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End the unreasonable workload at CUNY

162 Comments

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Adam Berlin
10 years ago

A 4-3 workload is damaging to our students, who need extra help with basic skills. And it's damaging to our instructors, who can't pursue their own work. And let's be honest--we should be asking for a 2-2 workload. That's what most research universities require. Our 4-3 load is absurd. Do the right thing--shoot for a 3-2 or a 2-2.

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Samantha Majic
10 years ago

It is not possible to devote sufficient time to students' very high needs-- particularly for writing instruction-- under the current teaching load.

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Greg Umbach
10 years ago Featured

My students' learning depends on my working conditions; if I am overworked my students will leave college underprepared for the work world. They will have a degree but not the skills they need because the faculty who taught them did not have the time to provide the necessary feedback on their work.

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Francine White
10 years ago

Our teaching workload makes research and publication extremely difficult and also makes it equally difficult to devote sufficient time to developing and monitoring pedagogy and interfacing with students.

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Rochell Isaac
10 years ago

for the benefit of our students, please make faulty workload more manageble.

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Sandra Swenson
10 years ago

The required teaching hours leaves no time for close examination of teaching and learning as well developing mentoring relationships with students.

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John Trimbur
10 years ago

It's only right -- and the students benefit most by increased faculty attention. John Trimbur, Professor Emerson College

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Tom Dempsey
10 years ago

I would ask that we support the 3 credit reduction in our present teaching load so that we can effectively bring our scholarship pursuits to the students we serve.

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Michael Yarbrough
10 years ago

I write this from a small academic conference of colleagues in one of my subfields. Without exception, every tenure-track faculty member I've spoken with at the conference has a lower teaching load than I--the maximum is 3-2--*and* guaranteed semester or year-long research/writing leaves before tenure. Yet CUNY expects as much research output from me as these colleagues' institutions do from them. Under those circumstances, how can I possibly do everything CUNY expects of me, including teach my students well, while maintaining a healthy life? Without a reduction in our teaching load, I will always be looking for another job somewhere else. With a reduction, I'd happily stay put, because I love my institution and my job. I want to stay at CUNY until I retire. Will you make it possible for me to do that?

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Lorraine Cohen
10 years ago

As a Chair of the Social Science Department I can report that Search Committees have made offers to excellent candidates who have refused based on getting other offers with a lower workload. These tend to be younger faculty who have a very strong committment to teaching, but are also passionate about research.

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Carla Barrett
10 years ago Featured

Please support the 3-credit load reduction which would put us on par with other public colleges around the country. Current workloads make it impossible to support my students the way they deserve AND meet the research and service requirements to my full ability. Assistant Professor, John Jay College

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umberto darista
10 years ago

I am a lecturer at QCC and I think it's a think the workload disparity between CC and 4-year colleges is a disgrace; it is one of the most unfair contract issues that we face.

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Amy S Green, PhD
10 years ago

It is impossible to provide the attention our students deserve both in and out of the classroom with the current teaching load. And with CUNY's ambitious research agenda, faculty have to make terrible choices between shortchanging their students or their research agendas. Please support the 3-credit reduction.

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Sharon Reeves
10 years ago

Please reduce our workload to 24 hours on par with four year colleges and others around the country. Thank you.

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Lucia Trimbur
10 years ago

Associate Professor, John Jay College

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Ana Mora
10 years ago

Lecturer LaGuardia CC

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Edward Snajdr
10 years ago

Please adjust the workload at CUNY to better align the labor requirement with the outstanding faculty productivity in research and teaching. Students benefit much more from reducing the teaching load.

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Elizabeth Hegeman
10 years ago

professor, john jay college of criminal justice

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Stephanie Smolinsky
10 years ago

I was an adjunct Developmental English/ESL prof for 20 years at BMCC, John Jay and other CUNY colleges, and then a full-time Speech prof for 12 years at City Tech. It was always a struggle for me to give the one-on-one attention to my students plus follow-up that is needed for language work. If we're overloaded as teachers, we can't give the transformative pedagogic care to our students that they so desperately need. Nor can we squeeze out much-needed research or creative time without further short-changing the very people that we're in CUNY to help educate.

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Janice Bockmeyer
10 years ago

High quality university-level instruction means engaging students in professors' active research and scholarly endeavors. It also requires adequate time for instructor-student exchange during office hours and special appointments. Both become more limited with an overwhelming teaching load. Our students deserve accessible professors and quality education. It is time to reduce the teaching load at CUNY.