Indiana State University cost-cutting draws faculty disapproval

TERRE HAUTE — Forty-five percent of tenured and tenure-track faculty at Indiana State University have signed a petition raising concerns about some administrative recommendations to cut costs.

The recommendations relate to textbooks, academic department size and a reduction in required hours for a major. All of those would require policy changes by the ISU board of trustees.

In addition, the national American Association of University Professors has sent a letter to ISU President Dan Bradley, asking the administration to address concerns of the ISU AAUP chapter, also related to the cost-cutting recommendations.

The AAUP national office asks that concerns be addressed “in a manner that honors the principles of academic freedom and shared governance.” The ISU chapter contacted the national office.

Rick Lotspeich, treasurer with the ISU AAUP chapter, said the letter expresses concerns that the proposed policy changes move the ISU administration and university “in a direction that national does not approve of” because they would reduce academic freedom and the role of faculty in shared governance.

The ISU AAUP chapter asked the national office for its opinion and also asked the national to send that opinion to Bradley.

The national AAUP letter and ISU faculty petition are separate, but relate to the same issues.

The faculty petition, signed by 155 tenured and tenure-track faculty, raises three objections:

First, the faculty “object to policies that inappropriately restrict an individual faculty member’s choice of course materials such as textbooks. We ask that this initiative be discarded.”

They also object to “arbitrary rules” for determining minimum size of academic departments. According to the ISU Handbook, decisions on academic structure are an area of primary authority of the faculty.

ISU administration had recommended a minimum size of 12 full-time equivalent regular faculty. “We ask that this initiative be pursued in accordance with the Handbook,” the petition states.

Third, faculty object to mandates decreasing the number of hours required for a major. Curriculum is an area of primary authority for faculty, according to the Handbook. The petition asks that the Handbook be followed.

The ISU administration has proposed limiting an undergraduate major to 50 semester hours; any exceptions would have to be approved by the board of trustees, according to the recommendation.

The petition also states, “While we recognize the importance of minimizing the economic burden of tuition and fees, we do not believe these initiatives will significantly address that problem and find them to be contrary to the principles of academic freedom and shared governance.”

The petition has been forwarded to the board of trustees by faculty members Lotspeich and Carl Klarner.

The ISU Handbook states that faculty have primary authority to formulate policy governing curriculum, degree requirements and academic structure.

Steve Lamb, ISU Faculty Senate chairman, said primary authority means that if the university president disagrees with the Senate, he must tell the board of trustees why he disagrees, although the final decision rests with trustees.