We have been meaning to send a hearty congrats to the good folks over at Inside Higher Ed for their first place award for beat reporting for their series on college rankings.  We here at FACE Talk have to admit to a little pride ourselves since one part of that series was related to our work on how U.S. News and World Report was allowing colleges and universities to report on the percentage of classes taught by full-time faculty.  Always glad when these issues get elevated like this.

Earlier this week we encouraged you to call your Senators and tell them to keep the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) language in the budget reconciliation process.  We thank all of you who made those calls. 

The good news is that it now appears that SAFRA will be included in that process.  The bad news is that the funding for higher education may be significantly cut--including funding for student aid in the form of Pell Grants, funding for community colleges and infrastructure as well as a host of other programs. 

But that has not been determined just yet, so it is time to talk to your Senators (again) and your Representative. 

You can:

• Call 866/327-8670 and ask to speak to your Senator or Representative and tell them to protect higher education funding in the budget reconciliation process.
• Visit the AFT Legislative Action Center and send your Senators and Representative a letter--it only takes two minutes!

Better yet do both and pass it on!

We will have more as details emerge.

Earlier this week, retired Professor Ronald Wixman penned a column for The Oregonian detailing the growing reliance on graduate employees for teaching undergraduate courses. Many readers might take issue with some of Professor Wixman's characterizations, but my point in writing this isn't to quibble with those. Rather, I'd like to address some of the questions Wixman raises about university priorities, how these priorities affect academic staffing, and how this, in turn, affects students.

Wixman is, of course, writing from the perspective of a faculty member at a flagship research institution, and the coin of the realm at this level of higher education is the production and publication of research. It's reflected in myriad ways - faculty members are encouraged to write their next book or publish their next article, not cause trouble, and not worry too much about their courses (indeed, these values are transmitted to graduate students - I was told these very words while a grad student at the University of Oregon). The tenure review process places much heavier emphasis on the quantity and quality of research over that of teaching evaluations. The scheduling of courses that Wixman describes is another indication of this priority. Research - and gathering big name researchers who bring in grant money and prestige - is the self-evident name of the game at research institutions.

To be absolutely clear: there is no problem with research institutions prioritizing research or providing the support that faculty members need to produce that research - indeed, it is one of the signature strengths of these types of institutions. The problem arises in balancing this priority with other aspects of the university's mission - providing a high quality undergraduate education and training the next generation of scholars.

Stop.  Go to your phone and contact your Senator right this minute.  Why?

Because right now, the Senate is in a serious debate, the outcome of which could jeopardize the fate of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.  Republican Senators and key Democratic Senators are opposing the inclusion of SAFRA in the reconciliation process.  But as Rep. George Miller stated today, the choice is clear:

We can continue a student loan program that the Congressional Budget Office has documented will waste tens of billions of dollars over the next 10 years on a titanic boondoggle in excess subsidies to some of the nation's richest and most powerful banks.

Or we can do what President Obama suggested in his budget, and what the Congress voted last year to do in its budget resolution:  We can reform the student loan program by taking these wasteful subsidies to banks, and redeem the savings for millions of families and students who want a shot at attending college.

It is that simple.

So call your senators if you believe that Congress should pass a budget reconciliation bill that includes increased student aid, an improved student loan system, money to states and colleges to improve student success, and money directly to community colleges.  Call your Senators if you think we should stop subsidizing banks and lenders and start providing money to students and their families so they can attend college and graduate without staggering debt levels.  Call your Senators if you believe that academic staffing needs should be addressed through this bill.

As Rich Williams, Higher Education Associate for U.S. PIRG states:

"If student aid reform is cut from the final reconciliation package, then large banks and lenders will prevail over struggling students and their families."

Act now.

Here is a headline we have been hoping to see for along-time:  "Faculty on two UW campuses take step to form unions"--so reports the LaCrosse Tribune and several other outlets picking up the AP story.  The first campuses to file authorization cards for a union election are UW-Eau Claire and UW-Superior.  According to the AP story:

Organizers on both campuses said they collected cards from 70 percent or more of faculty members saying they wanted to form unions affiliated with AFT-Wisconsin. They have asked the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission to verify that the response meets the 30 percent threshold required and to set a date for elections, which could occur as early as May.

AFT-Wisconsin worked tirelessly to get legislation passed that would grant UW faculty and staff the right to collectively bargain just like all other public employees in Wisconsin. They succeeded last year and immediately began organizing. Approximately 20,000 academic workers could ultimately gain representation.The law stipulates that full-time faculty be included in one unit and contingent faculty and professional staff be in another. Full-time faculty will vote in these first elections.

"For the first time ever, this will give us a seat at the table just like the other state employees," said Gloria Toivola, a UW-Superior political science professor.

UW System spokesman David Giroux told the Associated Press that  the administration would maintain its stance of neutrality and neither support nor oppose union representation for faculty.

"We're going to do our best to stay out of the way altogether," he said.

Barbara McKenna contributed to this article.