Resolution on PTL Appointments

Background 

The New Brunswick Faculty Council (NBFC) is deeply concerned with the unnecessary hiring freeze placed on Part-Time Lecturers (PTLs) this past Spring which amounted to layoffs without calling it that and which saved the University very little money (perhaps as little as $2 million out of >$1 billion university budget). For example, the recent announcement that about 50 more PTLs – some of whom are even distinguished scholars – would not be reappointed this coming Spring 2021 in the New Brunswick Writing Program for no particular reason.  Freezing PTL piecework reappointments gave rise to unnecessary paycheck delays this Fall, undermining the security of those already at the bottom. Moreover, PTLs were not compensated for the additional work involved in converting their courses to remote format. Many of those not reappointed have long years of well-received service for Rutgers University.  The result of these indefensible actions is also that students will not have many courses available to them that might otherwise be offered. This approach will negatively impact the quality of education. This heavy-handed approach is unnecessary given that student enrollment is not down and that some courses that students would like to take will be eliminated.

Resolved

The NBFC calls on the Rutgers administration to right these wrongs by:

• making sure Spring 2021 PTL appointments are reasoned and prompt, and
• reversing unnecessary PTL non-reappointments, and
• planning ahead so that all PTLs have the technological hardware and software to teach remotely, and
• compensating PTLs for all work performed, including training for and converting to remote teaching.

Approved unanimously by the New Brunswick Faculty Council, 23 October 2020