Official Updates from USFFA

May 2, 2020 Update

We recognize that many of you are feeling anxiety given the uncertain times we are in. 

We want to reassure you that we are here to stand for you and represent your interests. For weeks, we have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to set the stage for greater shared governance at the University and to get answers.  We have proposed new systems of shared governance to the administration; we are resurrecting old ones such as the University Curriculum Committee that will start meeting very soon; and we are developing new modalities for  gathering and providing feedback over the summer when our usual systems would not be in place. 

We are currently overhauling our communications strategies so that we can keep you up-to-date.  Please understand that we are working as quickly as possible given the uncertainties and changing terrain.  One constraint on our decision-making process is that we, like the rest of the University, are waiting for guidelines from the State and the City of San Francisco about what we will be permitted to do.  

For now, we want to try to answer some of your most pressing questions, acknowledging that most of the information we have now is contingent.  

FAQ 

Contract Negotiations 

Can the University renegotiate our contract?   

Yes. Article 45 of our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) has provisions that allow both the University and the USFFA to re-open negotiations if one of these conditions is met: 

  1.  If total USF enrollment in schools represented by the Association drops or increases by 5% or more, upon the request of either party, the parties shall return to the bargaining table to renegotiate salaries and benefits. (45.1) 

  2. For academic years 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022, if net tuition isforecasted* to fall 2% short of budget, then the University will have the option ofreopening Article 30.1 (Wages) and / or Article 34 (Faculty Development Funds)of the contract. (45.3) 


How long will negotiations take? 

It is difficult to predict how long negotiations will take. We do not have a start date for these negotiations; we believe we will begin negotiating with the University in May.  Throughout negotiations, we plan to balance our members’ urgent  needs for information and certainty with a careful consideration of how we might meet the financial needs of the University equitably. 

How is the USFFA planning for negotiations?

The USFFA is taking the following steps to prepare for negotiations: 

  • We have hired an external analyst to review the University finances for us.  We want to make sure we have the most accurate picture of USF’s finances going into this negotiation.

  • We will be constituting a bargaining team which will be drawn from the current roster of Policy Board members, as has been the practice for all bargaining teams in the past.  

  • We are preparing a detailed survey that will be sent to all our members to gauge your priorities once we have a better picture of what lies ahead.   We expect there will be some difficult choices and we want to have as complete a picture of your opinions as possible.

  • We are talking with other bargaining units on campus to identify possibilities for mutual support.  This will be the only time in USF’s history that all units will be bargaining at the same time.       

Shared Governance 

The President’s email stated that he is interested in shared governance. Currently, there are very few faculty members serving on the COVID-19 Working Groups.  How can we ensure that faculty interests are being represented, and faculty expertise being utilized, on these committees that are making critical decisions about the university?  What are the ways in which faculty are being represented on the committees that will make critical decisions?

This unprecedented moment has given us the opportunity to re-think the structure of shared governance at USF.   In the short term, the Committee on Committees has put together a plan for faculty input into the COVID-19 working groups.  At the same time, we are reimagining how shared governance might work in the long term, taking this moment to pave the way for greater faculty participation in decision-making at the University.   Shared governance does not mean that the faculty replace administrators in making decisions; shared governance means that faculty and librarians are able to provide input before decisions are made.  In order for this goal to be achieved we need to have stable and transparent systems of deliberation that faculty, staff, students and administrators can contact and participate in when given needs and issues arise.  

Recently, a proposal for moving shared governance forward that was developed by the Committee on Committees and sent to the administration.  First, we want the administration to acknowledge existing faculty bodies such as COSEC, Arts Council, FASONHP, the Faculty Governance Council, the SOE FA, and the Library Council as places for deliberation and input before decisions are made at the division level.  As soon as the budget implications of the COVID-19 Crisis started to become evident, we asked all these councils to put together budget advisory committees to identify savings within the division and coordinate with the University-wide Budget Advisory Committee, or UBAC.  We need to agree on the importance of these bodies, appropriately and carefully staff them, develop leadership within them and train the administration to routinely consult with them. 

Second, on the university level, the USFFA Committee on Committees drafted a horizontal model of shared governance that would give faculty a voice on vital University-wide committees, as well as increase our representation on Board of Trustee committees.  This proposal has been submitted to the University; we are waiting for their response. 

In regards to these emergency working groups and decisions over the summer this calls for another strategy.   It is important to understand that decisions are largely made at the Cabinet level, and these emergency working groups are primarily tasked with implementing decisions.  The working groups have been put together across multiple units to provide timely coordination between all the different parts of the university.  We believe, given the rapidly changing situation, the best use of faculty time and effort will be to create spaces where we might deliberate on issues specific to faculty and then forward specific recommendations to the Administration.  Specifically, we are proposing a USFFA Rapid Response “crisis” committee composed of faculty that can  give very rapid feedback as necessary .  We will suggest that Members of this committee may be asked to join particular meetings of these University COVID-19 Working Groups as might be appropriate given the topic of discussion, and also that they receive requests from these other committees for input.   

