

Here is the text of the letter.

He lists all of his favorite conspiracy theories in his "questionaire" that accompanies the short note.

WisPolitics.com

The story gets richer -- 9/11 instructor strikes back

This story gets ever better -- the instructor wrote a sarcastic letter to Doyle -- and is going to be ever more inflammatory.

He seems to be happy with the publicity he is generating, but it is bad for the rest of us. . .

Wisconsin State Journal

Student complaints about Professors

I found this interesting site--you can read about student complaints about the "indoctrination" they received from their professors.

It contains one-sided student views from all sorts of disciplines and makes amusing reading, if you are looking for a little break!

NoIndoctrination.org

Latest UW ideological controversy

I saw this on the news last week, but didn't have a good internet link to it.

A Madison PhD and temporary instructor is planning on teaching a course, which may include his view that the government was involved in the 9/11 attacks.

It is the standard right-wing fare--how dare anyone question the Bush administration and official versions of history.

Read about the UW haters, who claim that this isn't about academic freedom . . .

More bad press for UW system

Inside Higher Ed :: Investigation Over 9/11 Teachings

No Axle-Tech news

The Northwestern ran a non-story about Axletech and the university this morning.

Perhaps this is part of the river-front (non)redevelopment theme, since a university building on the Fox would probably be nicer than the axle factory.

It is also part of the planning process for our new acadmenic building. If Axletech remains where it is, the new building will not go in the location where the adminstrators would like it.

Oshkosh Northwestern - AxleTech negotiations 'silent'

New administrator to be hired??

Anonymous commenter to an earlier threat posted the information that the chancellor is preparing to hire a new administrator. This person will be "a marketing communication person (a new position) underneath the foundation director and above the university relations director." (from the comment)

Can this really be true? In these times of cuts and faculty vacancies, can our leadership believe that we would benefit by hiring another paper-pusher?

Tthere needs to be some outrage and angry protest before we let our resources be squandered like this!!!!

We are "risk-averse, frequently self-satisfied, and unduly expensive"!

The national commission on higher education issued a draft report, slamming universities a few days ago. The writers describe us essentially as a failing business that needs radical restructuring to continue.

I haven't read the whole report, but it seems like a pretty nasty attack . . . .
Inside Higher Ed :: Prose and Politics

Accreditation: A Flawed Proposal

Here is an interesting commentary about the accreditation process. It raises the much broader issue of the problems of higher education.

Professionals want to use accreditation to increase institutions standards, but the general public wants those standards to be lowered. He argues that the public wants to see their children get in and through the university without too much struggle. Higher standards make that more difficult.

The author makes a very interesting point and one to take note of as we prepare ourselves for another round of accredition that is upcoming.


Inside Higher Ed :: Accreditation: A Flawed Proposal

Can't Complete High School? Go Right to College - New York Times

Here is a very interesting story from the NYTimes (reg. required). Read about how students who haven't graduated from high school make up 2% of all college students (not including home schoolers!)

It is a story about what is happening in New York. Are such things happening here in Wisconsin?


Can't Complete High School? Go Right to College - New York Times

High Tech Cheating discussion continues

Inside higher-ed has an essay with a similar argument to that of Dvorak's. The author suggests that it is the teachers fault that they don't better understand and utilize the internet. . .


Inside Higher Ed :: Stop Chasing High-Tech Cheaters

The Cheating Debate--A Tech writer's take

John Dvorack, computer guru, doesn't see what the big deal is about using calculators in class. He also doesn't understand why students need to learn to write.

It shows a shockingly ignorant understanding of what education is all about. He argues that computers have made the need to know (and think) irrellevant. All you need to know is how to search.

He also thinks writing should be replaced by Powerpointing. It is shocking that a writer would think that the there is nothing to the process except cutting and pasting other people's ideas.

It is a interesting insight into the thinking of the technological world--why learn anything anymore, he seems to suggest, it is all on-line anyway!
Knowing What to Know—The Cheating Debate

Free Tuition for Veterans

This seems like a subject worth mentioning here. Doyle is poised to sign a bill that will give 8 semesters of higher education free to veterans.

Unfortunately, there is no mechanism for funding this, so it remains to be seen whether this is a good or bad thing for the system. Will individual schools be forced to pick up the tab? Will everyone else's tuition go up, so that students will pay for this program?

As far as the legislature goes, I would imagine they just expect us to cut costs to pay for it. Veterans will get a lower quality education, just like everyone else gets these days. . .


