Tuesday, February 15, 2011

A bad idea that just might work

Inside Higher Ed features an article today about an idea that's really bad--and not just for the obvious reasons. In "Punching In at Kean U" (click here), Scott Jaschik reports that Kean University's administration has angered its faculty by "requiring them to fill out time sheets reporting how many hours they have worked each day, to demonstrate that they are working at least a 35-hour week."

Find me a faculty member who's working less than a 35-hour week. The profs I know attend meetings during lunch and late in the afternoon, grade papers late at night and all weekend long, respond to student e-mails in the wee hours of the morning, and spend vacations visiting archives, writing articles, and planning new classes. Compared to my current load, a 35-hour work week would feel like a walk on the beach.

Jaschik's article cites a study suggesting that most full-time faculty members work well over 40 hours a week, with the average working 48.6 hours. He also offers a telling quote from Cary Nelson, president of the AAUP, who told Jaschik, "Many of us work 12 or 15 hour days, seven days a week. If it became clear how many hours we put in, there'd be an unimpeachable argument for better compensation and more faculty positions."

So maybe requiring time sheets is not such a bad idea after all.

1 comment:

Laura said...

Hmmm... Perhaps the idea came from someone in the administration who knows his colleagues aren't working 35 hours so he expects faculty are working even less. Maybe it's the administration that should be filling out those forms.