UHM Faculty Senate to Vote on Reso Acknowledging ‘Deficiencies’ in UH Study
From Lind’s blog:
A recent study on the cost of higher education was based on flawed data and faulty comparisons, resulting in “a less than positive impression of the University of Hawaii at Manoa and its faculty,” according to a resolution to be considered by Manoa faculty senate this afternoon.
The resolution, presented by the Senate executive committee, says “the decision to release a flawed and premature report reflects the poor judgment of the UH System administration.”
It calls on the university administration to publicly acknowledge and correct the errors and consult with the faculty before drawing any conclusions from the study.
The resolution identifies several types of errors.
• Outreach College courses, which are funded by a separate system, were listed;
• Cross-listed courses were double counted as if they were separate courses and thus appear smaller than 10 when they are in fact larger;
• Courses that many faculty teach above and beyond their normal course loads were listed;
• Courses that are designed for small enrollment, including internships, field experiences, music and arts were listed.
As a result, according to the resolution, “the data on faculty instructional workloads is flawed, the report does not reflect the actual cost of instruction or present an accurate depiction of faculty workloads in the full range of teaching, research and service responsibilities expected at a research university like the University of Hawaii at Manoa.”
The resolution also points out that while UH Manoa may be comparable to “peer institutions” used in the report “on the basis of student characteristics, it is not comparable with respect to the research that is expected of UH Manoa faculty.”
The senate’s meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. today.
— Alia Wong