The Sheboygan Press - Editorial: Don't make students pay for tuition waiver for state's veterans

Dan Hoyt, our most ardent right-winger has a blog

I was googling around and I have to link to this--Dan Hoyt, who is our most outspoken right-wing Christian character on campus, has a blog. Here you can read his attack on Zimmerman and his absurd claim that evolution is a religion.

Hoyt's Opinion February 8, 2006

The Footnote Police vs. Ward Churchill

For a little light reading this afternoon on the net, you might turn to this article that argues that some of the charges leveled against Churchill are quite dubious.

The usual acrimonious discussion is attached.

Inside Higher Ed :: The Footnote Police vs. Ward Churchill

Colleges Chase as Cheats Shift to Higher Tech - New York Times

The New York Times (registration required) reports on high-tech cheating by college students. Wireless internet connections and ipods give new facets to students trying to immorally get ahead.

It is another NYTimes story without any quantitative data, but does give some interesting anecdotes!

Colleges Chase as Cheats Shift to Higher Tech - New York Times

Summer is upon us!

Whoopie!!! Yea!!! Summer is finally here. Grades have been submitted and I can turn to the other side of my work and get some research done! It will be nice to have some solid blocks of time to think and write.

I was pretty productive this semester, but there is only so much you can do between teaching, preparing to teach, and grading during the school year.

I had a decent batch of students, so the semester did not feel too onerous and I think that a few people learned something significant in my courses. Perhaps they will retain a bit of it in the years to come!

The blogging frequency may slow down, but I hope to keep my eyes and ears open to important developments on campus and beyond.

Kreibich says something nice about the UW system

I was so shocked when I read this story, I had to link to it. Rob Kreibich, implacable attacker of UW, voted against the taxpayer amendment because it would hurt higher education.

I have to praise him for making this decision, but lets hope that his incidiary rhetoric will lessen and he will work on helping us improve the quality of education in the state!

The Spectator - Taxpayer amendment stops at Senate

The Other Side of Ignorance: Ward Churchill's misconduct

It seems only fair to note that Ward Churchill has been accused of a whole lot of academic misconduct. This, of course, follows on the heals of reports of all the misrepresentations in David Horowitz's work. I suppose all extremists do such things--when you put your ideology before the facts, what do the facts matter?

The report does not call for his dismissal, but suggests a long suspension. It makes interesting reading.

Inside Higher Ed :: Truth and Consequences

Winneblogo listed on state blog list

I just discovered myself listed on the website wispolitics.com. Someone outside of oshkosh seems to have noticed the blog! I have been categorized as a left-wing blogger, so check it out. . .

WisOpinion, Wisconsin's Premier Political News Service

Academic Freedom at a Christian College

This story makes interesting reading. Patrick Henry College had 5 faculty members quit after they were not allowed to teach non-Christian texts nor question the administrations particular interpretation of Christianity.



Raw Fisher

Wells plugs the liberal arts

Chancellor Wells sent out a letter, calling our attentioin to the campaign for liberal arts laid out at the website below. Oshkosh has been highlighted there for "exemplary program." I think they mean that they are glad to see the program praised in our alumni magazine.

I am not sure exactly what our commitment is, beyond lip service. The real spokesman for the liberal arts is leaving and the chancellor seems to be speaking only about expansion and "practical" programs in his growth plan.

You should go and watch the public service ads at the site, thought, they are terrific!


Solutions for our Future.org: Solutions for Our Future

Working Students

70-80 percent of students who are enrolled work at the same time. Those who do average 30 hours a week. About 1/4 work full time.

Wow! I always knew that my students worked, but I didn't realize how much. This is a striking problem for us. How can students who work that much have a chance to do the kind of clockwork necessary to graduate with a set of skills that are worthy of a bachelors?

This is directly related to our continuing discussions about standards and retention. What kinds of standards can these students attain when they have so little time for college? If I really expect my students to do 2 hours of work outside of class for one in, where would they conceivably find the time?

No wonder students are taking so long to graduate and so few of them do! For those who are dependent on their jobs for tuition, college must look something like a vicious cycle-- pay more, work more, go deeper into debt while education becomes less important.




Here is the study itself, which is a 22 page PDF.
ACE | Center for Policy Analysis

Horowitz gets sued

In the always enjoyable (in a disheartening sort of way) David Horowitz Saga, a new twist has emerged.

Joel Beinin has sued Horowitz for putting his picture on the front of the book. He argues that Horowitz shouldn't be able to use his picture for profit, especially when he disputes the claims made about him in the book.

