Part-timers at 16 or more units

Did you know?

In spring 2018, 101 part-time faculty members at Berklee and Boston Conservatory at Berklee taught 16 or more units. In other words, 101 people were teaching at loads similar to full-timers.

In many departments, the number of full time faculty members is insufficient to handle all the required service to the college.

As a result of collective bargaining, 24 part-timers have been converted to full time since 2013.

This is not enough.

In our bargaining with management this summer, we are asking for more conversions. Teachers with job security are more effective, more committed to the college, and – guess what? – happier.

Berklee Faculty Vision for 2025

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.