"My school now requires the department chair, Dean, and human resources"
"and" All three have to sign on?
That's the new "rules" that we apparently have to follow, that I violated today since I couldn't park. We cannot be adults and just handle our own business as needed. Or use rationality when it comes to being a commuter school and scheduling classes and campus events.
State law in our state requires reporting of time for all employees at our institution. As chair, I have to sign off on my faculty's time reports. This signing off is considered legal. That is, if found to be not true, I could be found guilty of violating state law. So now, I force my faculty to not cancel class (or to call in sick and leave me out of the lie). Does it suck? Yes. But am I going down because someone's too lazy to come in? No f'in way.
That is asinine Wal*Mart style s**t.What sort of trouble?
E-mail from the director started by saying "It is your responsibility to be at work and in class. Lack of parking is not an excuse..."
You can guess where it went from there. And as "Jacklyn" said above, it's not like I make a habit of canceling. Our adjuncts do, but they are all connected, so they basically have free reign.
That is asinine Wal*Mart style s**t.What sort of trouble?
E-mail from the director started by saying "It is your responsibility to be at work and in class. Lack of parking is not an excuse..."
You can guess where it went from there. And as "Jacklyn" said above, it's not like I make a habit of canceling. Our adjuncts do, but they are all connected, so they basically have free reign.
That is asinine Wal*Mart style s**t.What sort of trouble?
E-mail from the director started by saying "It is your responsibility to be at work and in class. Lack of parking is not an excuse..."
You can guess where it went from there. And as "Jacklyn" said above, it's not like I make a habit of canceling. Our adjuncts do, but they are all connected, so they basically have free reign.
As an admin type person myself, I agree with a policy that says the chair or other responsible party should be notified or otherwise made aware if you're not going to be in class (if only so the chair or whoever isn't made to look like an idiot when someone else asks where you were), and I'd say a pattern of repeated absence of class would lead me to want some justification. But at the same time, I wouldn't dream of denying permission for any vaguely rational reason and I can conceive of no rational planet on which the dean or HR director should be involved in giving permission; if they don't think the chair can decide who is and isn't giving good reasons for letting people cancel class, they don't need chairs in the first place.
In my experience, at any college or university where administrators seriously enforce a policy like this, it's usually a sign of deeper institutional dysfunction.
^ Wow that sentence totally didn't parse. What I meant to say is that if they don't think they can delegate a simple decision like "is professor X canceling class for a good reason" to a chair, why bother having a chair in the first place? There's micromanagement... and there's nanomanagement.
What sort of trouble?
E-mail from the director started by saying "It is your responsibility to be at work and in class. Lack of parking is not an excuse..."
You can guess where it went from there. And as "Jacklyn" said above, it's not like I make a habit of canceling. Our adjuncts do, but they are all connected, so they basically have free reign.
Does the director live near campus? If so, next time park on his lawn.
The real story. Guy blows off at least one class per week. Today he shows up, clearly hung over, having simply missed the class. Earlier in the day a few students had come to the chair, asking if they should turn in the assignment due that day or assume it will be accepted next week without penalty since the professor didn't show up. First time the chair even hears the class was cancelled. He asks faculty member what's going on? Faculty response: "oh, I couldn't find a parking space."
E-mail started by saying "It is your responsibility to be at work and in class. Lack of parking is not an excuse...".
OP here... the school is now threatening disciplinary action if we cancel the day before Thanksgiving. Doesn't matter if you had it planned in your syllabus, we must un-cancel classes and hold them that day.
I had the same issue when I worked at a college in the rural South and taught a Wednesday night class where 80% of the students were non-traditional female students. After the first class, a group of them came to me and said, "We looked at the syllabus and noticed we had class scheduled for the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. We all are going to have housefuls of people the next day expecting to be fed."
I told them that I understood. And that while I had to be there by contract, they did not. I think I showed a film to an empty room. I ended up with some of the best evaluations I ever had. Amazing how people react when you aren't a total martinet
The real story. Guy blows off at least one class per week. Today he shows up, clearly hung over, having simply missed the class. Earlier in the day a few students had come to the chair, asking if they should turn in the assignment due that day or assume it will be accepted next week without penalty since the professor didn't show up. First time the chair even hears the class was cancelled. He asks faculty member what's going on? Faculty response: "oh, I couldn't find a parking space."
E-mail started by saying "It is your responsibility to be at work and in class. Lack of parking is not an excuse...".
Wish I had time to get loaded anymore.
I'd say I wish you worked where I did so you can experience this hell hole. But I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It's that insane.
Oh relax, I'm just yanking your chain. It sounds crazy to have to get signed permission from three administrators just to cancel a class.
But, seriously, you should get loaded once in awhile, lol.
Wish I had time to get loaded anymore.I'd say I wish you worked where I did so you can experience this hell hole. But I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It's that insane.