I don't imagine he will have any luck -- it is exactly like Fox News trying to sue Al Franken over "fair and balanced." That one was laughed out of court, and this one probably will be too.


MercuryNews.com | 05/10/2006 | Professor fights portrayal as supporter of terrorism

Wells postpones Applied Studies

Chancellor Wells posted a message to the university community today where he acknowledged the major complaints by the faculty about the Growth initiative.

First, he apologized for announcing that "University 101" course would be translated into a mandatory one. He does not, however, acknowledge that the course will not be required, only that this decision by administrators "appeared to violate the principle of shared governance." It looks a bit too much like lawyerese to me--he didn't say there will be more discussion or that the faculty might stop it from coming into being.

The second point is much less ambiguous: BAS has been removed from the program approval process pending further discussion. Thank you, Chancellor Wells!

The question for both of these is whether he will simply wait until fall or some other time and send them through the opaque governance channels without serious reconsideration of either.


Here are the relevant passages from his letter:

I was informed at the open forums that the “growth agenda” proposal included a new initiative for a required course that appeared to violate the principle of shared governance, which gives faculty primary responsibility for the curriculum. I appreciate being made aware of the fact that this course is not approved as a required course. I accept full responsibility for overlooking this error, and I want to assure you I fully respect the primary authority of faculty for the curriculum.

Also brought to my attention at the open forums were concerns about the quality and faculty input for a new degree, the Bachelor of Applied Studies. In response to these concerns, the degree program has been removed from the docket for program approval until further faculty dialogue on the subject has occurred.

Time Magazine writes about Christianists

Tony Palmeri sent along this link, where Andrew Sullivan, pundit and blogger, takes up the term I have been championing for months. I feel like such a trend setter!

He describes Christianism as an ideology, politics. He suggests we should use the term for those who use Christianity to define a precise political agenda.

I am glad that he has found the value in this term--it is important to make a distinction between those who have differing interpretations of Christianity and those who try to force their interpretations into politics.

TIME.com: My Problem with Christianism -- May 15, 2006 -- Page 1


Here is a link to his blog, where he describes his problem with the Christianist legislative agenda.

Horowitz Fact Checker

A Website entitled freeexchangeoncampus.org has posted a series of responses to the errors in David Horowitz's 101 Most Dangerous Academics.

They start with the fact that there are only 100 names on the list. It makes for some interesting reading!

Free Exchange on Campus - Horowitz Fact Checker

Stanley Fish - Students have no rights

Stanley Fish has a great blog post about the academic bill of rights. Apparently, the princeton student senate passed a version of it last week.

Here is my favorite excerpt from his essay:

One last point. Resolution 177, the Academic Bill of Rights, the Student Bill of Rights and the Princeton Student Bill of Rights all speak of the importance of promoting and protecting the academic freedom of students. What could this possibly mean? The only freedom students rightly have is the freedom to vote with their feet if they don’t like the syllabus in a particular course. They are not free to demand on the basis of “intellectual diversity” or “balance” or “pluralism” or some other specious abstraction that the syllabus be changed to suit their personal or ideological inclinations. Nor are students free to introduce into a classroom issues or perspectives that are judged by an instructor to be beside the point he or she wishes to explore. Instructors are free to say to a student, “That may be an interesting question, but it is not one we shall be asking here.”

The rhetoric of academic freedom for students is a subset of the rhetoric of student rights. But students have no rights, except the right to competent and responsible instruction. They certainly do not have any right to be instructed by a conservative teacher or a liberal teacher or a religious teacher or a white teacher or a black teacher or a teacher of any color. The idea that students have rights often accompanies the idea that students are customers and teachers, providers. Students are not customers and if we survey their preferences and alter our “product” accordingly, we will not only have betrayed our professional responsibility; we will have betrayed them.

Unfortunately, you need to be a subscriber to the NY Times to see the rest of the article:

Stanley Fish - Think Again - Politics by Any Other Name - New York Times Blog

Our own felon on campus

The Northwestern discovered a felon on campus! They have written a very nice article describing the path of criminal justice professor Stephen Richards.

If we go back to the noise raised by legislators over felons on campus, this story makes them look even more like idiots. How could one argue that Richards has no place in education?

He is an asset to campus and the UW system and proof that the knee-jerk UW haters have no clue!!

Oshkosh Northwestern - Professor applies prison experience to criminal justice study

Kreibich at it again

Kreibich and some UW hating cronies down in Madison are demanding that an ex-dean be fired.

I don't know what the details of the case are, but I am sure they don't know either.

