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NEWS
4 THE OBSERVER • Oct. 13 - 19, 2011
Editors Note: This is the last part of this story. The full story is avaiable online at cwuobserver.com
College of Education and Professional Studies racks up expences in split that was haulted for budgetary reasons.
KEY
PLAYERS ETHAN BERGMAN
Associate Dean College of Education and Professional Studies
JAN BOWERS
Former Department Chair of Family and Consumer Sciences
WAYNE QUIRK
Former Provost Dean of Graduate Studies
CONNIE LAMBERT
Dean College of Education and Professional Studies
JAMES GAUDINO
President of Central Washington University
DECODING ACRONYMS BOT: Central’s Board of Trustees CEPS: College of Education and Professional Studies CTL: Center for Teacher Learning NCATE: National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
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Stopped for financial reasons – again
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The aftermath
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Since beginning the planning to split the CEPS, the college’s personnel expenditures have increased by $1.6 million. Faculty costs inWhile Quirk presented the proposed creased by 29 percent, administrator costs split to the Board of Trustees on Oct. 2, increased by 25 percent and staff costs in2009, the push to split the CEPS ended creased by 26 percent. there and was not brought up again or Lambert agreed that there is some invoted on at the next BOT meeting as creased cost from operating more departoriginally scheduled on Dec. 4, 2009. ments, but she said the main reason facPresident Gaudino explained in his re- ulty costs jumped was because of a large cent email that “Provost Quirk withdrew the freshman class and new faculty hired in proposal. I concurred with his decision.” 2008. In an email President Gaudino wrote According to a memo written by Lamto Cutsinger, who was then the Faculty bert in fall 2008, 29 Senate chair, he said, new faculty were “Wayne is withdrawand working Wayne is withdrawing hired ing the current proin the CEPS for that posal until after the the current proposal until school year. Lamcurrent fiscal crisis after the current fiscal crisis bert explained that is resolved… We do they were hired with not believe it is pru- is resolved… We do not money already aldent to add admin- believe it is prudent to add located from vacant istrative costs during lines. the current fiscal cli- administrative costs during “Those were replacethe current fiscal climate. mate.” ment positions, which Quirk said in his -JAMES GAUDINO means I had people recent email there who either resigned or was no one element President, Central Washington University retired,” Lambert said. that stopped the pro“Basically we had monposal from moving ey in lines. When we lose a faculty member that forward. money stays in their line for us to be able to rehire, “The resistance, turnover of upper adminis- so these were just a whole lot of faculty lines that tration and rapid failure of the state’s economy had been vacant for a very long time that we were seemed to collide at once,” Quirk wrote. “And able to fill.” President Gaudino rightly decided to put the split However, Bowers said that hiring new of the college on hold until we had a better grip on faculty should have cost less than retaining the role of the Faculty Senate in the process and of faculty that resigned or retired. “When course on the looming budget cuts.” you hire new faculty you hire them at a President Gaudino said there were lower starting wage than the more senior actions taken after the CEPS split was professor they’re replacing,” she said. “It halted to make any future processes and doesn’t add up.” requirements clear. Bergman explained that hiring the “We amended the Academic Code to large group of new faculty allowed CEPS require proposals of major organizational to cut back on temporary teaching posichange to be vetted by the Faculty Sen- tions, allowing students access to teachers ate,” Gaudino wrote. “I also met with the that would be able to help them develop department chairs in CEPS to describe for longer than one year. “It’s a better situation so that students my expectations for proposal content and review.” now have people that are continuing in
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Dec. 4, 2009 The topic of splitting the CEPS does not come up again in a board of trustees meeting. Provost Quirk removed the proposal.
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By Kelly Requa Special to The Observer
At the Nov. 4, 2009 Faculty Senate meeting, according to the minutes, Quirk had defended the split by saying it would help “offset some problems that have occurred with” getting Central accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Other faculty and administrators also said many people in the CEPS believe that splitting would help Central’s ability to more easily get accreditation. “Over the years we’ve gone through bad accreditation several times,” Bergman said. “It would make sense to have teacher education as a separate college so that the dean can focus on what needs to happen so they can remain in good standing with the accrediting bodies.” Having a nationally accredited program draws students, and students who receive a degree from an accredited university normally have better job opportunities, according to the NCATE website. In 2000, Central received one of the highest NCATE scores in the nation under the original college structure, which raises the question of why accreditation became a problem in following years.
“Our accreditation in 1995 was not This program was where the three deans stellar. 2000 was okay. We submitted an with teaching in their college could coinstitution report in 2001 written by Jim operate to make education areas better, DePaepe and they were ranked high,” Street said. The program was praised by NCATE in 1992, and they received great Lambert said. “In 2007, we were accredited nationally but ratings in 1997 using CTL, she said. “It was a strength,” Street said. “I have were not approved by the state,” she said. DePaepe said that new requirements never heard college size cited as a major after 2000, which required universities to issue by NCATE.” Pappas said he also doesn’t underprovide all documents digitally and in dastand the reasoning tabases, made it difbehind splitting the ficult to get NCATE “During those periods of college for easier accreditation. Currently all of crisis all the resources of the NCATE accreditation. Central’s education “A lot of schools do programs are in college get thrown at educagood standing with tion and all the other depart- not have a college of education and they are acNCATE, but CEPS ments get ignored.” credited,” Pappas said. administrators said -TOM WLLOCK (In the meantime, they wanted to enNCATE recently sure that future acFormer history professor merged with anothcreditations would er accrediting body, go smoothly. “They are constantly in a state of crisis of and both Lambert and DePaepe progetting accreditation,” Wellock said. “During posed at the most recent BOT meeting those periods of crisis all the resources of the col- on June 10 that Central not seek NCATE lege get thrown at education and all the other de- accreditation until the merger shakes out. At the meeting, Gaudino and Levine partments get ignored.” Street pointed out that accreditation said it wouldn’t hurt Central’s ability to attract students, and Levine insisted that wasn’t an issue in the more distant past. In 1992, the university created a pro- “it won’t hurt graduates after they leave gram which later became known as the here, which was a previous concern.”) Center for Teacher Learning (CTL).
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Does splitting help with NCATE?
Jan. 6, 2010
that role and can advise students well,” Bergman said. Neither Lambert nor Bergman provided an explanation for the 25 percent increase in administrative costs. Wellock said he believes the attempt to split CEPS may have officially proceeded if there had been a more realistic budget plan and clearer rationale presented to the Faculty Senate. “It was an idea that sounded good, and maybe it still is a good idea, but they hadn’t thought it through much at all,” Wellock said. Marilyn Levine, current provost, agreed that there has to be no unanswered questions in a reorganization that affects the whole university. “I don’t think anyone had a bad intent. I think what happened is things need to be clarified,” Levine said. “And if you do not follow through with the answer, it’s hard for people to act on the unanswered question.” According to Bergman, after the push to split the college ended, a committee was formed to examine how future college splits should be conducted. “One of the charges was to come up with some sort of process, and we did,” Bergman said. “I’m not sure where it is at this point.” Quirk wrote in his e-mail that the proposal did go through existing processes, and that it came from faculty who recognized the issues of department size, of voice, and of programs being aligned in appropriate colleges. “I supported the split initially, and I still do to this day,” Quirk said. Levine said she also thinks that splitting the CEPS is something that makes sense and would probably benefit students. “Certainly while there could be more procedural things done, I think the intent was to probably serve the students,” Levine said. “It serves the students even if you slip up a bit.” However, Levine said splitting the college will not be a priority as long as the university faces budget cuts. Splitting the CEPS “is an option,” Gaudino wrote, “but, I have not seen a thorough and wellvetted proposal.”
According to an e-mail between President Gaudino and Loran Cutsinger, Quirk “is withdrawing the current proposal until after the current fiscal crisis is resolved or at least until the state’s future funding picture is more clear… we do not believe it is prudent to add admin costs during the current fiscal climate.”
Timeline of events