No Mention of Workload in HB 484; HB 483 Could Impact Your 403(b) Plan

HB 484

House Bill 484, which contained the higher education components of the mid-biennium review (e.g. the state budget corrections legislation), has been passed by the General Assembly and sent to the Governor for his signature.

Thanks to our lobbying efforts, especially testimony given to legislative committees by OCAAUP President John McNay, the language in the original bill that called for a 10 percent increase in faculty workload was not included in the final version of the bill. 

The final bill mainly tweaks funding formula issues, but also creates a Higher Education Student Financial Aid Workgroup, which is to make a report to the Governor and General Assembly on financial assistance that is available to students.

The bill specifically invites a number of associations to have a representative as part of this workgroup, but unfortunately, leaves out having a faculty representative. However, the bill allows the Chancellor of the Board of Regents to appoint additional members to the committee, and we are working with the Ohio Faculty Council to push for a faculty representative.

HB 483

House Bill 483 was the main budgetary bill of the mid-biennium review. In addition to state funding issues, this omnibus piece of legislation contained numerous policy changes, including one that was pushed by the Inter-University Council (IUC), as well as large annuity providers like TIAA-CREF, to limit the number of 403(b) annuity vendors that a university has to work with and accept.

Specifically, the language states that a university has to a select a minimum of four (4) vendors, and its in the institution’s sole discretion to decide which vendors those are. The language is permissive, so universities may choose not to change anything about their annuity provider options.

However, some institutions obviously were pushing for this change so that they would only have to deal with four vendors.
The OCAAUP Board of Trustees took a position of opposition against this language because of the impact it could have on some of our members.

For instance, if a university chooses to limit itself to working with the requisite four vendors, it would force employees to start putting all future contributions into one of the approved vendor plans, if they’re not already with one of those vendors.  If an employee would want to move their money from their old account, they would be responsible for any negative financial impact this would have, like paying exit fees charged by their former vendor.

Despite our efforts as an association, as well as working with a coalition that included smaller 403(b) vendors, this language was included in the final bill.

Make a “Free” Contribution to Your Favorite State Candidate

Did you know that in Ohio you can receive a dollar for dollar tax credit up to $100 for a contribution made to a state candidate?
Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 5747.29, a taxpayer filing as an individual can claim a tax credit of up to $50 for contributions made to state candidates, while taxpayers filing jointly can claim a credit up to $100.
It’s like giving away free money!
A state candidate is any candidate who is running for a statewide office (e.g. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Auditor), as well as anyone running for the Ohio General Assembly.

Over the past four years, we have seen an unprecedented attack on collective bargaining rights and voting rights, more reductions in higher education spending, and specific attacks on faculty working conditions. We cannot afford to sit out this election.

So in addition to making sure you’re registered to vote at your current address, please consider making contributions to candidates you support and know will support you in your profession and everyday life.

Be There and Spread the Word: May 13 Higher Education Rally at the Statehouse

On Tuesday, May 13, the Ohio Higher Education Coalition (OHEC), of which OCAAUP is a member, is hosting a rally on the West Plaza of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.  The event will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp and last approximately an hour and a half. 

May 13 is a Senate session day, so we will garner the attention of legislators as well as media.  If you would like to meet with your legislator(s) while in the capital that day to make the trip particularly worthwhile, e-mail Executive Director Sara Kilpatrick at sara@ocaaup.org. 

OHEC was born from a meeting ahead of Campus Equity Week last fall attended by students, full-time faculty, and adjunct faculty groups.  We realized that while we each face different issues, they’re all being caused by the same root problems – disinvestment from the state and misplaced spending priorities at colleges and universities.  So we banded together to form OHEC to bring attention to these problems and call for solutions.

It’s extremely important that legislators see that we are paying attention to what they’re doing to higher education and that we’ve banded together to take a stand.  This will be a great opportunity to meet student activists, as well as leaders and members from other associations with whom we work.  Anyone is invited, so feel free to bring along friends, family, and students.