They just love to bash the system and look for every excuse. Wisconsin would be so much a better place if it were filled with nasty uneducated types (more like themselves!)

The Associated Press

More national discussion on grade inflation

The story here is a plug for a book about how to get good grades, but becomes a discussion about grade inflation.

This fits very nicely into our continuing complaint about the low standards that seem to be part of the Applied Studies degree. The administration likes to reduced standards, so that they can keep their enrollment numbers up. We should stand against it in everyway we can.

Battling grade inflation has to be part of it!

Inside Higher Ed :: Should Professors Be Talking More (or Less) About Grades?

Also look at this link that discusses grade inflation and the way colleges market themeselves.

Growth Forum -- Any Reports?

I am afraid that I didn't make it to either of the growth forums with the Chancellor today.

Anyone want to report on what happened? Were faculty fears calmed? Did people leave these meetings feeling better about the Applied Studies degree?

Revised Movie Policy appears on Discussion List

Stephen Kercher has posted a long message, proposing that we revise the movie policy to allow films on campus again. I'll just post the complete message for now:

Dear Campus Community:


Several weeks ago I reported here that several members of the History Department were meeting with Petra Roter, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, to discuss the impact of new restrictions being placed on student groups' film series.


Last Thursday, a group of faculty from History, Foreign Languages and Communications convened with Petra and Reeve Union Director Randy Hedge to discuss the issue.


The discussion afforded all of us an opportunity to better understand how the opposing sides have formulated their perspectives. It yielded no compromise, however, since the opposing sides interpret the Copyright Act of 1976--and amendments made to it in later years--very differently.


Citing an expanding body of literature on the subject of copyright law and the opinions of legal professionals who have engaged the debate in recent times, those of us opposed to the new restrictions focus on two important sections of the law: Title 17, Section 107 and Title 17, Section 110.


Section 107 outlines conditions under which a "fair use" of a film ("for nonprofit educational purposes") might not constitute "an infringement of copyright." According to a very helpful guide provided by UW System Legal (see http://www.uwsa.edu/gc-off/deskbook/copyrgt.htm), the "fair use exception is a four-factor test that balances the rights of copyright owners in their creations against the public interest in the free exchange of ideas....Use of a copyrighted work need not satisfy all four factors to qualify as fair use; rather, the factors favoring fair use must outweigh the factors favoring obtaining permission."


Section 110 codifies a different, but equally viable exception--The Teaching Exception. Section 110 stipulates that the "performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction" is not an infringement of copyright.


Three members of the History Department have submitted to Petra a proposal for a new movie policy on campus. Anyone interested in reading a draft of the proposal may find it at: http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/history/MoviePolicyRevision.htm.


We welcome any feedback members of our community may wish to provide. Please share your thoughts with us individually or here on the listserv.


Although those who attended the meeting disagreed on many points, we shared the view that decisions affecting the pedagogy and intellectual climate of this university ought to be made after careful, respectful and transparent deliberation. And we affirmed our belief that instances of threats and intimidation--particularly when aimed at the students we teach--have no place on this campus and should never be tolerated.


Sincerely,


Stephen Kercher

The Self-Inflicted Wounds of the Academic Left

Here is a very interesting piece discussing the failures of the radical left. For this author, the key failure is that they represent only a culture of criticism and dissent. They have abandoned politics for disillusionment.

He also suggests that the pervasive culture of distrust and disgust has served the rise of the radical right. They articulate all the problems in society without providing any positive energy. The right has accepted the diagnosis and proposed its own course of treatment.

Enjoy. . .

The Chronicle: 5/5/2006: The Self-Inflicted Wounds of the Academic Left

Religion battles reemerge at Madison

UW Madison made the Journal-Sentinal today with the story of a Catholic student organization that was denied funding by the chancellor.

The fight seems to be over the large amount of money ($88,000) that the administration saw as subsidizing a church.

Read the story--I would imagine that we'll hear from the Christianists in Madison about this today--as they scream that Christians are embattled and how this proves discrimination against their kind.


JS Online:UW fee handouts again stir conflict

Happy Anniversary to Me

I just realized that it was exactly one year ago this week that I started this blog. The first topic was the petition to the administration, asking that they make sure not to increase our teaching pressures during the cycle of budget cuts.

Unfortunately, they have never offered a formal response. Do you think they ever will?

In the last year, I have spent a lot of words complaining about the unresponsiveness of our administration, and that continues in my posting today.

