GRAVY TRAIN OR BREAD LINE?
SOMEONE IS OUT TO LUNCH...

 

 

And I hope it is me (Jim Sellers), otherwise a number of students are
going to be in a pickle. Regardless though I've had a bellyfull of this
twice yearly predicament. Each semester it gets more frustrating. I, and
others, have raised this issue at every turn and in every quarter of the college.
What am I raving about? Part-time contracts that's what!

A glance at the timetable tells me there are more than 20 TBA sections
in the Social Sciences department this fall. I can only hope that Psychology,
Anthropology and Sociology have had more success in filling their contract
vacancies than we have had in Geography. At this late date we have been able
to fill only one of four vacancies. Each semester the situation worsens. Why?
The primary reason is remuneration but other factors must be considered.

Pre-registration is an excellent idea and it will doubtless really catch
on in subsequent semesters. But what about a TBA section that gets 10 or
more pre-registrations and for which no instructor can be hired? It could
happen. In the past we could drop a section we couldn't find an instructor
for prior to registration. Mind you we usually played a dangerous sort of
game of finding instructors even during the registration period itself.

Even when we find instructors at such a late date we still jeopardise the
quality of instruction at the college --the best instructor is handicapped by
such late appointments.

Consider the following points:

Remuneration

$1050 for a first contract. Compare this to $1700 (M.A. level TAship)
and $2100 (Ph.D. level TAship) at SFU. The TA does not prepare a course nor

lecture and has 5 hours contact time per week. We simply are not competitive. 2
There are many highly qualified graduate students anxious to teach at the
college who simply can't afford to.

Taking the top of our contract scale $1200 and having the instructor take
two sections of the same course we have a slim chance of attracting an instructor.
Clearly our contract salaries are based on a policy many of us have argued
against - that of exploiting the past glut in the academic marketplace. Never
a credit to the college, this policy is beginning to backfire. The surfeit of
graduates has markedly diminished, largely through displacement into other sectors
of the economy, rationalisation of entry into graduate programs, increased grant
monies and new hirings. TA unions have negotiated for higher salaries. The
situation today is not what it was in 1970.

I believe it is in the student's best interest for us to employ graduate
students anxious for teaching experience and a chante to establish themselves
in the academic marketplace rather than fully employed teachers looking for
an extra $1000 to pay for their new broadloom, or as is too often the case
relying on full-time Douglas instructors "to help this one time". In Geography's
case there seems to be fewer and fewer persons anxious for half-time or single
contracts to supplement a spouses income. We are having to go out and plead
with people to return or apply and this time they are saying "NO".

LEAD TIME

Our contract salaries should be attractive enough for us to be
able to secure teaching commitments months, not days, in advance. Proper Q
course preparation is essential. In the case of films I had to get my fall
semester order in by June 30th to be certain of access to our own Douglas
College films let alone outside bookings. I have been busy since the first of

z.