Cal U faculty no longer faces layoffs
Faculty at California University of Pennsylvania will not face layoffs in the next academic year, school officials told the faculty union Friday.
The university reported that it withdrew a notice it issued to the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculty (APSCUF) in March that warned the union of potential layoffs for faculty members.
University officials said the decision was based on several pieces of new information, including the results of a comprehensive review of the school’s academic programs.
“Management has acknowledged that the hard work of our faculty has helped to contribute to making Cal U academically strong and now more sustainable,” said Barb Hess, president of the Cal U chapter of APSCUF.
While some programs with low enrollment may be discontinued at the school, tenured or tenure-track professors are safe for the foreseeable future. Faculty members in those areas would teach other courses, according to a news release issued Friday by the university.
“The decision to take retrenchment off the table now is in the best interest of our university,” said Cal U President Geraldine M. Jones in a prepared statement.
California was one of five universities in the State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) this year to notify the union of possible reductions, following the union contract that requires a full academic year’s notice of elimination of faculty positions.
At the time, school officials had stated that a number of financial factors were uncertain, so the notification was made in case it had to be used.
The school has since assessed instructional costs, enrollment trends and completion rates for its academic programs, as well as how the programs align to the university’s science and technology mission.
“In March, issuing the letter was the only prudent course of action. We needed to keep all of our options open while so many critical factors remained unknown,” said Jones.
“Now that we have completed our academic program analysis, we can remove that uncertainty and allow our faculty to focus wholeheartedly on what they do best — providing an exceptional educational experience for our students.”
Cal U officials say the university now has a clearer picture of its financial situation after learning of state funding allocations and tuition rates for the 2017-18 academic year.
Officials are also “cautiously optimistic” for improved enrollment numbers for the coming academic year as the outlook is “brighter than anticipated.”