It is an unfortunate theme of our university's condition. Is there something wrong with us so that we are unable to have effective collective governance? Is it our current chancellor and provost or have things been like this for decades?

I hope that the next year will bring happier blogging, but then again, if I wanted a happy blog, I might have signed my name !!!

Faculty Committee expresses dismay at Growth Agenda

The Faculty committee has seconded my complaints about the content of the COLS meeting last week.

They politely point out that the administration seems to be changing the curriculum with no discussion from the faculty.

My feeling is that they think that if one or two faculty members sit on a committee, that is enough faculty involvement. They never bother to bring proposals to the faculty until they have been rubber-stamped in other venues. Why weren't we having this discussion when planning was underway for the growth agenda.

I am starting to feel like a broken record, but the theme is always the same. . .

At last week's All-COLS discussion, the Growth Agenda recently released by Chancellor Wells and the COLS Suggested Priorities for the Academic Plan (both attached) were discussed. It is clear to the Faculty Committee that the chief faculty concern expressed at the meeting is "process". Important curricular decisions have been publicly announced through the Growth Agenda that the faculty have not approved: (1) Vice Chancellor Roter announced that the new course listed in the Growth Agenda, which is an introduction to the University and a part of the First Year Experience, will be required of all students if funded by UW System; and (2) a new degree, the Bachelor of Applied Studies, will also be implemented if funded by UW System.

As identified in the attached Suggested Priorities for the Academic Plan (item 6), "It is extremely important that any academic action plan uphold the principles of faculty control over curriculum, shared governance, and a strong commitment to maintain a high standard of academic excellence in our programs." Thus this concern should be methodically and thoroughly addressed in upcoming forums and by the Faculty Senate. We encourage COLS faculty to attend Chancellor Wells' and Provost Earns' open forum on the growth initiative at noon on May 3 in Reeve 307.

Administration "inadvertently" tells faculty they can't run for office

The A-T reports that the posting to the list about political activity was wrong. Someone noticed that this seemed extreme and would make it almost impossible for someone to run for office while working for the university. (unless they were independently wealthy)

Here is the quote from the original about what is permissible:

4. Participating as a candidate for a partisan political office provided a leave of absence is taken from the state position. (For federally funded positions, even if the employee is on leave of absence under state law, this remains a violation of the Hatch Act and the agency could lose federal funding as noted above.)

This statement is completely untrue. It is not the policy of system and not the policy of the state.

Once again, we have our administration trying to keep faculty from participating in politics. Last month, they sent a letter to Tony to discourage him from running for office. This month they post inaccurate information to the listserve with the same intent.

What is going on here? They don't already have enough power? The administration ignores the faculty at every turn, but now they want to make sure we are making no political noise?

Is Wells behind this campaign, which looks incresingly orchestrated? Is Earns? Who is working so hard to remove the faculty as a vibrant part of the university community and beyond?

Below is the very polite A-T story:

Advance Titan Online

30 day rule for Summer school to be abolished

The faculty committee minutes for April 5 record that Dean Zimmerman announced that the 30 day ruleo is going to be waived for summer school.

We can breath a sigh of relief to know that we will be consistently lowering our standards across all our course offerings.

I am still upset that the whole 30 day rule was cancelled and that the various faculty representatives signed off on it without public discussion.

It does make a lot of sense after the COLS meeting last week, when the administration is demanding that we lower our standards to increase retention. They have come to believe that we have nothing special to offer and should simply produce more graduates, regardless of the quality.

You listen to all the talk about the need for more people with college degrees, you would think that the piece of paper is all that matters. When it comes to making that paper worth something, the administration is clearly working in the wrong direction. Maybe we should just sell the paper for $15,000, and we can all just go have fun doing research. Then Northeastern Wisconsin would be full of "college graduates."

Congress prepares to expand copyright restrictions

Slashdot.org linked this story: Congress is moving to protect the rights of big business at the expense of the little guy.

You can read the anger of the /.ers and think about the crazy power of the movie industry to make copying a movie carry a 10 year jail sentence.

Perhaps all the hubub about movies on campus will be moot after congress gets done increasing penalties--the big fines will scare all the bureaucrats away!


Congress readies broad new digital copyright bill | CNET News.com

Here is the /. discussion.

Finally, here is a link from publicknowledge.org with some analysis of the prospective bill.

Faculty Salary Statistics: We look pretty bad in comparison!

Here are some statistics for faculty salaries--we look below average, as we already knew. You can follow a link within the article if you are interested in seeing discipline specific averages.



Inside Higher Ed :: The Eroding Faculty Paycheck