Re class size statement. Besides being effectively meaningless without enforcement and particular class size designations, unless the new funding model is changed again it goes directly against fac and dept interests related to departmental funding. It also takes away faculty ability to set class size at appropriate level for the class. One more feel-good statement that takes away faculty freedom. Dumb to include this.
Anonymous
01/06/2013
First, it is an average so it does nothing to any individual class. Second, I’d be really interested to see how many faculty now get to set “class size at appropriate level for the class”. As you point out, the funding model works directly against that and, as far as I can tell, admins are setting class size to benefit from funding model. I doubt any faculty would “choose” to teach to 300 students.
Finally, this may be a feel-good statement and an admittedly rough measure of “quality”. That said, this is one small attempt to get a commitment from admin to address the problem.
Re class size statement. Besides being effectively meaningless without enforcement and particular class size designations, unless the new funding model is changed again it goes directly against fac and dept interests related to departmental funding. It also takes away faculty ability to set class size at appropriate level for the class. One more feel-good statement that takes away faculty freedom. Dumb to include this.
First, it is an average so it does nothing to any individual class. Second, I’d be really interested to see how many faculty now get to set “class size at appropriate level for the class”. As you point out, the funding model works directly against that and, as far as I can tell, admins are setting class size to benefit from funding model. I doubt any faculty would “choose” to teach to 300 students.
Finally, this may be a feel-good statement and an admittedly rough measure of “quality”. That said, this is one small attempt to get a commitment from admin to address the problem.