From the AAUP website (https://www.aaup.org/news/aaup-urges-csu-chancellor-suspend-executive-orders):
The national American Association of University Professors joins its California state conference in urging the suspension of two executive orders, EO 1100 (revised) and EO 1110, that make extensive changes to the general education requirements, placement testing, and remedial education policies applying to all of the California State University (CSU) campuses. The policies mandate significant changes to the graduation requirements, curricula, and course offerings at CSU.
The widespread concern stems from apparent violations of academic governance norms. According to the Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities, “The faculty has the primary responsibility for such fundamental areas as curriculum, subject matter and methods of instruction, research, faculty status, and those aspects of student life which relate to the educational process.”
The CSU system Academic Senate (ASCSU), the California conference of the AAUP, and the California Faculty Association (CFA) contend that the process that led to the adoption of the executive orders did not provide for adequate faculty consultation.
The ASCSU adopted a resolution at its September 14-15 meeting objecting to the flawed governance process and consultation, stating, “CSU faculty are experts and researchers in their fields who must be relied on when the system contemplates major changes in curriculum design. We contend that the revision to EO 1100 and the newly released EO 1110 did not arise from the fulsome shared governance process needed to reflect faculty expertise, and therefore the Senate and the faculty it represents are compelled to reject changes in curricula that do not originate through such a fulsome process. Changes to basic curriculum policy need thoughtful consideration informed by a nuanced understanding of the rationale and impacts of proposed changes on the quality of education that CSU campuses provide and that our students deserve.”
The AAUP joins the ASCSU resolution urging Chancellor White to place the executive orders “into abeyance and defer their implementation date to, at earliest, Fall 2019,” to engage in “genuine consultation with faculty.”
###
Contact: Laura Markwardt – lmarkwardt@aaup.org / 202-594-3635
Here’s the full letter: https://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/CSU_letter.pdf
This comes on the heels of a resolution by the California chapter of AAUP last week. Here’s the CA chapter resolution: http://www.caaaup.org/blog/ca-aaup-resolution-re-csu-executive-orders
These actions have caused some consternation in the CSU Academic Senate. Their executive committee has responded to the AAUP’s action: ASCSU AAUP Response.
This certainly complicates the discussions of shared governance between ASCSU and the CO. From what I hear, they had made some progress toward building a mutual understanding and regaining trust. I was nonetheless gratified last week by the resolution pushed by our colleagues from other systems at the CA-AAUP meeting. I am now glad that the national organization has formally taken our side. There can be no real healing until the egregiousness of the breach embodied in the EO’s is fully recognized. That said, I’m not exactly neutral on this: I was the one who proposed calling for a formal AAUP investigation during the ASCSU debate in the fall. So, caveat lector.
Update (24 April 2018):
Here’s the AAUP response to the ASCSU letter: AAUP letter to ASCSU chair
Here’s the Chancellor’s Office response: CO AAUP Response_with Attachments
Finally, here’s this, from ASCSU Chair Miller’s April report
With the concurrence of the Executive Committee, I also had a meeting in Washington, D.C. with Dr. Hans-Joerg Tiede of the American Association of University Professors. We discussed shared governance matters in the CSU, including but not limited to the correspondences between the California Conference of AAUP, ASCSU, AAUP and the Chancellor’s Office. This meeting occurred in conjunction with my participation in CSU’s Hill Day advocacy. After I met alone for about half an hour with Dr. Tiede, Chancellor White joined us. This joint meeting reinforced the fact that the Academic Senate and the Chancellor’s Office are actively engaged in mutually improving the circumstances which led to widespread faculty critique of shared governance in the CSU last Fall. As Senate Chair, I found it valuable to have Chancellor White join the meeting, because I was able to hear his commitment to shared governance conveyed to a third party, and I was gratified to hear him acknowledge the faculty’s primacy in curricular matters. All in all, I found the meeting very valuable, affirming, and supportive of the CSU’s efforts to improve shared governance in the system.
The pdf of her report is not yet posted (as of 24 April). When it is, it will be here: https://www.calstate.edu/AcadSen/Records/Chairs_Reports/