College Convocation and Faculty Responsibilities

Some faculty members have asked if faculty are required to attend the College Convocation on Aug. 22.

The answer is “yes.” Convocation is a faculty in-service day,  as defined in the AAUP Unit 1 contract. It’s common for colleges and universities using a semester calendar to hold mandatory in-service events during non-teaching times on the institutional calendar. Also, Dr. Posey consulted with AAUP prior to finalizing the Aug. 22 Convocation date, and she sent faculty members several notifications about the date during the past academic year.

A few who previously scheduled end-of-summer travel that might involve financial commitments are considered “excused” from this year’s Convocation, but the expectation going forward is that Convocation is a day of service for all full-time faculty.

Additionally, it’s important for faculty to attend the “lunch-and-learn” session at this year’s Convocation, where a representative of Pearson Learning Systems will be speaking. Pearson representatives will also be available during break-out sessions.

Many faculty members are aware that it’s a strategic goal of the College to expand distance learning offerings. Faculty probably are also aware that some College administrators believe this goal should be achieved through a partnership with the for-profit company Pearson Learning Systems.

Decisions about how to best design and deliver courses, whether traditional or online, are a matter of academic governance, as defined in Article 6 of the contract. If a department or program is interested in expanding distance learning opportunities for students, the faculty in the program or department need to determine the best learning approaches and outcomes, taking into consideration standards and guidelines of the Ohio Board of Regents as well as external accrediting bodies or related professional organizations, if applicable.

Deciding if resources available from a particular vendor are the most effective choices to help your students succeed should result from investigation and conclusions reached by the faculty in a program or department.

The AAUP Executive Committees encourages faculty members to attend the Pearson information session at Convocation, and to ask questions that will help your program or department make informed decisions about distance education offerings in your curriculum.