I don't think that course ownership is necessarily a bad idea. In a small
department people are hired for their areas of expertise (among other
things). Most of us who have spent many years teaching a course feel that we
have developed some more or less expert knowledge and that we have some
proprietary rights to the class. I have been teaching at my college for 22
years. This year I decided to stretch a little and teach a class (the second
semester of intro psych). We have a "new" (5 years) faculty member who has
been responsible for many sections of Psych 2. I asked her if she had any
objections to my teaching the class and also asked for some materials she
used. Those who think that a new faculty member may have little choice but
to agree have never met this particular faculty member (Bless her).
I think a little tact and diplomacy might be useful. You might try telling
the established teacher that you would like to expand a little and were
thinking of teaching course "x". If it were to be offered at a time that was
not competing with his -why do I think its a "he"? would he object and could
he give any advice. Perhaps an even more subtle course would be to go
through the dean, who in most community colleges has the right of assignment
and get him/her to intervene.
Don't give up, at the very least lobby to a generous early retirement bonus
and bide your time.
Harry Avis PhD
Sierra College
Rocklin, CA 95677
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Life is opinion - Marcus Aurelius
There is nothing that is good or bad, but that thinking makes it so -
Shakespeare
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Course "ownership"
>Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2001 12:30:45 EDT
>
>Hello Colleagues:
>
>I have been contemplating the situation at a particular school at which I
>teach, where certain courses are only taught by one designated individual.
>The situation is, I would like a shot at teaching one of these courses,
>live
>or online, and suspect that I will never get the opportunity because those
>courses are viewed more or less as the "territory" of certain full time
>faculty members.
>
>My impression, which of course is highly biased (why I want your input) is
>that it is not an accident that this is the school at which innovation
>happens at the slowest rate, and where courses are most frequently
>cancelled
>due to low enrollment/lack of interest. I suspect that this policy gives
>those faculty members little incentive to examine how they go about
>presenting the material and assessing the quality of their pedagogy.
>
>So, I was hoping others could share perhaps the positive aspects of these
>kind of course "ownership" and/or validate my perception of the negative.
>
>Thanks for your input.
>
>Nancy Melucci
>LACCD
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