Faculty needs to band together and do a walk out. Given the disrespect, increase in class size and decrease in quality. Stand united and walk out. You need to be treated better. When our instrutor told us about how they are treated, dang. Not good.
23 replies (most recent on top)
@4jqs: the FT faculty "experiment" was not a failure. There are a few dozen of them still there and actively teaching. Management has adjusted their duties and expectations periodically, and their work load is quite rigorous, but they remain. This summer will mark 5 years since the original cohort was hired.
5dzr
And that's precisely my point, notwithstanding my feeble attempt at irony.
But I hope we can agree that the facilitators, instructors, teachers and over or under qualified are not constrained in any way to aid and abet the inexorable financial rape of many unsuspecting individuals that believe or used to believe that education, no matter how delivered, was the key to to something more lucrative or rewarding than their present predicament allowed.
Unfortunately many authors contributing to this ongoing thread have led me to the conclusion that a prevailing, soul destroying institutional type of- law of the jungle-mentality exists in the hallowed halls of UoP's long degraded version of academia.
The need for a paltry secondary income, in not all instances but in many, not only seems to clearly override but disproportionately informs any heartfelt attempt to suggest any substantive changes to a "my way or the highway" cookbook system of explotation and failure if those changes run afoul of administration's obession with floating loans to bolster the insatiable and obsessional bottom line of ever diminishing profits and continued layoffs.
But I can understand the importance of needing to keep the lights on and pay the bills but surely not at the expense of relegating student needs to secondary or tertiary after thoughts that in effect function to douse the aspirational lights of so many who have trusted and brainwashed to believe that business can always do things better.
History has shown us it can't. And worse yet, it won't.
Unless, of course, there's money involved. And even then--good luck!
Nobody is being help prisoner here. That's precisely the point. Facilitators are contractors, not employees. If they don't like the contract, they don't have to accept it. Is it chump change? My guess is that the hourly rate is low but not minimum wage. Little comfort for some, but it represents extra income for most.
Regarding students' predicament... I believe most students do pass their courses, though many drop out before graduation for multiple reasons. We live in a country that values education. Not everybody goes to college right after high school. Many people decide to take jobs, start families, and only go back to school as working adults. They face the same time constraints regardless of whether they attend the local college or UOP.
So back to the default tautology game:
Despite the facilitators being held prisoner to work for chump change, there's nothing that can be done to change the situation because the facilitators are forced to work for chump change.
And besides it's everyone's fault that the students can't spend enough time per credit hour to pass the courses to help the virtually non-existent graduation and retention rates improve.
Way to own it everyone!
I believe the FT faculty experiment failed too and was ended over a year ago. The problem isn't the faculty but the student body. A typical 3 credit college course demands about 100+ hours of effort to achieve competency. Few working adults can consistently spare 20+ hours a week to study.
I don't see anybody in this thread suggesting that a facilitator can make a living from UOP contracts alone. I do agree with .@3jya that the initial post in this thread clearly calls for faculty to take a stand and walk out, as if they were actual employees. Facilitators are contractors, not employees. In any case, why put the onus on them? Everybody in the company --administration, management, employees, contractors-- knows what is happening and why.
Are YOU implying that you're faculty and there's a living to be made at UoP when most posters on this thread claim otherwise?
Try touching bases with reality every now and then and make an honest assessment of why this one stop shopping governmental loan mill dependent confidence game could ever claim to serve any purpose but to deceive and ruin lives.
Go ahead. Show me the the stats?
I'll bet you can't.
What happened to the FT faculty? Are any still around?
@OP and @Camden,
You wrote: "When our instructor told us about how they are treated, dang." Are you implying that you're a student? I can't imagine any online instructor participating students on the class size problems.
To me, this thread reads more like a failed union campaign: faculty of UOP, walk out and march for your rights! Good grief! And for good measure there is a guilt trip along the lines of "if you don't complain, you don't really respect our service men/women".
Give it a break, Camden. At least the few faculty still working at UOP decided to invest their time earning a living, not complaining. You should do the same.
Mr. Camden you must be kidding. Letting the Veterans know what's going on would wreak of ethical concern. Obviously not in faculty's best interest from what I can gather.
