Faculty members won't lose their jobs or shoulder heavier workloads when Utah's academic calendar changes from quarters to semesters, according to Arthur K. Smith, president of the University of Utah.
Smith reported to the U. Board of Trustees on Monday that he addressed those concerns in response to questions from a campus committee that has been studying calendar options since last fall."The administration has no intention of seeking to change such things as faculty workload, or eliminate positions or units, under the cover of a change in academic calendar," Smith said in a Jan. 18 memo to the Academic Policies Advisory Committee.
Committee chairman David M. Grant said in a follow-up memo that Smith's responses will be included in the committee's final report this spring to the Academic Senate. Senate leaders have indicated they intend to proceed with their study even though the Board of Regents approved the change in January.
The regents' decision has gotten a lukewarm or openly hostile reception from many faculty members, particularly at the U. and Utah State University. Some professors on both campuses have suggested in various public forums that there are hidden motives behind the switch.
Aware of the skepticism, Smith told the committee, "We have no agenda here beyond providing the best possible framework for the teaching and learning process and for the support of research and creative endeavor.
Commissioner of Higher Education Cecelia H. Foxley encountered the same "hidden agenda" theory last week while answering questions from a faculty member on KUSU-FM, USU's public radio station. Like Smith, she said the reason for the switch is to improve the academic process.
At the U., faculty members asked Smith how the change would affect teaching assignments, sabbatical leaves, departmental structures, budgets and capital facilities. They also asked whether students could complete their education during the transition without increased costs or loss of time.
"There is no intent on the part of the administration to use a possible change in the academic calendar to increase teaching loads," Smith said.
"A change in academic calendar per se should not be the cause of any losses or, for that matter, gains in faculty, graduate student or administrative positions," he added.
However, he declined to support a suggested moratorium on departmental closures during the conversion to semesters, saying some closures may be required by "totally unrelated circumstances," such as a state budget cut.
He was also unable to assure the faculty that the U. and the seven other schools on the quarter calendar will get all the money they need to finance the conversion.
Utah Valley State College spent about $165,000 when it switched to semesters in 1991, and some estimates place the total cost to the eight other schools at about $5 million. The Legislature appropriated $300,000 this year to finance the first-year planning costs of the conversion, which is scheduled to be completed by fall 1998.
"Neither the administration nor the regents can guarantee what level of funding or what types of conversion costs will ultimately be funded by the Legislature," Smith wrote.
Smith said a comprehensive planning process involving curriculum and course scheduling and student advising will be developed to accommodate the needs of students who will be completing their degrees during the transition.