A new university edict capping teaching loads at 15 hours has some professors and students fuming.

The rule was implemented by Provost Dr. Alisa White a month shy of the spring 2012 semester, sending some department chairs scrambling to implement the changes. Although the directive is campus wide, the departments of social work, criminal justice, radiological sciences and respiratory therapy have felt the greatest impact.

Students, especially those in the social work program, have cried foul and faculty members in criminal justice are seeking outside work to compensate for the lost income.

In an email dated Dec. 19, White asked Dr. Patti Hamilton, interim dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Services, to adjust teaching loads so that “no one is teaching more than five 3-credit courses.”

Hamilton, in turn, altered the chairs in a Dec. 20 email.

“If you have anyone (including yourself) who is on the spring schedule to teach more than the 15-hour equivalent please take the necessary action to correct the situation,” Hamilton wrote. “That action may be to hire more adjuncts or as a last resort to cancel classes.”

Hamilton is on vacation this week and could not be reached for comment.

White hedged on calling the 15-hour cap a “policy” because it isn’t listed in the MSU Policies and Procedures Manual. Regardless, it is a new rule she’s asking faculty to follow.

“As a manager, I have asked a dean not to schedule more than 15 hours.”

She said the new rule was instituted to promote efficiency within departments and stay in step with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation requirements.

Meanwhile, one class has been cancelled and another one was delayed for weeks. Some students bought textbooks for the cancelled class that they can’t return.

Barry Shaw said he enrolled in Social Welfare Policy with the understanding that it would be taught in person by a full-time faculty member.

“At the last moment, they changed it to an online course,” the junior said.

Shaw said he was informed that the professor for the course lived in Alabama, eliminating any face-to-face meetings. Two weeks into the class, Shaw still hadn’t seen the syllabus.

“Through the ninth day of class I checked and still nothing was posted,” he said. “On the eleventh and twelfth day, we were not able to get into the syllabus. On day 13 I was still being denied the syllabus.”

Shaw dropped the class. He then discovered that the book he had initially been told to buy wasn’t the right one for the course. The MSU Bookstore agreed to refund $96 to students who bought the wrong book.

“I had gotten mine through the bookstore, luckily,” he said.

Shaw said he had planned on taking 19 hours this semester. But another social work course was cancelled. That left him with only 13 hours.

“I am now out of six hours that I had planned to take this semester,” he said.

Jan Shain, a BAAS student, is still enrolled in the Social Welfare Policy class. Things haven’t gotten much better, she said.

“Only one assignment has been presented and the deadline has been extended,” she said. “It is so unorganized. It is such a mess.”

Both Shain and Shaw said they enrolled in the class because Dr. Gary Fashimpar was listed to teach it.

“I wanted Fashimpar because he’s a good teacher with a lot of experience,” she said.

Fashimpar has also been at odds with administration since the change went into effect. He said he was contracted to teach 21 hours this semester, but is now down to 12. Fashimpar believes his contract was breached.

taking classes away from him.

Nonetheless, he said he’s out two classes he was listed to teach.

Fashimpar said he told White he didn’t think the university could find anyone to teach his classes locally.

“My reaction was, ‘You’re going to find people to teach my classes. And in a week they’re going to teach my classes better than me?’ I’ve been teaching social work for 33 years. I just don’t think that’s realistic.”

He said allowing someone else to teach his classes was a misrepresentation to students.

“Some people register for my classes because they like what I offer,” he said.

Though adjuncts can be useful, he said, it’s more important that full-time faculty teach courses.

“Faculty here have a commitment to MSU and its students. We’re invested in this institution and these students. And it didn’t make sense to me that we can get the same quality of instruction from people at other institutions whose loyalty would be to those institutions.”

The course changes cost Fashimpar $7,500 in pay from his $68,000 salary.

Fashimpar considers it ironic that he was asked by the university to teach one overload course last summer.

“Now I’m being told, ‘This isn’t the right thing to do.’”

He said he feels like he’s caught in the middle of a struggle between the provost and other departments.

“There may be some political agenda in the background I’m not aware of,” he said.

Fashimpar said he requested a written legal opinion on the issue of his contract from MSU General Counsel Barry Macha. Macha, he said, refused.

“I was pretty shocked. I felt disrespected by it,” he said.

White declined to comment on whether the university has sought a legal opinion about the new measure.

White said she regrets the unfortunate timing of the new cap.

“It disadvantaged students. It disadvantaged faculty,” she said.

The decision blindsided Dr. Nathan Moran, chair of the criminal justice and health and public administration departments.

“There was no discussion at all,” he said. “There was no preparation work. There was nothing.”

Moran said his faculty members depend on teaching overloads.

“Faculty members teach overloads to make up for low salaries. They don’t just do it for grins and giggles. It’s extra work. You could be spending that time doing other things.”

He said the changes have had another effect, too.

“I know that there are a lot of faculty members now who are looking elsewhere to make up for the lost income.”

He said professors have gotten accustomed to the extra pay overloads bring.

“That’s an expected part of their pay. The university may say not, but I think federal labor laws say that there’s an expectation there.”

Moran said he also feels classes were misrepresented to students.

“Let’s say you’re going to take a math class. You know a certain math professor you like so you sign-up for that professor. Then the professor’s name is off and ‘STAFF’ is written across it. You may feel that disappointment. That happened.”

He said some professors pulled from classes had already taken the time to prepare notes and write syllabi.

“You’ve got a lot to do so far as grading, reading and keeping up with day-to-day activities. There’s a lot of work that goes in beforehand.”

While adjunct faculty members are useful for certain courses, Moran said students prefer courses taught by full-time professors.

“Your full-time faculty members are generally going to have more care and concern for that learner than an adjunct faculty member.”

Moran said he doubts that the new rule was implemented to stay in line with SACS requirements.

“I believe this is purely motivated by a budgetary decision by the university,” he said. “It’s a money-saving issue. If I’m the provost, and I’m putting that policy out there for everyone to see, and I’m going to shake the hornet’s nest, I’m going to let everyone know this isn’t me – blame SACS.”

Moran said he pays a full-time faculty member $2,000 to $2,500 for teaching an overload class. Adjuncts are paid $2,000.

“You can see how that’s a $500 cost saving for the university.”

The university also isn’t required to pay adjuncts “fringe benefits,” including health insurance and vacation time.

Whatever the reason for the change, Moran said it’s costing MSU its integrity.

“The quality of education at MSU is declining because of these decisions,” he said.

Dr. Donna Wright, chair of radiologic sciences, said the change also took her by surprise.

“When the decision came, it was abrupt,” she said.

Wright sympathized with White – overload hours do put extra stress on faculty, she said.

Kyle Egan contributed to this story.