To better serve our members and readers, APSCUF’s blog has moved directly to the APSCUF website. Please update your bookmarks and RSS feed to reflect the new website address: http://www.apscuf.org/blog/.
You will find a new blog entry has been posted, titled After CalU President Firing, PASSHE Landscape Has New Look. You can view this post directly by clicking here.
If you have any questions, please contact Chris Anderson at canderson@apscuf.org. Thank you for your understanding.
Posted by apscuf on May 18, 2012
http://apscuf.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/the-apscuf-blog-has-moved/
The APSCUF and the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) negotiation teams met today at Cheyney University. The APSCUF team presented a proposal for a comprehensive, interim two-year agreement. The proposal is within the framework of the economic terms which the Commonwealth accepted with other bargaining units. A response from PASSHE is due within 30 days.
The next negotiation session is scheduled for June 27th. As always, we will keep you up-to-date on these negotiations.
Posted by apscuf on May 15, 2012
http://apscuf.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/apscuf-passhe-negotiation-update/
It’s the end of the spring semester 2012. Few of us would have foreseen so little progress on either the faculty or coaches contract. So, we are sitting here looking at another summer without closure on a deal.
That lack of closure leads to this piece of advice: plan accordingly. I’m not revealing much by telling you the longer we go without a negotiated agreement, the more painful reaching such an agreement is likely to become. No one wants a confrontation and potential conflagration, but the status quo will only hold for so long.
Prepare accordingly. It’s standard advice of union leaders everywhere for members in this situation to warn against large purchases: appliances, cars, and homes are usually given as examples. Ponder where you want to be financially should your paycheck stop.
Also, ponder what happens financially to some of your peers should THEIR paycheck stop. I know several campuses have already begun organizing Solidarity Funds: please consider contributing to your local one if you are in a position to help out.
In March 2011, we publicly stated we would willing go a year without an across-the-board pay increase in response to the state’s budgetary condition and a request from the Governor in his budget address. That offer received public approval. Now the time period covered by that offer is over and we look for something to happen with negotiations in the next weeks.
Enjoy your summer. Relax as much as you can (I know a large percentage of us teach or run programs in the summer); prepare for the fall.
Posted by apscuf on May 11, 2012
http://apscuf.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/with-no-agreement-its-time-to-prepare/
On Wednesday the Pennsylvania Senate passed SB 1466, the General Appropriations Act, which includes the full restoration of funding to the State System of Higher Education. The bill passed 39-8, and now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.
The Senate budget proposal spends $27.6 billion – approximately $500 million more than Governor Corbett’s initial proposal – and restores the governor’s deep cuts to higher education institutions. While the legislation maintains funding for all state-owned, state-related and community colleges at current-year levels, the funding restorations come with the caveat that the state-owned and state-related universities will not increase tuition above the rate of inflation.
The Senate version of the budget does include a modest $8 million cut to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA).
The future of our universities depends upon adequate state support. We are grateful that the Senate has recognized the importance of public higher education and has taken the initial steps to bring funding for the State System back to the future. Please take a moment to send an email thanking the leaders of the Senate for crafting a budget that fully restores PASSHE’s funding. Please note once you click on the link, the email subject and address will autofill. At the end of this email you will find sample text to copy/paste into the body of email.
Senator Joe Scarnati, President Pro Tempore
Senator Dominic Pileggi, Republican Leader
Senator Jake Corman, Republican Chairman of the Appropriations Committee
Senator Jay Costa, Democratic Leader
Senator Vince Hughes, Democratic Chairman of the Appropriations Committee
Thank you for passing SB 1466, a budget that fully restores funding for the State System of Higher Education. Public higher education is a public good; our universities, our students, and our communities benefit from state support for public higher education.
Thank you for recognizing the importance of our institutions to the economic, cultural and intellectual future of the Commonwealth.
Sincerely,
xxx
Posted by apscuf on May 11, 2012
http://apscuf.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/thank-the-senate-for-restoring-higher-ed-funding/
The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously passed a Senate GOP budget proposal this morning that restores funding to all state-owned, state-related and community colleges back to current-year levels. Next step for this version of the budget will be a full Senate vote, which could come as early as tomorrow (Wednesday, May 9).
For background on the Senate GOP budget proposal, check out Monday’s story from the Harrisburg Patriot-News.
The proposal uses revenue numbers released last week by the Independent Fiscal Office. The IFO reported that Pennsylvania had an additional $800 million in income over what the governor’s administration had estimated.
If passed by the Senate, the budget moves to the House where it could face challenges from GOP leaders.
In related news, college leaders Tuesday agreed to not increase tuition above the rate of inflation in exchange for state aid restorations.
