To the Board…
November 21, 2008
CODFA VP HIGGINS ADDRESSES BOT ABOUT POLICY MANUAL CONCERNS
Lisa Higgins, Vice President of the College of DuPage Faculty Association and Associate Professor of English, made the following comments to the Board of Trustees at its meeting November 20, 2008:
On October 13, 2008, Trustees Kory Atkinson and David Carlin proposed that the Board approve a 265-page rewrite of the entire Board Policy Manual. We were given only 4 weeks to respond during an exceptionally busy time at COD. They didn't provide a strike-out version, or a list of what had been changed or even the procedures that would explain how these new policies would be implemented. Yet the Faculty have already detected many red flags.
We fear that if these proposals are approved, COD will no longer be serving the community. Instead, it will be an institution governed by the personal agenda of a few Board members.
We fear that the proposed changes would harm the college's reputation and potentially expose the school to litigation.
First, the proposed changes are bad for students and the community. The proposal puts the President in charge of all student publications. It gives the Board control over outside speakers and campus programs. The proposed "variable tuition" would lead to inconsistent, unpredictable and higher tuition for each course and program at COD.
Second, the changes would erode academic quality. The Board would put itself in charge of curriculum and adopt a highly controversial so-called "Academic Bill of Rights" that has political connotations. The Board would violate principles of Academic Freedom that the college has honored for decades.
Third, the changes would make the Board micromanagers, not Trustees. The proposals take major responsibilities away from the college's faculty, administration and staff, putting sole control of everything from business operations to curriculum to student programming in the hands of Trustees who don't have expertise in specialized fields.
Fourth, the proposed changes could threaten the school's accreditation. The North Central Association Higher Learning Commission requires community colleges to demonstrate the best practices of shared governance and collaboration. The proposed changes, and the manner in which they are being rushed through, could jeopardize the college's ability to comply with these standards.
Fifth, the new proposals impinge on the contract and working conditions of the faculty. These are matters that are covered by the contract that was unanimously approved by the Board, and can only be altered through good-faith negotiations.
For these and other reasons detailed more fully in our letter to the Board, the faculty urges the Board to withdraw all of these proposed policy changes.
