In the previous issue of the Biweekly, we looked at raises for faculty in the highest units of the USF System over the last four years. Job conditions involves more than salary, and one global measure of employee satisfaction is retention.
In the 23 June 2016 Biweekly, we looked at retention of faculty at USF; we looked at full professors, associate professors, assistant professors, instructors, and other professionals in the bargaining unit as of 2009. Going forward over the next six years, we found that USF had retained about two-thirds of its tenured professors, less than 60 % of its assistant professors, just over 40 % of its instructors, and less than 40 % of its other professionals. (In 10 September 2015, we also looked at longevity of assistant professors, and found that many assistant professors departed USF before their final year - and many came up for tenure early.)
In this issue, we look continue the approach of the previous Biweekly, and look at retention in the top academic units of the university over the four years from 11 September 2015 to 6 September 2019.
Our state affiliate, the Florida Education Association, is planning an event in Tallahassee on Monday, January 13, the day before the Legislative Session opens, to publicized education funding. Come join us! Although most of the publicity concerns K-12 funding, USF has a stake in this, too.
The USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida will meet tomorrow Friday at noon on USF Tampa campus in the Education Building, EDU 261. Lunch is on us. On the agenda: selecting the Election Committee that will conduct the Chapter Election in Spring. Come and check us out.
Download, fill in, and mail the membership form. Benefits of membership include the right to run and vote in UFF chapter and statewide elections; representation in grievances (UFF cannot represent a non-member in a grievance or litigation); special deals in insurance, travel, legal advice, and other packages provided by our affiliates; free insurance coverage for job-related liability; and the knowledge you are supporting education in Florida. Come and join the movement.
If you have been the victim of a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, you have thirty days from the time you knew or should have known of the violation to file a grievance. If you are, and at the time of the violation were, a dues-paying member of the United Faculty of Florida, you have the right to union representation. To contact the UFF USF Grievance Committee, go to the online contact form. For more information, see our web-page on grievances.
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Job conditions in the top units within the UFF USF Collective Bargaining Unit - especially at the three campuses - has become an equity issue with consolidation underway. In the previous issue, we looked at salaries, in particular, in the raises received by faculty in these units over the last four years. Salary is only part of the issue, and retention of employees can provide a more global picture, although the reasons why employees stay or leave can vary widely.
In the table below, we compare two snapshots of the UFF USF Bargaining Unit, one on 11 September 2015 and the other on 6 September 2019. (We neglect all academic units outside of the UFF USF Bargaining Unit - and most of Health Sciences is outside of the UFF USF Bargaining Unit.)
| Unit | % Retained | % New | Median Year Arrived | % change |
| Arts | 78 % | 13 % | 2007 | -10 % |
| Arts & Sciences | 80 % | 22 % | 2009 | +3 % |
| Behavior / Community | 68 % | 32 % | 2010 | 0 % |
| Business | 80 % | 22 % | 2011 | +2 % |
| Education | 66 % | 30 % | 2010 | -6 % |
| Engineering | 78 % | 25 % | 2008 | +4 % |
| Health Sciences | 72 % | 34 % | 2014 | +10 % |
| Tampa Library | 60 % | 12 % | 2003 | -32 % |
| Marine Science | 71 % | 24 % | 2008 | -6 % |
| St. Petersburg | 79 % | 26 % | 2011 | +7 % |
| Sarasota / Manatee | 70 % | 30 % | 2013 | -1 % |
One can find all sorts of stuff at the USF InfoCenter. Here are numbers for the entire USF System in 2015 and 2019. The Education & General (E&G) budget may be the best measure of legislative affection, as that is the money from the Legislature.
| 2015 | 2019 | |
| Undergraduates | 36,020 | 37,361 |
| Graduates | 10,345 | 11,314 |
| Total Students | 48,984 | 51,060 |
| Total Budget | $ 1,610,694,604 | $ 1,855,802,312 |
| E&G Budget | $ 625,578,034 | $717,862,777 |
| Total Budget | $ 1,738,199,547 | $ 1,855,802,312 |
| E&G Budget | $ 670,061,256 | $ 717,862,777 |
| Per Student Budget | $ 35,485 | $ 36,345 |
| Per Student E & G | $ 13,679 | $ 14,059 |
Still, compared to one of our aspirational peers, Rutgers University system, with three campuses, 70,876 students, and a budget of $ 4.3 billion, which comes to over $ 60,000 per student, we are a little underfunded.
Florida Politics reports that the State University System Board of Governors has requested an incremental $ 252 million increase for next year, of which $ 33.8 million would go to USF. That would be a 4.7 % increase in E & G funding.
On January 13, the day before the Legislative Session begins, the Florida Education Association - our state affiliate - will hold a rally for public education to Take on Tallahassee. Come and join the movement.
John Liontas is an Associate Professor of English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). He received a $500 travel scholarship to attend and assist in the 30th International Conference of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE 2019) in March 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is his account.
In mid March 2019 I had the opportunity to present our paper, Voices Heard, Voices Seen: From Classroom Praxis to Digital Stories Worth Sharing (jointly with my student, Patrick Mannion of USF), at SITE 2019. It was well received by the international audience and many discussions followed thereafter. Given that the conference registration fee was some $ 475.00, it is easy to surmise how important the $ 500.00 UFF Travel Scholarship I received was. Not only did the scholarship defray some of the costs associated with attending the international conference, it completely covered the registration fees. This, in turn, allowed me to cover the remaining expenditures such as travel to Las Vegas, lodging, and food. More importantly, the UFF Travel Scholarship enabled me to present and share my research with colleagues from around the world at a venue that is known for its high expenditures. Without the scholarship, attending the conference would have been a lot more challenging, for sure. I am therefore most grateful for the UFF Travel Scholarship. And a simple THANK YOU, even when typed in all caps, is not enough to express my appreciation. So THANK YOU again for this opportunity, much appreciated!
Chapter Meeting tomorrow Friday, December 6, at noon, on USF Tampa campus, EDU261.
We will have lunch at the meeting. All UFF members are invited to attend. Non-members are also invited to come and check us out. Come and join the movement.Membership: Everyone in the UFF USF System Bargaining unit is eligible for UFF membership: to join, simply fill out and send in the membership form.
NOTE: The USF-UFF Chapter website is http://www.uff.ourusf.org, and our e-mail address is uff@ourusf.org.
About this broadcast: This Newsletter was broadcast from uff.ourusf.org, hosted at ICDsoft.com, and is intended for all members of the UFF USF Bargaining unit (USF faculty and professionals at most departments). A (usually identical) version will be broadcast to USF-News and USF-Talk from mccolm@usf.edu.
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