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| Illinois State University Nontenure-track Faculty Association, IEA-NEA Self-study Survey |
| BACKGROUND Last spring the State Legislature directed the Illinois Board of Higher Education to study nontenure-track faculty at public universities and colleges across the state. This study was sparked by HB 1720, a bill aimed at providing more part-time faculty with access to collective bargaining. HB 1720 passed the House and is now in the State Senate. THE PROBLEM The Illinois Board of Higher Education has not made available campus-by-campus data, so we do not know how many ISU faculty, both nontenure-track and tenured/tenure-track, were asked for their input. Unfortunately, nontenure-track faculty at ISU have never been studied, as have the tenured/tenure-track faculty, Academic Personnel (APs), and Civil Service employees -- that is, everyone else. OUR SOLUTION As a result, the ISU-NTTFA decided to conduct its own self-study through questionnaires sent to all nontenure-track faculty. Respondents can remain anonymous by removing the mailing label. All identifiying information is confidential. In contrast, the IBHE report used random telephone and Internet surveys, which had a chilling effect on participation. PRELIMINARY RESULTS Preliminary results suggest that our self-study does not corroborate the IBHE's data. ISU nontenure-track faculty actively sought to participate in the IBHE report process. An ISU-NTTFA representative testified in person at an IBHE hearing in Springfield. Several NTTs sent in written testimony to the IBHE committee. The ISU-NTTFA recently asked the IBHE to reject the report, but the Board unanimously voted to accept it. Click here to go to a comparison of the IBHE report and our preliminary self-study results. Surveys are still being collected. Stand up and be counted. We want to know what YOU think. Click here for a printable version of the survey. Remember -- this survey is for ISU nontenure-track faculty only. Send in your survey by campus mail today! |
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