Inside Higher Ed continues its coverage of ongoing political issues facing the U of Texas. Could similar developments be coming in UC's future?
Wrong Kind of Accountability?
(excerpts)
Wrong Kind of Accountability?
(excerpts)
May 10, 2011, Inside Higher Ed, Dan Berrett
Faculty and administrators at public universities in Texas said Monday they don’t want to shrink from efforts to make public higher education more accountable -- they just don’t want to do it this way.
In this case, “this way” refers to efforts by the University of Texas System Board of Regents to measure the productivity of faculty members in strictly numerical terms. The efforts are reflected in 821 pages of raw data that have been collected by the UT system. The data have not been vetted. Each page contains the disclaimer that the information is “incomplete and has not yet been fully verified or cross referenced [and] [i]n its present raw form ... cannot yield accurate analysis, interpretations or conclusions.” Originally planned for release after more thorough review later this year, the data reached the public last week through open records requests filed by several Texas newspapers. The information lists the salary, teaching load and number of students of each faculty member, as well as his or her external research funding…
But on Monday, the resistance to the productivity measures took a more public turn. In a speech, William Powers Jr., the president of UT-Austin, critiqued some of the assumptions underlying the analysis -- though he never cited it or the regents directly. And, strikingly, he based his critique on the grounds that the analysis failed to adequately capture the output, productivity and relevance of research (typically, teaching is the aspect of a professor’s job that is thought to be the more difficult to accurately measure). Powers's comments Monday were his first since last week's release of the faculty productivity data at UT, and professors at Austin hailed their president's words…
On Monday, the Faculty Council at UT-Austin agreed. It unanimously passed a vote of confidence in Powers and his administration… The Texas Public Policy Foundation -- a think tank whose trustee, Brenda Pejovich, is also a regent and the chair of the UT board's task force on faculty productivity -- added that it, too, was pleased with one aspect of the president’s comments: his acknowledgment of the need for reform in an environment in which universities must do more with less…
Full article at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/05/10/texas_faculty_and_president_criticize_regents_measurement_of_professors
= = =
It can’t happen here, can it?
Faculty and administrators at public universities in Texas said Monday they don’t want to shrink from efforts to make public higher education more accountable -- they just don’t want to do it this way.
In this case, “this way” refers to efforts by the University of Texas System Board of Regents to measure the productivity of faculty members in strictly numerical terms. The efforts are reflected in 821 pages of raw data that have been collected by the UT system. The data have not been vetted. Each page contains the disclaimer that the information is “incomplete and has not yet been fully verified or cross referenced [and] [i]n its present raw form ... cannot yield accurate analysis, interpretations or conclusions.” Originally planned for release after more thorough review later this year, the data reached the public last week through open records requests filed by several Texas newspapers. The information lists the salary, teaching load and number of students of each faculty member, as well as his or her external research funding…
But on Monday, the resistance to the productivity measures took a more public turn. In a speech, William Powers Jr., the president of UT-Austin, critiqued some of the assumptions underlying the analysis -- though he never cited it or the regents directly. And, strikingly, he based his critique on the grounds that the analysis failed to adequately capture the output, productivity and relevance of research (typically, teaching is the aspect of a professor’s job that is thought to be the more difficult to accurately measure). Powers's comments Monday were his first since last week's release of the faculty productivity data at UT, and professors at Austin hailed their president's words…
On Monday, the Faculty Council at UT-Austin agreed. It unanimously passed a vote of confidence in Powers and his administration… The Texas Public Policy Foundation -- a think tank whose trustee, Brenda Pejovich, is also a regent and the chair of the UT board's task force on faculty productivity -- added that it, too, was pleased with one aspect of the president’s comments: his acknowledgment of the need for reform in an environment in which universities must do more with less…
Full article at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/05/10/texas_faculty_and_president_criticize_regents_measurement_of_professors
= = =
It can’t happen here, can it?
PS: If you think the U of Texas has problems, consider FSU:
A foundation bankrolled by Libertarian businessman Charles G. Koch has pledged $1.5 million for positions in Florida State University's economics department. In return, his representatives get to screen and sign off on any hires for a new program promoting "political economy and free enterprise."
Full story at http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/billionaires-role-in-hiring-decisions-at-florida-state-university-raises/1168680
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