Thanks in large part to the activism of our members and allies, the House Finance Committee passed Sub. HB 64 this evening without the language that would have stripped faculty of their collective bargaining rights.

The synopsis of the omnibus amendments can be found by clicking here.

The bill is slated to be voted upon by the full House of Representatives on Wednesday.

We cannot thank those of you who took action enough for helping to flood the representatives’ offices with calls and e-mails. It made a difference!

In addition, we thank the House Democratic Caucus, in particular, Minority Leader Fred Strahorn, Rep. Denise Driehaus (Ranking Minority Member on Finance), and Rep. Dan Ramos (Ranking Minority Member on Finance Higher Education Subcommittee).

Without our legislative allies drawing a line in the sand on this issue, we couldn’t have been successful.

Of course, we greet this development with cautious optimism. There is a chance that this language could reappear in the Senate. We will be diligent as the budget process continues to unfold.

Stay tuned for more information. And great work. We couldn’t have done it without YOU.

Kasich Vetoes Controversial 
Voter Suppression Measure

On Wednesday, April 1, Gov. Kasich signed HB 53, the transportation budget bill, into law, but not before applying a line item veto to the controversial language that would’ve made it more difficult for college students to vote.

As we reported to you last week, HB 53 contained language that would have required people from out-of-state to obtain an Ohio driver’s license and register their vehicle with the state within 30 days to establish residency and thus be able to register to vote.

This measure, inserted by Senate Republicans prior to passage of the bill, appeared to be designed to create barriers to out-of-state college students from voting in Ohio just ahead of the 2016 elections. Reports estimated that over 100,000 students would have been affected.

We commend Gov. Kasich for doing the right thing and vetoing the language. We also thank our members for contacting members of the conference committee and governor to protest the provision!

OCAAUP Election Results

Congratulations to Martin Kich, Heather Howley, and Anita Waters for being re-elected to their positions of Vice President, Treasurer, and At-Large Member, respectively.

We appreciate their continued commitment to serving all Ohio AAUP members through their positions on the OCAAUP Board of Trustees. And we appreciate all of you who took the time to cast your vote.

Dayton Daily Reports How Much Students Pay for University Athletics Without Knowing

Last Sunday, March 30, the Dayton Daily News published this story about the price students at Ohio’s universities are paying to subsidize intercollegiate athletics.

Journalists at Dayton Daily were prompted to investigate this issue after reading our 2015 Ohio Higher Education Report and discovering that each university, save Ohio State, takes heavily from the academic side to pay for athletic programs that can’t sustain themselves.

The article revealed startling numbers of how much students will pay for – or how much debt they’ll accrue to pay for – athletics over a four-year college career.

For instance, each student at Miami will end up paying over $4,500 to subsidize their athletic programs and their new ice arena.

At BGSU, students will pay nearly $3,300 by the time they graduate, if they graduate in four years.

The article quoted the questions raised in our report:

“We have to ask ourselves if the athletic expenditures are worthwhile, especially when students are the ones footing a substantial part of the bill, probably largely unknown to them,” the report says. “This is an issue of priorities and whether we are willing to say it is acceptable for students to accumulate thousands in debt over a four-year period to pay for athletic programs that neither make money nor are self-sustaining.”

Contact Legislators Urging Removal of Student Voting Suppression Amendment

It has come to our attention that last week, the Ohio Senate inserted a provision into HB 53, the state transportation budget bill, which would require out-of-state college students to acquire an Ohio driver’s license and register their vehicle with the state of Ohio in order to be able to register to vote.  Clearly, such a last-minute amendment buried deep into a transportation funding bill is an underhanded attempt to create substantial obstacles to students exercising their right to vote and without the public being able to weigh in on the matter in any substantive way.

Consequently, we are asking you, our members, to advocate on behalf of all of our students by contacting members of the House and Senate Conference Committee to encourage them to remove this provision. 

The ConferenceCommittee is meeting tomorrow, so we need you to take action immediately in the form of e-mails and phone calls.

