And while an AAUP censure doesn’t compel the USG to take action, it still carried a lot of weight in the world of higher education, Boedy said.
“Taking down a system tells the rest of higher education that this system is doing something wrong,” he said. “Georgia’s university system is highly respected in higher education, so I can only see this taking a toll on their reputation.”
USG oversees 25 tenure-granting institutions and approximately 8,400 tenured or tenure-track faculty.
Acting USG Chancellor Teresa MacCartney wrote in a response letter, “I totally and strongly disagree with the findings of the report.”
“Most tenured faculty at USG perform at a high standard and indeed provide high-quality educational experiences for students,” MacCartney wrote. “However, within our faculty ranks, we have a small number of tenured faculty who do not meet expectations of providing a high quality educational experience as judged by their peers. Although few in number, their negative impact on student learning must be taken into account.
The post-term review process will still be “led by faculty peers,” she wrote.
The post-appointment review policy no longer falls under discipline and removal of faculty members, she argued, as the latter “is generally used to address specific acts of misconduct by a member. faculty that can usually occur at any given time”.
“In contrast,” she wrote, “the post-term review process takes place over several years, during which the faculty member is actively engaged in the process.”
However, it appears that a faculty-led hearing at the end of the post-employment review process has not been instantiated in the new policy – i.e. a hearing like that given to faculty under the Faculty Discipline and Removal policy.
“Under the upcoming post-employment review guidelines,” she wrote, “I expect the faculty review board to have the discretion to determine whether a similar hearing is appropriate for special examination.
Boedy argues that MacCartney is redefining “mandate” and “due academic process” to justify policy changes.
“It redefines the warrant so they can say, ‘Oh, we still have a warrant,'” Boedy said. “It redefines academic due process so they can still say, ‘We have a lot of due process.'”
This article was originally published by the Gainesville Times, a sister publication of Forsyth County News.
