A Full-Time Dilemma Maryland's Higher Education Insti Implementation of a Better Sick Tutions
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"As much as llzote to admit it. tlte American media [are] really indi.'ipensable to our country.''- Orrin Ha/(:11, U.S. se11ator Volume XXXIII, Number 10 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 November 3, 1998 TI-lE BIG PICTURE Task Force Hears From Campus Community JAY FRIESS E. A. Betty Edmonds, president Retriewr Weekly Staff Writer and CEO of School Improvement A-Z Jnc. and a member of the Both moderate praise and fiery chancellor's Advisory Council. criticism filled the large room on the stated that she believed the system seventh floor of the library during a could be doing better, but was not hearing held to discuss the public's in favor of abolishing it. opinion of the University System of "Can it be made better by each Maryland. school going out on its own? l doubt Members of the business commu it,'' she said. "Power, strength and Eli Zukow,ki I Reuievcr Weekly Staff nity and representatives from area economic advantages accrue from Unfair : Part-time writing instructors Jane Porter (above right) colleges signed up to speak before togetherness." and Diane Putzel (above left) think they deserve more from a governor-appointed task force Sally Hearn, a UMBC staff mem the university. studying the governance, coordina ber and a member of the Council of More faculty, please: Jen Searfoss (left) thinks her health science tion and funding of the USM. They University System Staff, said that and policy major would benefit from more full-time teachers. were encouraged to each give a five her group supports the USM. Mem minute speech about how the USM bers have been happy with what has structure benefits or hampers been done for them. such as the A Full-Time Dilemma Maryland's higher education insti implementation of a better sick tutions. leave policy, she said. Is UMBC's High Percentage of Part-Time Teachers Bad Most speakers at the hearing held There were a few dissenting last Wednesday favored the current voices in the hearing's lineup of over for Students? Educators and Undergraduates Disagree. USM structure. John Dillon, vice 25 speakers. president of external affairs for Bell One such dissenter was Mike Gill. JAMIE S~11TH HOPKINS UMBC's instructional faculty was or more than -full-time profes Atlantic, said he believed that the chairman of Towson University's Retrii!Ver IVeekly Staff Writer part-time last year, according to sors. And they may be paid as little state benefits from the way that state Board of Visitors. In his speech. Gill data from Institutional Research. as $2.000 per three-credit course, colleges are organized. He said his blamed the USM, saying it was re After a year as a health science Since 1987, the number of part making them a bargain compared company has been impressed with sponsible for the "ongoing medioc and policy major, senior Jen time instructors has grown 49 per to fu ll-time faculty. the "high quality and preparedness" rity" io Maryland higher education. Searfoss has learned some hard les cent. Although officials have no Many educators familiar with the of USM graduates. sons: Don't expect the instructors record of how many courses they situation think the part-time instruc see TASK FORCE, page 4 will be readily available outside instruct. part-timers handle every tors are asked to do too much for class. Don't expect stellar teaching. thing from I 00-level to senior-year And don't expect much in the way classes. Some teach as much as - seeBlG PICTURE, page 3 of advising. This, she said. is what happens when a program's faculty is almost completely part-time. 'Exploitative Situation?' "Anytime r ve wanted to make JAMIE SMITH HOPKINS less. my education something more, I've Retrie1•er Weekly StaffWriter "For teachers who are teaching had to do it without the help of my semester after semester. and arc try professors,'' said Searfoss, 21 . Margie Burns is teaching three ing to cobble together an income, "They're just not accessible, they're classes this semester. but she's earn that is unfair." Bums said. not available because they have ing only $6,000. No benefits come But administrators maintain that other jobs .... That just makes the with the writing instructor's pay the situation is unavoidable. The learning process much more diffi check. and she shares an office with problem. they say, is lack of money. cult." three other people. "We realize that most part-time And while Health Science and This is the world of the part-time faculty are not being paid at levels Policy has one of the highest per instructor - a reality for 42 per that arc appropriate in many cases." centages of part-time instructors on cent of UMBC's faculty. Although