Posted by apscuf on May 8, 2012
http://apscuf.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/senate-gop-budget-that-restores-higher-education-funding-passes-committee-moves-to-full-senate-vote/
Despite the weak voter turnout, Tuesday’s primary election night held some interesting surprises and upsets.
There were several hotly contested statewide races, including the Democratic primary for Attorney General. APSCUF did not endorse either candidate in the race, but other labor groups backed Patrick Murphy, who lost to Kathleen Kane. She will face republican Dave Freed in the fall. Tom Smith won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate and will face Senator Bob Casey in November.
Long-standing APSCUF supporters and Democratic incumbents Babette Josephs from Philadelphia and Joe Preston from Pittsburgh lost their primaries. Two other APSCUF-endorsed incumbents – Democrats Kevin Murphy and Ken Smith – also lost their primaries, as did Republican Rick Geist.
The full list of primary election results can be found on the Department of State’s website.
In addition to the primaries, there were six special elections to replace PA House members – four Democrats and two Republicans – who moved to other positions last year. Democrats won five of those seats, which did little to change the make up of the House. Republicans still control the chamber 111-91 with one vacancy (the resignation of Bill DeWeese on Tuesday).
For more complete coverage of Pennsylvania’s primary election, visit the politics sections of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Harrisburg Patriot-News.
Posted by apscuf on April 25, 2012
http://apscuf.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/a-quick-look-at-tuesdays-primary-election/
Tomorrow (Tuesday, April 24) is Pennsylvania’s primary election day. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Please remember to vote.
Pennsylvanians will be voting in primaries for US President and Congress, the Pennsylvania General Assembly, for statewide offices (Attorney General, Auditor General and Treasurer), and there will also be a handful of Special Elections to replace legislators who have stepped down or moved to other positions in the last year.
It is now too late to register to vote for the PA Primary Election; however you still have plenty of time to register for the general election.
For both the primary and general elections, APSCUF’s Committee for Action through Politics (CAP) makes endorsement recommendations. You can find the complete list of APSCUF-endorsed primary candidates at the bottom of this post. The list is also available on APSCUF’s website.
It is also the trial run for the new Voter ID law. When you go to your local polling place, you will be asked to show photo identification. For the primary, if you do not have proper ID, you will still be able to cast your ballot. For the general election in November, you MUST have a valid photo ID to vote. If you do not, you will be asked to complete a provisional ballot.
According to the new state law, a valid ID must have the person’s name and photograph. It must also have an expiration date. Although student ID cards are considered an acceptable form of ID under the law, PASSHE student IDs do not currently have expiration dates. The universities are looking at different options to ensure that student IDs will be acceptable forms of identification. You can visit the Department of State’s online voter resource center if you have questions or concerns about acceptable forms of ID.
For more information about the Voter ID law, visit http://www.votespa.com.
Posted by apscuf on April 23, 2012
http://apscuf.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/make-your-voice-heard-vote/
On Wednesday, April 18th, the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education (CFHE) is organizing a National Day of Action to promote quality public higher education. APSCUF is a founding member of CFHE and has been instrumental in the early workings of the Campaign. APSCUF is proud to be involved with the movement, which has the theme “Invest in Higher Education: It’s the Right Course.”
Pointedly, this slogan speaks to the current status of the state appropriation to PASSHE. “The Right Course” for the commonwealth is maintain its commitment to the citizens of Pennsylvania and fund the 14 state-owned universities.
CFHE was founded because faculty felt we needed a voice, and a national one, to counter the “reform” agendas of politicians, think tankers, and some academic administrators. We are all familiar with some pieces of their agenda: curtail programs, make online the normal pedagogy for post-secondary education, push employability, and push degree completion — with its potential involvement of the other three — as the main point of college. There’s little discussion of the actual value of being educated. We also wanted to counter the divestment in higher ed that has become the normal public policy in individual states and nationally.
When we began this discussion in 2010, faculty had almost no voice in any of this, and often state and local faculty leaders felt isolated confronting these large issues.
Now, we have a national Campaign that is pushing back. If you go to the CFHE web page, you can see all the organizations that have signed onto the Seven Principles of the Campaign. We hope that you will join the movement on Wednesday, April 18th.
In Solidarity,
Steve Hicks
APSCUF President
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
To find out what campuses are doing, contact Lauren Gutshall at lgutshall@apscuf.org.
Posted by apscuf on April 11, 2012
http://apscuf.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/cfhe-day-of-action-april-18-2012/
Please complete the form below to register to volunteer for the April 24 Pennsylvania Primary by either volunteering to assist at an APSCUF-endorsed candidate’s polling location or by handing out higher education material to registered voters at your chosen precinct.
If you have any questions or seek additional inforamtion, please contact Laura Saccente at lsaccente@apscuf.org or 717-645-3466.
Posted by apscuf on April 11, 2012
http://apscuf.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/take-time-to-volunteer-for-the-primary-election/