Click here for the Facebook event page.

National AAUP Summer Events: Annual Conference and Summer Institute

Annual Conference

The 2014 National AAUP Annual Conference will take place Wednesday, June 11 through Sunday, June 15 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. 

Click here to be taken to the AAUP website for complete details about registration, hotel, and the program.

Thursday, June 12 of the Annual Conference is “Capitol Hill Day,” which Ohio members participate in each year. It is a great opportunity to meet with Representatives and Senators to discuss pressing national issues in higher education.

If you would like to participate in Capitol Hill Day, e-mail Sara Kilpatrick at sara@ocaaup.org. Sara will assist with scheduling legislator visits and provide additional logistical details. 

Summer Institute

This year’s CBC Summer Institute will be hosted at Hofstra University in Long Island, NY from Thursday, July 17 through Sunday, July 20.

The Summer Institute provides workshop training on a variety of subjects including contract negotiations, handbook policies, communications, lobbying, recruiting faculty leaders, coalition building, and much, much more.

In addition to the workshops, there are fun activities scheduled to get to know your colleagues, including a dinner cruise around Long Island, as well as a trip into Manhattan.

To view the workshops and full schedule, click here.

The Ohio Conference sponsors several scholarships to the Summer Institute every year, which cover the registration fee and travel.  If you are interested in receiving a scholarship, please e-mail Sara Kilpatrick at sara@ocaaup.org.

See you this summer!

Earlier today, Tuesday, March 25, Ohio Conference President John McNay delivered testimony to the House Higher Education Subcommittee.  We learned late last week that the subcommittee would hold only one hearing for testimony on HB 484 – the higher education components of the mid-biennium review (MBR).  

In his testimony, McNay, for the third time in a year, told legislators that state mandates for faculty workload don’t make sense and are solutions in search of a problem.  He criticized the Governor’s various workload proposals as distractions from honest discourse about the real problems in higher education today.  

“Instead of talking about increasing faculty workload by 10 percent, why aren’t we talking about increasing state funding by 10 percent or telling universities to increase administrative efficiencies by 10 percent and redirect those savings toward instruction?” McNay asked. “These are things that can be quantified and would address real problems.”    

Additionally, President McNay advocated for the Legislature to restore funding to the Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) – need-based financial aid, which was slashed by more than half in 2009.  

He said, “We need to be making it easier, not harder, for students to go to college. We cannot talk seriously about higher education’s role in the economic recovery when students are being saddled with so much debt that they have extremely limited purchasing power after
graduation.”

To read the full testimony, click here.

There were no questions from Republican committee members. 

Rep. Dan Ramos (D-Lorain) asked about the trend of universities failing to replace tenured faculty who retire, as well as the overuse of adjunct faculty. McNay discussed his personal experience at the University of Cincinnati, where adjuncts outnumber tenured and tenure-track faculty, and yet receive very limited institutional support.

“What the students don’t know is the person standing in front of the classroom is only making $1,500 a course, and yet they are spending thousands and thousands for their education,” McNay said in regard to adjunct compensation. “Universities are spending less than 30 percent of their budgets on employing faculty. Where is the rest of the money going?”

Additionally, Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) voiced concerns over animosity developing between administrations and faculty if the workload language is passed as is. President McNay responded that it is hard to say what will happen at each campus, but that he wouldn’t want to see administrations hide behind an ambiguous state mandate to unilaterally impose new workload policies.  

To see the Legislative Service Commission’s analysis of HB 484, click here.

Again, we will keep you apprised of developments as this bill goes through the legislative process.

  Last Call for OCAAUP Annual Meeting!

The 2014 Ohio Conference AAUP Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Collective Bargaining Congress (CBC) Midwest Regional Meeting, Friday, April 11 through Saturday, April 12 at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel.  