said Rick Welch, dean of Arts and campus, it is not alone: More and some may teach as many courses a Sciences. "Ideally, of course. we'd more departments and programs are semester as a full-time teacher. they relying heavily on temporary help. are paid thousands and thousands Approximately 42 percent of Andy Smullian be Jamie Peck attacks Women"s tennis College lieves Israel give up evil plastic, Dr. takes the NEC News too much, Emily Miyaguchi helps you Championship, ... p. 2 Bernstein has tips beat last-minute men's soccer gains World for wasting time, blues, the C.S.A. has the fourth seed in News and using only facts, a wild, wild Hallow the league tourna ••• p. 3 Carolyn Danckaert een and Anna ment and men's Classified proves Glendenning Kaplan takes you on basketball wins its Ads is the right choice. the road. exhibition opener. ... p. 28 PAGE2 THE RETRIEVER WEEKLY NEWS November 3, 1998 Alternatives EIDerge to High Priced Texts Bookstore Staff Believes Convenience Takes Precedent PAT FURGURSON usually sell for 75 percent of the new price. to Thurston. Retriever Weekly Swff Writer However, if the bookstore is able to repeatedly "When I started they used to publish new edi sell and buy back the same copy of "INTRO TO tions every four or five years. now it seems they The collective .. ouch" heard from students COLLEGE MACRAME: Knitting With Karma" tum them over every two years ... ," she said. buying textbooks at the UMBC Bookstore will there can be quite a revenue stream generated from This renders books, costing over $100 in some translate into nearly $3.75 million in sales this year one volume. Thurston explained: "We are one of instances, obsolete and forces students to purchase Gubernatorial Races Over- according to figures from budget officer Mike the few profit centers on campus." the newest edition and also consider cheaper al Morgan and the calculations of bookstore assis Thurston noted that the bookstore is self sup ternatives. look Higher Education tant director Gina Thurston, but there may be some porting. Bookstore revenues pay for salaries, ship The alternatives are picking up steam accord CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.- Al serious changes coming to the textbook gan1e as ping costs and an overhead fee paid to the Uni ing to reports in various industry related publica though almost every candidate in online companies become more prevalent. versity based on four percent of sales. This fee tions. Varsitybooks.com, which started up this year Tuesday's 36 gubernatorial elec There are serious changes coming in the text covers heating, lights and other expenses. Com- with direct connections to five Washington, D.C. tions cites education as being a top book game. New players on the internet, like bined with direct payments for sup area schools including University of Maryland priority, not all platforms specifi Amazon.com and local newcomer port work - such as secretarial, College Park, will reportedly have course book Varsitybooks.com, are scratching custodial and physical plant- the Jlstings for some fifty campuses in Spring 1999. cally include higher education as a at the door of the lucra total percentage paid to the univer According to the company·s 27-year-old top priority. tive college text mar sity is closer to eight percent, ac founder and CEO. Eric Kuhn, the average order While candidates are always talk ket. Online vendors are cording to Morgan. Any remain has been for 2.5 books, with an average order to ing about education reforms, set to take a bite out of ing profit goes to the University. tal of $96. in it's first semester out. The company oftentimes they are referring to pub U.S. textbook sales which Shipping costs consist of established a relationship with one of the country's lic school systems or charter nationwide generated freight in and freight out. For leading wholesalers and offers books at between schools, said Dennis Johnson, asso nearly $2.7 billion during instance, 20 percent of the a 15 to 40 percent discount with a $4.95 shipping 1997. acco~ding to prelimi books bought for this semes charge added, no matter how many books are or ciate dean of the George Washing nary sales figures from the ter arc being shipped back dered. This means that if a UMBC student was to ton University Graduate School of Association of American Pub to publishers this week, find a couple books in the 25 to 40 percent dis Political Management. lishers. according to Thurston. count range, some money could be saved over the "Higher education does not seem But Thurston is not con The UMBC book used book price schedule of the UMBC Bookstore. to be out on the radar screen," cerned yet. She figures there are store uses the There are online alternatives emerging in used Johnson said.