Dive Brief:
- Arizona State University has backed off the controversial elements of a plan announced in December that would have required full-time writing instructors to take on greater teaching responsibility without a complementary pay increase.
- Inside Higher Ed reports the university has preserved the original teaching option — 80% teaching, 20% service/professional development — with a pay increase from $32,000 to $36,000.
- ASU will still offer a contract that shifts the teaching responsibility to 100%, but instructors who choose it will earn $40,000, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
ASU faculty fought against the increase in teaching responsibility, arguing it would reduce the quality of the English department and student support at the university. On a petition page against the plan, instructors explain they serve on committees, plan department events, and mentor other instructors, teaching assistants, and at-risk students, which improves student retention. Inside Higher Ed reports that some instructors still oppose the contract option that asks them to carry a 100% teaching load and argue they already have too many students under the original breakdown, based on specifications by the Modern Language Association’s Association of Departments of English. According to the ASU instructors’ website, the 100% teaching load would put faculty in classrooms or office hours 37.5 hours per week, leaving little time for grading and other duties.