The Friday evening dinner will feature a presentation by One Ohio Now’s director Gavin DeVore Leonard on tax policy in Ohio and how it’s impacting higher education funding.  Professor Chad Hanson of Casper College in Wyoming will deliver the Saturday luncheon talk, entitled “Talking Higher Education: Metaphors That We Live By.” In addition, National AAUP Senior Legal Counsel Aaron Nissenson will provide an update on recent legal cases impacting academia.

There also will be a “Midwest Government Relations Round-Up” highlighting legislative activity in Midwestern states.Moreover, the Saturday afternoon workshops include:

1) For God’s Sake Shut Up: A Professor’s Guide to Working with the Media

2) Building Advocacy Chapters, General Best Practices, and Attracting and Engaging Faculty of Color 

3) Battling Right-to-Work: A Messaging Workshop

4) Building Effective Contract Campaigns

Below are details for meeting registration and hotel reservations:  An online registration has been set-up by National AAUP, which you can access by clicking here. Registration is only $25.

The hotel reservation deadline to receive the special, reduced rate has passed. However, you can still make a reservation at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown.

Kasich’s Mid-Biennium Review Calls for Increasing Faculty Workload

On Tuesday, March 11, Gov. John Kasich unveiled House Bill 472, the mid-biennium review (MBR) bill.  

The MBR is meant to tweak the state operating budget passed the year before, but Kasich’s HB 472 contains major changes and policy initiatives, such as another income tax (revenue) cut and a tax hike on cigarettes.

Pertaining to Ohio’s public institutions of higher education, the Governor included language calling for universities to evaluate their workload policies by the end of this calendar year, and to increase aggregate faculty workload by 10 percent by the end of Fiscal Year 2017.

Specifically, the bill states: 

Section 733.40. Not later than December 31, 2014, each state university, as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, and the Northeast Ohio Medical University shall report to the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents on the institution’s faculty workload policy and procedures. The report shall include both of the following:

(A) An evaluation of the institution’s current faculty workload policy and procedures;

(B) The institution’s recommendations to modify its faculty workload policy, by June 30, 2017, to increase the institution’s aggregate faculty workload by ten per cent in the combined areas of instruction, advising, and research.

Both of Kasich’s previous state budget bills included faculty workload language, but each time, the legislature removed the provisions before passing the final bills.As we did during budget bill deliberations, the Ohio Conference will monitor this legislation and provide testimony to the General Assembly about faculty workload issues.  

It has long been our position that workload issues should be decided at the institutional level, and that a one-size-fits-all workload edict from the state is a solution in search of a problem. We will continue to highlight where the real problems in higher education lie.  Besides the workload issue, the MBR also calls for the “College Credit Plus Program” to be fully implemented and operational for the 2015-2016 academic year.

There are still many outstanding questions surrounding College Credit Plus, especially in regards to who teaches the courses and how funding will be awarded.  We will keep you apprised of developments as this bill goes through the legislative process.

Deadlines Approaching for OCAAUP Annual Meeting!

The 2014 Ohio Conference AAUP Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Collective Bargaining Congress (CBC) Midwest Regional Meeting, Friday, April 11 through Saturday, April 12 at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel.  The Friday evening dinner will feature a provocative presentation by One Ohio Now’s director Gavin DeVore Leonard on tax policy in Ohio and how it’s impacting higher education funding.  Professor Chad Hanson of Casper College in Wyoming will deliver the Saturday luncheon talk, entitled “Talking Higher Education: Metaphors That We Live By.”    

In addition, National AAUP Senior Legal Counsel Aaron Nissenson will provide an update on recent legal cases impacting academia. There also will be a “Midwest Government Relations Round-Up” highlighting legislative activity in Midwestern states.

