Grievance Settlement for tenured faculty member who was assigned 1-3-2 instead of 2-2-2

Last summer a tenured faculty member was given their course assignments for the academic year in mid-August 2017, which included a course assignment of 1 course in Fall 2017, 3 courses in Winter 2018, and 2 courses in Spring 2018. They were not asked about the assignment and the workload, and as it turned out the additional class in spring conflicted with research work that had already been scheduled. A grievance was filed in November 2017 alleging violations of the CBA. The grievance was denied at Step One; it was denied at Step Two; and at the grievance meeting at Step Three we had a surprising discussion about how to resolve the dispute to move on. PSU-AAUP drafted a settlement proposal which went back and forth a few times. That settlement was executed this week.

The settlement provides:

1. Scheduling of courses in the grievant’s unit will be made in consultation with the faculty member assigned to teach the course. The pedagogical needs of the students shall be balanced with the needs of the department. If the faculty member and the manager are unable to reach agreement on teaching schedules, management reserves the right to make the final determination about when courses are scheduled.
2. The grievant’s typical teaching load of 2-2-2 is acknowledged. If management assigns the grievant more than the typical number of courses in any term she teaches, these additional duties will be compensated as pursuant to Article 30 Preamble. (this means they will be considered additional duties for overload compensation will be provided)
3. Faculty members in the unit shall be provided their proposed teaching schedule for the following academic year by May 1 of the preceding academic year. It is understood that minor modifications to the teaching schedule may be required throughout the year, but such modifications are to be done in collaboration with the impacted faculty member. If the faculty member and the manager are unable to reach agreement on such teaching schedule changes, management reserves the right to make the final determination about assigned duties.