We "think" we finished with this year's negotiations on Monday. Both sides hope that whatever is left to be done can be tweaked by email without requiring us to go to the table again.
Earlier this summer, Dr. Samuels said (perhaps tongue in cheek) that the reason we have a contract is that neither side trusts the other. I guess that statement will soon be put to the test.
The language that we have finally agreed on will allow faculty and department heads to agree on a schedule that gives faculty members "flexibility" in scheduling their office hours.
If the department head trusts the faculty to work as a professional and respects the faculty as a professional, all should be well. After all, doesn't the faculty member better know the time required to teach, administer and oversee the course successfully? Doesn't the faculty member better know when students need assistance and how the students prefer to receive that assistance - in the office, by email, or online in a chat room?
On the other hand, we recognize that the department also needs the faculty to be an active part of the department.
If the faculty member respects the needs of the department and trusts the department head to have the best interests of the department as well as interests of the student and the faculty member at heart, there should be no problem in creating a schedule that accommodates the needs of the student, the faculty, and the department.
Utopia, right? We'll see.
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