TCCTA Blog

Students Mostly Indifferent to Faculty Attire

A Minnesota community college faculty member tried an experiment recently, attempting to find out if students reacted differently based on what she wore to class. 

The instructor, Yasmine L. Konheim-Kalkstein, who holds a doctorate in educational psychology, grouped four sections of an introductory psychology course last fall into two "casual" classes and two "formal" classes, held at different times and on different days. The results indicated a slight difference in student reactions during the first part of the semester, but this faded quickly. It didn't matter whether she dressed casually: sneakers, jeans, and t-shirt, or more formally, in a blouse, black pants, and heeled shoes. 

The study was described in the "Short Subjects" segment of the Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription), by Erica R. Hendry.

Here's a passage from the piece:

The data showed that Ms. Konheim-Kalkstein's clothing made a small difference in perceptions of her on the first day of class, with those students in the "formal" classes finding her more qualified and approachable than did those in the informal classes. But four weeks into the semester, wearing less-formal clothes had about the same effect on student perceptions as wearing formal clothes.

Ms. Konheim-Kalkstein says she still prefers teaching in formal clothing, but now she feels more comfortable wearing casual clothes in lectures as well. She says she'd like to do further research that takes into account gender differences, as well as the environmental context of the college or university.

"I work at a college where professors wear a variety of things," she says, "Some wear suits and ties and others wear shorts, so regardless of which class I was dressing for, I didn't really stand out."

That would not be true at every institution, Ms. Konheim-Kalkstein observes. "My husband is going to start teaching at West Point," she says. "If he showed up in sneakers, I think he would have a much stronger reaction there from his students."

Colleges Form Green Collaborative

Five Texas community and technical college systems have signed an agreement to supply regional job training for "green" economy careers. The group plans to share curriculum, eliminate duplication of programs, and expand training capabilities.

The agreement is described in the latest issue of Texas Government Insider, available here.

Calling itself the I-35 Green Corridor Collaborative (GCC), the five institutions will seek federal economic stimulus funding for workforce training in fields such as solar power technology, conservation, and sustainability of existing resources and alternative energy development. Members of the coalition are the Dallas County Community College District, the Alamo Community College District, Austin Community College District (ACC), Temple College, and the Texas State Technical College System.

ACC plans to seek stimulus money as well as funding from other federal sources and the Texas Energy Conservation Office. Because community colleges generally are the primary trainers of a region's workforce, it was only natural that the collaborative seek funds to become part of the training for high-demand green jobs, according to the article.

Wright Lassiter, DCCCD's chancellor, says, "Sharing resources will enhance each member college's ability to develop and expand expertise more quickly and to support this diverse industry." He added that the collaborative will allow for training of this emerging industry's workforce and provide new jobs.

"Twitterature" to Make Debut

OMG! A couple of 19-year old freshmen at the University of Chicago have finally figured out a way to make classic literature less… like, SOOOOOO long and, like, you know, WAY too hard to understand. It's called "Twitterature."

It's all supposed to be in good fun. Not only will the "books" be "short," but "humorous" as well. One can imagine Ishmael in Moby-Dick: "Ahab's gone totally mental! Misses his leg? Aim for the hump, lads! LOL!" 

The two young dudes have made a deal with Twitter to condense Penguin classic books into manageable size—um, that would be under 140 characters (the official limit of a Tweet, for the initiated). There are plans for a book (a real one!) containing all their collected Tweets this fall. In fact, since the University of Chicago is known for its "Great Books" curriculum, it's very likely that the two entrepreneurs have done plenty of reading.

More than one commentator over the years has noted that the definition of a classic is a book that no one actually reads.

Here's the site. Hey, English teachers! Maybe it will be ready for inclusion in your fall syllabus. 

Special Session Called for July 1

Gov. Perry has called a Special Session of the Legislature for July 1, in order to complete some unfinished business from the Regular Session. Under the Texas Constitution, the governor sets the agenda for Special Sessions, which last a maximum of 30 days. 

So far the governor has not included any matters related directly to higher education in the agenda. If this situation changes, an update will be posted. 

Here's an article from today's Austin American-Statesman (registration).

Texas Joins Three States to Oppose Standards

Texas, South Carolina, Alaska, and Missouri have decided not to participate in an effort for new math and English standards, put forward by National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, according to a report from Terrence Stutz of the Dallas Morning News (registration).

According to the article, participation is voluntary but could eventually involve the distribution of federal funds. "State Education Commissioner Robert Scott, with the backing of Gov. Rick Perry, has turned down an invitation to work with the other states in drafting 'common core' standards for English and math classes, spelling out what students at all grade levels should be taught in those subjects," the article states.

State officials emphasized that implementation of the new standards would be costly. For instance, the State Board of Education has just approved new math textbooks, which could need extensive changes to comply with the new rules.

Here's a key passage from Mr. Stutz:

"Texas historically has never been supportive of the idea of national standards for our schools," said Debbie Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman for the commissioner and the Texas Education Agency. "We believe most Texans want to see our standards developed in Texas."

State Board of Education member Don McLeroy, the former chairman of the panel, noted that the education board now has responsibility to approve curriculum standards and there is no reason to surrender that authority to a national panel.

"It's a very bad idea," said McLeroy, R-College Station. "It's not up to the federal government or national groups to set standards for our schools. In Texas, we have elected officials to determine those standards, and if people disagree with their decisions, they can vote against them."

Texas could be forgoing federal aid by not taking part in the effort.

