Leatherneck Nation

WIU Re-classifies Employees Ahead of Layoffs.
From Tri-States Public Radio, WIUM-FM:
https://www.tspr.org/post/wiu-reclassif ... ad-layoffs

wiu712 wrote: Mon Feb 18, 2019 6:10 pm WIU Re-classifies Employees Ahead of Layoffs.
From Tri-States Public Radio, WIUM-FM:
https://www.tspr.org/post/wiu-reclassif ... ad-layoffs

Am I the only one that reads Professors are now less important than the "Entitled Ellite" that suck off the dime of students and the State....AKA, adminisitration....which in most Universities/Colleges don't do shit.

Or at least, what they do doesn't warrant EXCESSIVE SALARIES. You know who I'm talking about St_Lawson and it ain't you.

RedNeck wrote: Mon Feb 18, 2019 7:34 pm

wiu712 wrote: Mon Feb 18, 2019 6:10 pm WIU Re-classifies Employees Ahead of Layoffs.
From Tri-States Public Radio, WIUM-FM:
https://www.tspr.org/post/wiu-reclassif ... ad-layoffs

Am I the only one that reads Professors are now less important than the "Entitled Ellite" that suck off the dime of students and the State....AKA, adminisitration....which in most Universities/Colleges don't do shit.

Or at least, what they do doesn't warrant EXCESSIVE SALARIES. You know who I'm talking about St_Lawson and it ain't you.

This is intended to hit support staff. That is not where the excess lies at WIU, but it is where the bite will be taken.
We have too many faculty for the number of students. The current ratio os 13:1 students per faculty. A sustainable number is 17:1. While it would hurt our adjuncts and instructors, tenure track faculty MUST be forced to teach instead of hiring adjuncts and instructors.
We have too many senior administrators. Asst/Assoc Deans, Asst/Assoc VP, and special appointments. That is where the big $ are. Removal of a single $140k+/yr senior admin would result in little impact in this office, yet save the jobs of 3-5 other "less important" people, like the secretarial and support staff who actually make the WIU world go round.

Not going to deny there is a lot of dead weight in administration; but I'm also curious about how much time the professors actually spend in a classroom with students.

In talking to students, there is so much being done online or under grad or teaching assistants (or whatever they call them now - I'm old and terminology I'm familiar with doesn't necessarily apply anymore) it makes me wonder if we are paying large salaries to people who are, in actuality, teaching "part time". I'm not on campus, so maybe I'm completely off base here - I guess that's why I'm asking.

Thanks for any enlightenment!

I can't say for everyone, but I know some professors are putting in well-more than what most would count as "full time"...on the other hand I'm sure there's some that aren't anywhere close to that.

With faculty contracts and academic programs, it takes a bit longer to trim things down than it does with administrative/staff personnel. I do know that the APER Report and recommendations was sent out yesterday. That's a 4-person committee that was tasked with reviewing various low-enrollment programs and make some recommendations on what should be done with each (cut, combined with something else, left as-is, etc.) The recommendations will be sent to the board of trustees to be voted on, so it's possible some of these could change, but I expect that this is likely what will be done with most of them.
You can find the full report here: http://wiu.edu/provost/pdfs_and_docs/20 ... Report.pdf
But the short version is...
Anthropology - has had strong growth since initial review, no change currently, review again in 3 years
Art, BFA - no change, review again in 3 years
Bilingual/English as a Second Language - eliminate as a major, become an option or minor within college of ed
Clinical Laboratory Science - eliminate as degree, make it an option within Biology
Dietetics (includes Pre-Dietetics) - no change (due to essentially being merged with Family and Consumer Sciences), review again in 3 years
Economics (includes Pre) - no change, review again in 3 years
Emergency Management - no change to degree program, however, shift to entirely online, review again in 2 years
French Teacher Education - is already on track to be phased out effective Fall 2019, no other changes recommended
Geography & Geographic Information Science - was recently merged with Geology and Meteorology into one department, no further changes recommended, review again in 2 years
Geology - See Geography & GIS above
Graphic Communication - recommended to be moved into part of the Art department
Hospitality Management - already being merged with RPTA program, no further change recommended, review again in 3 years
Meteorology - See Geography & GIS above
Musical Theatre - is a "signature program", recommended to keep the program, however make concerted effort to increase accepted students to 40, review again in 2 years
Nutrition & Foodservice Management - elimination and become an option within Hospitality Management
Physics - no current action due to impact on other degrees and efforts to increase enrollment and retention, review again in 3 years
Public Health - recommended to combine Public Health, Emergency Management, and Health Services Management into "Health & Emergency Management" with 4 related options, review again in 2 years
Spanish Teacher Education - is already on track to be phased out effective Fall 2019 and become an option in the BA in Foreign Languages and Cultures program, no other changes recommended

So many of those will take place over the next few years. It should end up eliminate positions across all areas (faculty who'd teach some of the eliminated classes, civil service staff who work in some of those offices, and administrators of some of those degree programs being eliminated).

One other thing, the combined Geography/GIS/Geology/Meteorology program is officially called "Earth, Atmospheric, and Geographic Information Sciences"...EAGIS for short....or informally..."Earth, Wind, and Fire" (because GIS helps a lot with disaster recovery efforts...such as from fires...and because it sounds fun).

This proposal seems pretty much above board and makes some good sense. Guess our administration can get some things done the right way once they put their mind to it. The BOT still needs some more members. I think JBP is going to work at helping WIU get things back together. jc

Wow, if there was ever a report that needed some supporting graphic charts, that was clearly one. How ironic is it they were asked to look into the viability of the Graphic Communication program.

Neckfansince71 wrote: Tue Feb 19, 2019 2:13 pm I think JBP is going to work at helping WIU get things back together. jc

I'll believe that when I see the state start paying their vendors......................

Can ANYBODY read that APER report and explain to me how that committee and that report helped make WIU in any discernible amount better?

I'm sorry, but if that's the kind of efforts WIU is putting forth to right the ship, we're in for more pain.