Think of it? The 60 year olds would be agast and might have to Uber or Lyft along side all those we endlessly thank for their service.
And in fact, not to belabor the point, often fawningly bend over backwards to kiss our own asses to thank for their service.
So might there be any other practical, somewhat less morally oriented suggestions you could proffer?
Is anyone willing to let Veterans Education Success know about what's happening?
https://veteranseducationsuccess.org/whistleblower/
No excuse, just reality. I've attended faculty meetings and read complaints in PhoenixConnect about class size. The typical reply is that we're in a changing world affecting all institutions, not just UOP. It seems UOP got some statistics from somewhere and used them to increase class size. These are just talking points that exclude pesky issues related to compensation, but the clear message is: if you don't like the current conditions, you're welcome to turn down any future class offerings.
So, at the end of the day your dilemma is whether you can find other sources of income. If you can, you hit the eject button. Otherwise you accept reality and hope to be offered another class. Just the other day I read several faculty posts in PhoenixConnect clearly hoping they'd be offered more courses. I looked at their profiles and the common denominator is age. These folks are already in their 60s, and don't appear to have fulltime jobs elsewhere.
You are definitely right with the "solution" you give. I'm not working at UoP (I'm former faculty and did say "working" not "teaching"). The large class sizes would make it impossible for me to do any kind of a good job teaching. Plus there appear to be issues with curriculum and systems.
Going by past experience, when I criticized a particular course design, and was asked if I, " .... really want to be part of the UoP team" --- a clear warning to "shut up and play along" --- strong complaints about class sizes would probably be met with dismissal from teaching.
Instead, the administration is presenting training on "how to manage the increased class sizes without affecting course rigor."
I can understand how having some kind of an income is critical for some people, but the ethical issues are becoming large.
I have a solution for your present predicament and for those authors of the other lengthier responses you agree with.
I suggest you take the somewhat perilous road of expressing your misgivings concerning class size, being set up to be mediocre, not having time to get to know your students personally, cursory grading and all the rest to the proper authorities.
So momentarily shelving self interest, isn't the real problem centered around how all of these aforementioned issues have effected the tens of thousands of students that have been left behind, hopelessly indebted and then summarily cast aside when they no longer serve UoP's primary mission to take the money and run?
So my suggestion would be to try to curtail the self pity and own your complicity in the scheme and then promptly let your handlers know how you feel about this debiltating situation.
But if you do, be prepared for security to be promptly summoned and then shown the door followed by your rolling head.
So I would bet the bramble over-run farm that you'd rather just complain and continue cashing the checks.
So what's the next excuse?
I agree with the two lengthier responses below. UOP has set faculty up to be nothing more than mediocre. When class sizes balloon from 20 to 45 or 50, it is impossible to be an excellent teacher. I always prided myself on my deep engagement with my classes and my ability to get to know students personally. Now, I barely have time to grade the assignments. My grading has become more cursory, less personalized. I am unable to interact with all of my students each week. I am doing the very best I can, because I love teaching and my students deserve my A-game; however, I know that my classes aren't what they used to be. It makes me sad. I wish I could find other work. I am trying, and when I do, I will be one of the good faculty who quietly slip away.
There are people who do need the money and for one reason or another can't find other sources of income. You'd be surprised how many faculty at UOP are over 60! For them, a good economy with near full employment is little comfort.
Gaslighting BS.
"Our degrees are not fake."
Pathetic! Whether the degrees are fake or not the degree of denial among the "I need the money" types coupled with the historically low graduation and retention rates leaves no doubt why the idiot Trump is president.
