Budget Cuts and ‘Workload Creep’

Nichole K. McDaniel expects to have an increased workload this year, in part because of college budget cuts.

Ms. McDaniel is an associate professor in the department of biology and medical laboratory technology at Bronx Community College, part of the City University of New York. She says professors are teaching larger classes, advising more students, and serving on more committees, among other things.

Q. How do more students in a class affect teaching?

A. In biology our classes are capped at 24 because that’s all we have lab space for. But we’ve been asked to combine our lectures, so that’s 48 students. That’s more work for the faculty member, and, frankly, it’s also really rotten for students. When you get up to 48 students you have to request that they don’t ask as many questions in class. You can’t coach and guide them and help them understand things. You can lecture at any number of people, but in order to challenge them and work with them, the small class is always better. Teaching is different than talking.

Q. What about testing?

A. It’s tough to give a really meaningful test and grade papers. You end up doing a Scantron or a multiple-choice test. But coming up with a really good multiple-choice test is still hard work.

Q. What else has the CUNY system done that affects your workload?

A. They’ve increasingly shifted teaching work over to adjuncts. They need more full-time people. I think it would be a completely different environment if we had more full-timers. There would be more people to do the advisement, the course coordination—all the things that you do that aren’t teaching but still need to be done.

Q. You also worry about “shadow workload.” What is that?

A. I teach 27 hours a year—that’s five classes one semester and then four classes another semester. But we’re also required to publish, and you’re also expected to be on lots and lots of committees. It’s drilled into you that you have to be seen. The teaching is capped contractually [faculty members and staff at the City University of New York are represented by the Professional Staff Congress, a union affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers], but the professional development and service isn’t. And because it’s not defined contractually it’s much easier for that to tick up a little bit more each year, and then it becomes a huge workload increase. So shadow workload is the workload that can’t really be defined. Sometimes I call it “workload creep.”

Q. So are you looking forward to any part of this school year?

A. I look forward to being with the students. I like the committees I’m on. I like the work I do in the union. I like my work, it’s just more than I can do well. I’ve had to give up on a lot of things, and I haven’t done it for profit, I’ve done it for sanity.