We have also asked Council Chairs to put together plans for faculty advisory bodies over the summer--Summer Councils-- and at this point all of the councils will be meeting in original or modified form over the summer.  Reflect on that for a moment: this is a truly momentous occasion in demonstrating our commitment to the institution.  Faculty have offered to continue meeting over the summer in order to provide the guidance and assistance that will be desperately needed for delivering the curriculum in the Fall.  

Policy Board is being presented with the plan for both the Rapid Response Team and  Summer Councils which will be deliberated on May 6th.  The USFFA and council leaders will be posting  requests for faculty volunteers who are willing to spend time in zoom meetings over the summer.  

Yet, it is important to note that faculty are already stepping up and forward to help the University.  There is a newly formed Public Health advisory committee composed of faculty and staff health experts on campus who are advising the University leadership and serving as a liaison with the San Francisco Board of Public Health.   There is also a working group of faculty now forming in CAS to discuss Instructional Planning for fall; this initiative is led by Susan Steinberg, Heather Hoag and Evelyn Rodriguez. 

There may be efforts that you are involved in that we have not heard about!  PLease let us know if you are assisting the University in some way. We would like to compose a chart of faculty efforts and initiatives that are in place over the summer in order to coordinate efforts, improve efficiency and provide opportunity for others to become involved. 

Specific Questions or Challenges 

My sabbatical has been approved for the 2020-2021 AY.  Will I still receive my sabbatical? 

On April 8, University Administration submitted a proposal to the USFFA regarding sabbaticals that would have had the following effects: 

  1. All faculty would add a year to their sabbatical timeline for a cycle. Instead of taking sabbatical in year 7, we would take sabbatical in year 8. After this single cycle, the time for sabbatical would revert back to 7 years. 

  2. Exceptions would be made for those who had deferred their sabbaticals.  Those who were eligible for sabbatical prior to AY 2020-2021 and deferred would be able to take their already approved leave.  

  3. For those members who were approved to take a fourth-year pre-tenure sabbatical, Deans would be given the authority to determine whether those sabbatical leaves would still be granted.

Policy Board passed a resolution on Wednesday, April 29 that made it clear that the USFFA did not want to make decisions about changes to our current CBA in a piecemeal fashion.  Instead of voting on sabbaticals alone, Policy Board wants, first, to get a clearer sense of the university’s finances, and, second, to negotiate all changes at once so we might assess all the changes at once.  

Unfortunately, this means that the sabbatical question may not be decided until contract renegotiations conclude.

For AY 2020-2021, will the minimum enrollment policy remain in place for Fall 2020? Will course releases for chairs be affected by changes in Fall 2020?

Both the minimum enrollment policy as well as chair release time will be items in our upcoming negotiations. 
 

Will we be teaching online during the Fall 2020 term? When will this decision be made? Who is making this decision?  

The Cabinet will make this call once guidelines from the Mayor and Governor arrive. We are constrained by the rules set forth by both the city and the state.  At this point, the University is aiming to be at least partially on the ground for the Fall. It will have to be modified, and we will have to be flexible. But, we will lose such a high percentage of our student body if we are only online that this is where the planning needs to be focused. If we are going to be allowed to be open, we will figure out a way to open.

There will be modifications, and also the university will be offering online courses for those who might need to quarantine, or might be delayed in their arrival on campus, do not feel safe coming to campus, or become sick and need to be quarantined. Online courses might also be used to reduce numbers in classrooms, and almost all of us should expect that we will be operating in more than one modality. We might have taped lectures for larger courses, and then smaller sections with the faculty. Until we know what the state and city guidelines are, we cannot plan exactly how we will implement them. 

How can I participate? 
 

How to stay connected, and communicate thoughts and concerns:

  • Survey: The USFFA Executive Board would like to keep a record of the time and effort that moving to remote instruction is requiring of you. Please fill out this questionnaire according to your comfort level. All questions are optional: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6wNHgXdX9s2ADZfLkNBfBnb9UFPdlQhbgtBM_CNZCRnSZbw/viewform

  • Facebook: If you are on Facebook, search for “University of San Francisco Faculty Association” and submit a request to join. This is a closed group, open only to USFFA members, where we can post questions and ideas, and share solutions. When you send your request, it is helpful if you could mention a few Librarian or FT Faculty friends who are on Facebook, so we can verify that your account is really you. Alternatively, send your usfca.edu email address, so we can send you a confirmation email. If you are in a discussion that raises issues that should come to the attention of the Policy Board and/or Executive Board, please tag Rebecca Mason, who will be checking regularly and will report back.

  • Twitter: Follow and tag issues relevant to USFFA with @USFFaculty

  • Email Executive Board Members:
    Sonja Martin Poole, President (president@usffa.net)
    Keally McBride, Vice President (vp@usffa.net) 
    Ed Munnich, Secretary (secretary@usffa.net)
    Justine Withers, Treasurer (treasurer@usffa.net)
    Gabe Maxson, Sergeant at Arms (sgt@usffa.net)