HCC Awarded Developmental Education Grant

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and MDC, Inc. are giving nearly $3.3 million to the state of Texas and four community colleges to expand groundbreaking remedial education programs that promise to boost the college completion rates of low-income and minority students. Houston Community College has announced that it has been chosen as one of the recipients of a $743,000 grant to be used over a three-year period.

Every year, according to the American Association of Community Colleges, roughly 573,000 degree-seeking students in Texas attend a local community college, and nearly 40 percent of those must take remedial classes to build basic academic skills. National studies have shown that nearly two-thirds of students taking remedial classes never graduate. However, successful programs at several colleges demonstrate that these numbers can be improved.

The grants will support innovative remedial programs developed in Texas through Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, a multi-year national initiative that is aiming to dramatically boost community college graduation rates among low-income and minority students. "The remedial education model pioneered by HCC represents some of the most promising work in the country for boosting college completion rates among struggling students," according to a statement from the college.

Here's the link, for more information.

HB 3 Targets College Readiness

A new law governing public education for Texas contains a number of provisions that may be of interest to community college educators. HB 3, a massive bill recently passed by 2009 Regular Session of the Legislature, contains 180 pages of stipulations, mostly directed at public school "accountability." Here's the text of the bill.

Of particular note are provisions related to "college readiness." For instance, the bill makes readiness part of the accountability system by requiring schools to increase the number of students who are prepared—as defined by various assessments. There is also a new standard for end-of-course exams regarding English III and Algebra II, two key disciplines of concern for many community college faculty. The intent of the legislation is to insure that students who enroll in freshman English and mathematics for college credit have been adequately prepared and evaluated. Many observers have complained in the past that the TAKS and TEKS regimen was geared toward high school graduation, but did not contain enough rigor for college-level work.

As usual, details will be worked out over the next two years as the statute is implemented by the Texas Education Agency and the Coordinating Board. These details will be crucial in determining whether the new law is effective. 

A nice summary of the bill's provisions can be found in the Conference Committee report, available here, courtesy of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association, a professional association of K-12 educators in the public schools. 

Do Two-Year Colleges Hasten the Demise of Tenure?

Faculty tenure is disappearing from the higher education landscape due to a number of reasons: the increase in use of adjunct instructors, the rise of online proprietary colleges, and the market-oriented approach to pedagogy that has become so popular around the country. 

This may partially explain the "why." The "where" is also noteworthy, however.

According to a recent column in the Chronicle of Higher Education by Rob Jenkins (subscription), community colleges, particularly in the South, are less likely to respect the tradition of offering tenure to full time faculty members. Therefore, instructors at these institutions have less job security when compared with universities, especially in other regions of the country, the author writes.

Many Texas community colleges allow faculty members to earn tenure, but many do not. Since local elected trustees have relative autonomy, it is not surprising to find a great deal of variety. 

Here's a key passage from the column regarding the proclivity of many institutions, especially in the South, to ignore the academic tradition of offering tenure to experienced faculty:

If that strategy gains traction nationally, it will be because community-college faculty members are fighting the war on two fronts. Not only are we subjected to all the same attacks on tenure from politicians and chamber-of-commerce types as our colleagues at four-year institutions, but we also find ourselves battling the apathy (at best) of those very colleagues who seem to believe tenure isn't as important at two-year colleges, or that it somehow isn't as valid for community-college faculty members because it isn't as difficult to acquire.

Mr. Jenkins, a faculty member at a Georgia technical college, also takes up the issues of freedom of speech, academic freedom, and a false public impression that faculty misconduct is common. He also points out that tenured faculty actually lose their jobs, for a variety of reasons, including financial exigency and budget cuts.

Health Benefits Newsletter Now Online

With the summer enrollment period coming up, the Employees Retirement System has published its online newsletter for higher education employees (ERS administers the health benefits, but not retirement programs, for community and technical college educators).

The June edition covers a host of subjects, including: the medical identification card, online account management, adding newborns to plan coverage, changes in prescription drug policies due to the switch to Caremark as the mail-in vendor, and the schedule of summer enrollment fairs and Webcasts. A version of the newsletter is sent by mail as well, unless the member chooses not to receive it.

As of right now, if you do not intend to make any changes in your plan, your previous options will carry over automatically for Plan Year 2010.

Here's the link from ERS.

Final Bill Tracking Report Available

Several recent posts have attempted to explain the impact of the 2009 Regular Session upon Texas community and technical colleges, with special emphasis upon bills that relate to educators. This is only part of the story, of course. For the full list of legislative posts, visit this link.

TCCTA tracked scores of bills this Session, with daily updates allowing members the opportunity to find out the latest information on measures of their choice. By far, most of these bills did not pass. It is an interesting exercise to scroll down the list, to see if any patterns emerge. Here's the tracking list.

Undoubtedly, many "dead" bills relate to tuition exemptions for various categories of Texans: veterans, firefighters, individuals with disabilities, public employees, etc. It is easy to suspect that most of these were doomed from the start, since bills that require expenditures (and exempting students from paying tuition does) necessitate what is known as a Fiscal Note." A Fiscal Note describes the financial cost to the state and, in times of tight budgets, often casts a dark shadow over a bill's prospects. Bills that have a zero fiscal note are highly prized by committees during hearings. 

There don't appear to be any other substantive similarities in terms of which bills pass and which ones don't. Not surprisingly, committee chairs tend to have a better record, or if the member is on the Senate Finance or House Appropriations Committees. This Session, however, as reported earlier, found that many highly influential members failed to get their bills through.