Union Questions Administration on Student Support

Union Questions Administration on Student Support

Last Thursday, the Union Executive Committee concluded four consecutive weeks of Union-initiated discussion with College administration on topics related to barriers to student success at Berklee. The Union requested these meetings because many faculty report that their students have needs in the areas of access and support. Specific topics included universal access to physical facilities (Jan. 31), learning support programs (Feb. 7), psychological support programs (Feb. 14), and the Early Alert system (Feb. 21). The image that emerges reveals sustained and substantive investment of physical, financial, and human resources. Yet challenges persist. Hiccups, too.

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Accessibility problems on campus

Accessibility problems on campus

Have you visited the Berklee Counseling Center and Health and Wellness Center recently, at 54 and 32 The Fenway? Did you notice that they are not Universally Accessible? The Berklee Faculty Union will be meeting on Thursday with the administration to present our concerns about this situation, and to discuss when the College will make these important offices fully accessible to all. We will be expressing how passionately we feel about this, and that we hope to work together with the College to find solutions.

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BREAKING NEWS

BREAKING NEWS

We are happy to announce that the Berklee Faculty Union and Berklee College of Music have reached a tentative contract agreement, subject to the ratification vote of the faculty.

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Press Release: Faculty Union to Demonstrate Unity at Berklee College of Music Opening Day, September 1, 2017

Press Release: Faculty Union to Demonstrate Unity at Berklee College of Music Opening Day, September 1, 2017

BOSTON — The 600-plus Berklee faculty and 200-plus Boston Conservatory at Berklee faculty members will rally on September 1 to show unity in support of a fair contract for Boston Conservatory faculty. 

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Response to "Your workload could be aging you"

Response to "Your workload could be aging you"

We have received many responses to our blog post regarding workload and stress. Below is one, posted with permission but with the name removed.

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Student Evaluations Paint A Faulty Picture

Student Evaluations Paint A Faulty Picture

Berklee student evaluations paint a faulty picture. How can we regain focus?

"We’re confusing consumer satisfaction with product value" -Philip B. Stark, UC Berkley

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Faculty Working Conditions = Student Learning Conditions

Faculty Working Conditions = Student Learning Conditions

Members of the Berklee Faculty Union attended a conference on collective bargaining in higher ed. Here are some nuggets they brought back...

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Your workload could be aging you

Your workload could be aging you

Even though we are on spring break, many Berklee faculty members are working hard on their teaching, research, and creative work. Is your workload causing you chronic stress? Berklee faculty member Kathleen Howland explains how you age 6 years for every year you live in chronic stress.

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Berklee Faculty Vision for 2025

Tom Plsek and Jimena Bermejo-Black

Tom Plsek and Jimena Bermejo-Black

SPACE and SUPPORT
World-class facilities and working conditions: 

  1. Teaching spaces that allow for flexibility in scheduling to meet the needs of students in rooms that promote a sense of ease and comfort, and which both preserve our hearing and have world-class acoustics.
  2. Ensemble, classroom, and studio spaces that promote making music with our students. Spacious rehearsal halls with excellent acoustics for performing, teaching, and learning.
  3. Quality office space with adequate privacy for every individual faculty member that permits each of us to hold office hours and to do work in a room that enhances our ability to support our students, to plan our classes and lessons, and to pursue our creative work.
  4. World-class concert halls for a world-class institution.

TIME to THRIVE
A workload that is an example to other world-class music institutions: 

  1. A workload that is an example to other topflight institutions in the nation, and one that allows us to respond more fully to the needs of all of our students.
  2. An optimal workload that permits our faculty to pursue the creative work that supports our essential musical and intellectual growth and that is an inspiration to our students.

AFFIRMATION and APPRECIATION
Significant resources allocated to faculty: 

  1. Compensation for faculty that reflects Berklee’s role as a leader of higher education in Massachusetts.
  2. High priority for significant grants, special project funding, and for compensated technological and pedagogical training.
  3. Commitment by the College to a higher ratio of full-time to part-time faculty, which strengthens the foundation that underlies the core mission of the college: world-class teaching by our world-class faculty.
  4. Affirmation by the College of senior faculty: the value of their instruction, creative contributions, experience, and wisdom provide unique perspectives that benefit the entire Berklee community.
  5. Strong support for our faculty as we address the diverse learning styles of our students and the many cultures they represent.

VISIBILITY and TRANSPARENCY
High priority and accessibility for faculty advancement: 

  1. Fair, transparent, and clear criteria for determining wages, promotions, sabbaticals, and part-time to full-time conversion.
  2. Transparent processes for faculty access to development and research funds. Explicit dedication of and ample funds for faculty support, training, and grant awards, and clear visibility for these funds.
  3. Develop connections to and support faculty with national and international grant research and programs.

COMMUNICATION and COLLABORATION
A clearly stated commitment to faculty in Berklee’s Vision for 2025: 

  1. In both the Berklee Vision 2025 and the Capital Campaign planning and implementation, our vision sees the inclusion of a stated commitment to faculty support and compensation, and to the development of these priorities.
  2. Our Faculty Vision for 2025 includes meaningful communication and collaboration: these are at the heart of effective teaching and great music. We see a stated commitment towards building trust across our institution, furthering Berklee’s ability to achieve the greatness to which it aspires. 

"I fought you at the beginning, but you made it a better school"

"I fought you at the beginning, but you made it a better school"

As part of a Labor Day-themed event in September 2016, Associate Professor of Liberal Arts Kevin Block-Schwenk interviewed Professor Dennis Leclaire, who has taught at Berklee since 1980, about the 1986 Faculty Strike, as well as what Berklee was like before then.

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