Below is a list of the Conference Committee members with their contact information, as well as a sample e-mail to send:

Rep. Ryan Smith (R-93): (614) 466-1366; rep93@ohiohouse.gov

Rep. Cheryl Grossman (R-23): (614) 466-9690; rep23@ohiohouse.gov

Rep. Alicia Reece (D-33): (614) 466-1308; rep33@ohiohouse.gov

Sen. Gayle Manning (R-13): (614) 644-7613; sd13@ohiosenate.gov 

Sen. Tom Patton (R-24): (614) 466-8056; sd24@ohiosenate.gov 

Sen. Capri Cafaro (D-32): (614) 466-7182; sd32@ohiosenate.gov

Subject: Don’t make it harder for students to vote

Body: Dear Representative/Senator,
My name is [your name], and I am a professor at [your institution]. I am writing to you today in your capacity as a House Bill 53 Conference Committee member. Respectfully, I urge you to remove the provision from the bill that would require an out-of-state college student to acquire an Ohio driver’s license and register their vehicle with the state in order to be able to register to vote. This provision will create additional barriers to my students engaging in the electoral process. I believe we should be trying to find ways to make it easier, not harder, for students to vote. We should be welcoming to our out-of-state students so that they feel like a part of our great state and stay here after they graduate. Please do the right thing and remove a voting rights measure from this transportation funding bill.
Sincerely,

[Your Name]

McNay Testifies on State Budget Bill

Earlier today, Wednesday, March 18, OCAAUP President John McNay testified to the House Finance Higher Education Subcommittee on House Bill 64, the state budget bill.

McNay began his testimony by emphasizing that faculty should be consulted on higher education policy proposals. He said, “We respect the work of our institutional presidents and the organizations that represent them, but you only get one of several important campus perspectives by consulting them.” He went on to say that the new college and university funding formulas are based on course completions and graduations, in which faculty play a key role, and yet, faculty were never consulted in any meaningful way about such a major policy shift.

His testimony pointed out that the new university funding formula gives a lopsided benefit to institutions like Ohio State and Miami that have selective admissions, while open-enrollment institutions are penalized. “One size doesn’t fit all,” he stated. President McNay also addressed the continuous decline in state funding, and pointed out that while Gov. Kasich is referring to his proposed higher ed appropriations as increases, even the proposed funding for Fiscal Year 2017 doesn’t restore funding to where it was before the governor slashed it in his first budget in 2011.

Additionally, he encouraged the committee to examine critically the College Credit Plus program – a program slated to receive additional funding under HB 64. He said that while the program is well-intentioned, it threatens the lifeblood of regional campuses, which exist primarily to offer introductory-level courses. 

Furthermore, McNay expressed quality concerns over the proposed funding to train “college-level teachers” at poorer high schools and using Western Governors University to award competency-based credit. 

He finished his testimony by referencing OCAAUP’s 2015 Ohio Higher Education Report, and briefly mentioning the issues of administrative bloat, athletics spending, and debt-incurring real estate spending. “When students graduate, employers judge them on knowledge of their field and being able to think critically, not by how well their college football team performed or how upscale their dorm was,” he said.

McNay received and answered questions from committee members for nearly an hour. 

For example, Rep. Ramos asked how the overuse of adjuncts might affect educational quality and even the local economy. McNay responded that adjuncts are often teaching courses at multiple institutions, and receive very little institutional support.
He explained that full-time faculty are in a better financial position to contribute to the local economy by buying homes, purchasing cars, and other spending. Adjuncts, he said, are more worried about piecing together a living wage.

Rep. Anielski asked how the faculty to administrator ratio could be improved. President McNay stated that it’s not something that could happen overnight, but there are places that have made an attempt to address the issue.

He used Iowa State University as an example, which he said has increased its full time faculty by over 40 percent over the last 10 years by shrinking its administration. “We should be looking at and learning from these examples,” he said.

Chair of the committee, Rep. Mike Duffey, called McNay’s testimony “thought-provoking” and asked him if he thought capping tuition by a percentage was the right idea or whether the legislature should cap increases by some dollar amount. He also asked whether addressing tuition was enough or if they should cap total cost of attendance.

President McNay said that he believes a tuition cap percentage makes more sense than a one-size-fits all dollar amount. He also stated that total cost, not just tuition, needs to be taken into account.

For a copy of the full testimony, click here.

OCAAUP Elections Information

The Ohio Conference AAUP is conducting its trustee elections electronically via Ballot Box Online.

On Thursday, March 19, all Ohio AAUP members should receive an e-mail with instructions on how to vote. The voting period will last for two weeks, through April 2.

The candidates appearing on this year’s ballot are:
-Vice President: Martin Kich, Wright State University – Lake Campus
-Treasurer: Heather Howley, University of Akron – Wayne College 
-At-Large Member – Public Institution with <100 or Private Institution: Anita Waters, Denison University

Thank you in advance for taking the time to vote! If you have any questions or concerns, please send an e-mail to sara@ocaaup.org.

Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming National AAUP Meetings

Please consider attending these upcoming National AAUP and AAUP-CBC meetings:

AAUP-CBC Spring Regional Meeting

04.18.2015

University of Cincinnati 
400B, Tangeman University Center
Cincinnati, Ohio 45220

The AAUP-CBC Spring Regional Meeting will be at the University of Cincinnati in 400B of the Tangeman University Center from 9:00am-4pm on Saturday, April 18th.

2015 AAUP Annual Conference

06.10.2015 to 06.14.2015

Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, District Of Columbia 20036

Join your colleagues for the AAUP’s Annual Conference on the State of Higher Education and the annual business meeting of the AAUP.

2015 Summer Institute

07.23.2015 to 07.26.2015

University of Denver
2199 S University Blvd
Denver, Colorado 80208

Please plan to join us at the University of Denver, July 23-26, 2015, for an intensive, four-day series of workshops and seminars that will prepare you to organize your colleagues, stand up for academic freedom, and advocate for research and teaching as the core priority of higher education.

President McNay Testifies on SB 4

Yesterday, Tuesday, March 3, OCAAUP President John McNay testified as an interested party on Senate Bill 4.

SB 4, sponsored by Senate President Keith Faber (R-Celina) would require the board of trustees at each public college and university to submit a plan to the Chancellor of the Board of Regents as to how they will cut in-state student cost of attendance by 5% for the 2016-17 academic year.

In sponsor testimony delivered on February 17, Sen. Faber said that the university presidents have dubbed this “The Senate Challenge,” and that he has been encouraged by their response to the challenge.

Faber cited administrations, policies, and course work as the areas in which he believes inefficiencies need to be addressed.

In President McNay’s testimony yesterday, he pointed out that colleges and universities could not be blamed solely for higher education costs, noting the relationship between dwindling state subsidies and rising tuition. 

“Only 12.8% of university funding comes from the state, which is a 13.1% decline since 2002. In fact, subsidies to main campuses have been cut over 14% since 2002, university regional campuses by over 25%, and community colleges by over 22%,” McNay stated.

However, the remainder of McNay’s testimony focused on colleges’ and universities’ misguided spending decisions, especially in regards to administrative bloat, athletic subsidies, and building construction.

He noted that less than 25% of institutional budgets are being spent on instructional compensation (e.g. faculty salary and benefits), and that institutions are employing as many administrative staff members as they are full-time faculty.

McNay pointed out that there are examples of places doing it differently. For instance, Iowa State University has made a concerted effort to shrink its administration and hire more full-time faculty. Additionally, the State University of New York (SUNY) system has undergone an effort to redirect 5% of administrative spending into instruction.

Moreover, President McNay made comments on the millions of dollars universities are spending to subsidize their unprofitable athletic programs, citing that only Ohio State has a self-sustaining athletics department.

He said, “We wish we could report to you that most of these funds were going to student scholarships, but a Cincinnati Enquirer article revealed that only about 16% of athletic spending at Division 1 schools like Cincinnati and Miami goes to student aid. The other 84% pays for coaching salaries, facilities and game expenses.”

Furthermore, McNay noted that in just recent years, universities have more than doubled their debt to $6.5 billion in the name of building projects that they hope will attract students. He said that these projects are financed by raising tuition and tacking on extra fees that may seem harmless, but can have serious debt implications for students.

President McNay encouraged the Senate Finance Committee to amend the bill so that all stakeholder groups have input opportunity as to how costs will be cut. He also said that the bill should be made clearer in terms of next steps.

Finance Committee members asked McNay questions about MOOCs, professors assigning their own textbooks, as well as the overuse of adjunct faculty.

For a copy of the full testimony, click here.

OCAAUP Produces Higher Ed Report

The Ohio Conference AAUP has produced an “Ohio Higher Education Report” entitled The Real Problems Deserve Real Solutions.

The purpose of the report is to influence public policy around higher education issues, especially in light of HB 64, the state budget bill, as well as Gov. Kasich’s Task Force on Affordability and Efficiency.

It is also a response to “solutions” that have been proposed in recent years, such as faculty workload mandates, which fail to address the real problems and cost drivers at our public colleges and universities.

Certainly, this report does not cover every issue that is worthy of attention and discussion; but we included the problems we believe to be the most pressing, including the decline of state funding, administrative bloat, and athletic spending.

The full report can be found by clicking here.  OCAAUP President John McNay, Trustee and Chair of the Government Relations Committee Steve Mockabee, and Executive Director Sara Kilpatrick have been meeting with legislators to discuss the report and have found it to be a very effective tool.

In addition, media outlets have begun to pick up on and write stories about the report, such as this article from the Dayton Daily News and this one from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.