To @SQDBvSB,
Faculty are not going to walk out or protest. They will simply leave UOP. Most faculty are adjuncts who don't need a UOP paycheck. They aren't likely to be involved in such dramatics. And most probably don't care anyway. Faculty have not had a raise since 2011. Many quality faculty have already bailed. Why wouldn't they? Those left either don't care or don't need to work here. And few want to be involved with an institution that has such a poor reputation. I am still an active faculty member but am not likely to accept future assignments, and at my campus and online, there are fewer and fewer opportunities. Generally, those who have options have left and are leaving. I sure won't be participating in any protests. It won't matter, nothing will change. It is about 15 years too late. The handwriting has been on the wall for a good 10-15 years. The same arguments about quality, fake degrees, diploma mill, were levied some 15-20 years ago and have only intensified. I certainly do not agree. UOP is not a diploma mill and never has been. Our degrees are not fake. Students do have to successfully navigate through our curriculum, complete assignments, pass courses, etc. The issue is rigor, depth, and breadth. It has never been there and is far worse now. Seat time has always mattered and still does. Team assignments should complement courses not define them. And now, at least online, class sizes have doubled further reducing quality and rigor. I could not effectively teach a graduate level course with 35 students and meet the arbitrary deadlines for grades and postings that online has. It is a formula for mediocrity. Our courses have become mere surveys that address the surface of a topic.
To @SQDBvSB-xkh,
How many of our faculty do you actually know? The problem at UOP is not the faculty, it is the model and administration. The UOP model utilizes part-time faculty that generally work elsewhere full-time. They are not dedicated professional educators who are committed to the craft of teaching; rather they are reflective practitioners who have specific technical expertise and are grounded in a profession other than education. Why should they be dedicated given how they are valued by UOP? I have been a faculty member and administrator here for 25 years. None of my degrees are from for-profit private institutions. And I have six degrees including a terminal degree. I know teaching both as a consumer and a practitioner. I am an education professional dedicated to the craft of teaching. UOP has always been a teaching institution not a research hub (even though it now tries to be one). For most faculty teaching at UOP is an extra income as well as an opportunity to learn, and contribute to a student's development. Teaching can be healthy for self-esteem when a connection is made with a student and the student actually learns something. Even at UOP there is learning. So don't castigate our faculty. Sure there are some who should not be teaching; however I have seldom encountered mediocrity at the campuses I have been affiliated with. Then again, I know 99% of our faculty are adjunct and my expectation is different for someone who does not make education their profession. To be an effective academic institution full-time faculty dedicated to education should comprise the majority of the faculty cadre with only a minority of adjuncts who have practical industry experience. UOP inverted that equation to their detriment and the detriment of all the students who graduated and now attend. UOP should not be singled out. This is common for all for-profit, proprietary higher ed institutions. Why? Do the math. They could not be profitable using full-time faculty as their primary delivery mode. Imagine going to a doctor whose profession is actually accounting but has a part-time job as a physician. A crude analogy for sure, but it does illustrate the situation. I know a counter argument is that many traditional schools utilize graduate TA's to teach many classes and it might actually be more beneficial to have someone with industry knowledge teaching accounting or marketing; however, many, if not most of those TA's complete terminal degrees and develop strong scholarship skills and become dedicated to the craft of education. Faculty at UOP are not s---, rather they produce as much as possible given the model and its numerous constraints.
Ah yes. The good old predatory days when we put out a good low grade joke of an overly inflated scam product.
You make me want to puke!
You want chump change? I suggest Walmart, the vest and the "I used to be sombody" line.
Plenty of Ph.Ds doing Uber or Lyft. But compared to instructing at the world's greatest deceptive quasi college, loan mill what could compare?
Good points. But until people take a stand the investors will continue to hurt those further that actually sell our product. History does not remember those that are quite.
Well --- I'm a former faculty member, starting at a local campus and then going online. For a long time we had a great reputation here, with many dedicated faculty. We put out a good product.
The downfall of UoP came, in my opinion, with the rise of Online. As they got more and more influence the product deteriorated more and more.
And faculty walk out? Pay is about minimum wage level now, and never was that good. Doctoral degrees are required for Master's level teaching and probably Bachelor level too soon. Many long-term faculty are complaining that they are getting only one or two classes in a year.
But, there are many people who need the income from teaching, as meager as it is, for whatever reason, that they'll put up with the various pressures. 'Way back when, when class sizes were half of what they are now, we had discussion of the low, low pay rate. One faculty member, a woman I think, said, "Yes, low. But I'm a stay at home mom and any pay is great pay."
Some faculty will ride it down to the end.
The faculty for the most part s---.
In better times they were in lockstep with the suits.
They were/are easily cowed.
And did I mention they s---?