Moreover, the Saturday afternoon workshops include:

1) Through the (One Way) Looking Glass: Focus Groups, Polling, and the AAUP Message

2) Building Advocacy Chapters, General Best Practices, and Attracting and Engaging Faculty of Color 

3) Battling “Right-to-Work”: The Facts and Messaging  

4) Building Effective Contract Campaigns

Below are details for meeting registration and hotel reservations:  An online registration has been set-up by National AAUP, which you can access by clicking here. Registration is only $25.

A block of guest rooms has been reserved for that Friday and Saturday night at a special rate of $115/night. Reservations must be made by Friday, March 14 in order to receive the reduced rate. While you may still be able to reserve a room after March 14, it will be at the regular hotel rate, which is significantly higher.

To make your hotel reservation online, click here.You can also reserve your room by calling toll-free at (877) 901-6632 or locally at (614) 228-5050. You must mention that you are with the “Ohio Conference AAUP Annual Meeting” to receive the special rate.

Kasich’s MBR Split Into 11 Separate Bills

As we reported last week, Gov. John Kasich unveiled House Bill 472, the mid-biennium review (MBR) bill.   Because this MBR contains many funding and policy changes far beyond the normal tweaking of an MBR, House leadership decided to split the legislation into 11 separate bills. Each bill pertains to a specific subject area and will be referred to the appropriate committees.  Higher education components are now contained within House Bill 484, which is sponsored by Rep. Cliff Rosenberger (R-Clarksville) and Rep. Tim Brown (R-Bowling Green).  

HB 484 goes beyond what was in the MBR omnibus bill, though. In addition to asking universities to report on and increase faculty workload, the legislation contains provisions that would:

• Repeal enrollment limits at Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami, Ohio University, and Ohio State;
• Create a revised funding formula for community and technical colleges – one that would award funds proportionally to schools based upon performance;
• Allow community and technical colleges to establish a “tuition guarantee program;”
• Establish a course and program sharing network for the University System of Ohio.

To see the Legislative Service Commission’s full bill analysis, click here.

Again, we will keep you apprised of developments as this bill goes through the legislative process.

Congratulations to the OCAAUP Board of Trustees Election Winners

The voting period for the Ohio Conference Board of Trustees elections ended on Monday, March 17. Congratulations to our elected officers and at-large members!  

President: John T. McNay (University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash)

Vice President: Martin Kich (Wright State University-Lake Campus)  

Secretary: Ryan Shadle (Cincinnati State Technical and Community College)  

Treasurer: Heather Howley (University of Akron-Wayne College)  

At-Large Member – Private Institutions: Juan Santamarina (University of Dayton)  

At-Large Member – Public or Private: Anita Waters (Denison University)

Don’t Miss Out on the OCAAUP Annual Meeting!

The 2014 Ohio Conference AAUP Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Collective Bargaining Congress (CBC) Midwest Regional Meeting, Friday, April 11 through Saturday, April 12 at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel.  

The Friday evening dinner will feature a provocative presentation by One Ohio Now’s director Gavin DeVore Leonard on tax policy in Ohio and how it’s impacting higher education funding.  Professor Chad Hanson of Casper College in Wyoming will deliver the Saturday luncheon talk, entitled “Talking Higher Education: Metaphors That We Live By.”    

In addition, National AAUP Senior Legal Counsel Aaron Nissenson will provide an update on recent legal cases impacting academia. There also will be a “Midwest Government Relations Round-Up” highlighting legislative activity in Midwestern states.Moreover, the Saturday afternoon workshops include:

1) For God’s Sake Shut Up: A Professor’s Guide to Working with the Media

2) Building Advocacy Chapters, General Best Practices, and Attracting and Engaging Faculty of Color 

3) Battling Right-to-Work: A Messaging Workshop

4) Building Effective Contract Campaigns

Below are details for meeting registration and hotel reservations:  An online registration has been set-up by National AAUP, which you can access by clicking here. Registration is only $25.

The hotel reservation deadline to receive the special, reduced rate has passed. However, you can still make a reservation at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown.