Only 14 percent of the students who start out in a community college transfer to a four-year university and earn a bachelor’s degree within six years, according to a report released on Tuesday by three groups that are studying ways to plug the leaky pipeline between two- and four-year colleges. read more >

We came to the table today feeling optimistic about finding a solution to the workload problems our academic professional employees face. In our previous session, we worked-off of an option that the administration had crafted to address AP workloads and terms of employment. We had some very productive discussions about how the option met or failed to meet our interest. It felt like we were moving closer to some kind of resolution. So, our charge for this week was to revise this option based upon the discussions we had in our last session. read more >

Good news! We’ve come to a conceptual agreement that addresses the pay and promotional issues faced by our academic professionals. read more >

Texas Exes, an organization representing alumni of the University of Texas at Austin, has apologized for its criticism of inflammatory remarks that Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court made last week in hearing a challenge to race-conscious admissions on that campus. read more >

It was great to see so many academic professionals attend our bargaining session. Having members in the room shows the administration that our bargaining unit cares about the issues on the table, and it also helps keep our own bargaining team energized and informed. Being able to talk with members helps us have a better understanding of the specific issues our members face and inspires us to push harder to find solutions that will improve people’s working conditions. read more >

At least 21 Chinese labor activists in Guangdong province were apprehended in their homes and offices December 3, in what their supporters are calling a “sweep.” read more >

Board members at comprehensive universities are often frustrated by their own lack of knowledge or understanding about the institutions they're tasked with leading, a new report finds. read more >

Last Friday, we got into some in-depth discussions about how to fix academic professional (AP) pay structures. Currently, academic professionals have little opportunity for advancement in pay or position, so as a group, they face serious salary compression and inversion. For example, on average, Advisor/Counselor I’s with 4-7 years of experience earn less money than those who have been here less than one year. read more >

Pam Miller, President of PSU-AAUP, addressed the Faculty Senate with a bargaining update on November 30th. read more >

Faculty leaders on three University of Wisconsin System campuses objected to proposed new tenure policies ahead of a systemwide task force meeting on the new guidelines Monday. read more >

The University and AAUP are pleased to announce that we have come to two more tentative agreements during contract negotiations read more >

The University and AAUP are pleased to announce that we have come to two more tentative agreements during contract negotiations. read more >

Lawmakers in some states are seeking more openness and transparency from public university governing boards. read more >

We had a short bargaining session yesterday. At the beginning, we presented a list of data that we’ll need from the administration to process economic issues. We’re going to attempt to use Interest-Based Bargaining to negotiate salary and benefits. Our facilitator has successfully used this process with other educational unions in Oregon, and she assures us that it can work. read more >

The sociology Ph.D. student at the New School teaches two undergraduate courses, holds office hours, answers students’ emails, and performs research unrelated to her dissertation for professors. "When I had an issue with my pay stub," Ms. Aparicio says, "I was referred to human resources and payroll. I wasn’t referred to my adviser or my dean, because I’m an employee, and those are my wages." read more >

We continued our discussions about academic professional issues. We mostly focused on promotion and pay structures. AAUP proposed that we create a step system that provides incremental pay increases based upon years of experience, specific areas of expertise (bilingual, advanced degrees, certifications) and enhanced job duties (such as supervisory or training duties). read more >

On November 13, 2015, the AAUP filed with the American Federation of Teachers an amicus brief before the US Supreme Court arguing that the payment of agency fees by non-members in collective bargaining unions to support union representation is constitutional. The case started when the plaintiffs, sponsored by organizations seeking to weaken unions, sued the California Teachers Association and a local California school district seeking to invalidate agency fee provisions in the collective bargaining agreement, arguing that agency fee clauses in the public sector violate the First Amendment. read more >

Oregon slashed per-student spending on higher education more than all but one other state between 2000 and 2014, according to a new national study. read more >

We continued to discuss issues for academic professionals at yesterday’s bargaining session, completing the first three steps of the Interest-Based Bargaining Process: Framing the Issue/Question, Identifying Data and Sharing Interests. We agreed to address three main problem categories—Salary Structures/Promotional Opportunities, Workload, Scheduling and Decision-Making input, and Job Security/Evaluation. read more >

Your employer has already brought it up in bargaining, or else is about to: the health care headache known as the “Cadillac tax.” How hard are unions getting hit—and what can we do about it? Labor Notes interviewed Mark Dudzic, coordinator of the Labor Campaign for Single Payer, which just issued a new report on the tax. - See more at: http://labornotes.org/2015/11/cadillac-tax-threat-looms-how-can-unions-respond#sthash.zD7NZrmH.dpuf read more >