2012 Florida Legislative Session Possible Attacks to Higher Education

2011 Legislative Session Paycheck Protection - Union “gag” bill Automatic Decertification Higher Education Reform (Tenure) Changes to retirement system

Paycheck Protection Union “gag” bill 2011 Florida House – Prohibited payroll deduction for unions… – And ONLY for unions Stopped from being heard in the Senate – Through the efforts of UFMDC, UFF, and other unions

Union Decertification Bill 2011 If a public-employees’ union had less than 50% membership, the union would be decertified Collective Bargain Agreement would no longer be in effect This motivated locals with low union membership to increase membership significantly

Higher Education Reform (Tenure) 2011 Florida House Committee Bill – Appeared halfway through session – Eliminated continuing contract for college faculty – Eliminated tenure for university faculty – Strong opposition from UFMDC and UFF – Community College Presidents on record NOT in favor – Bill was withdrawn within a week

Changes to Retirement System 2011 Florida House – 5% employee contribution – Elimination of DROP – Changes for new employees Florida Senate – % contribution based on salary – Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) eliminated – Changes for new Employees

Final Changes to Retirement System % employee contribution Defined benefit plan saved COLA accruals stopped for next 5 years DROP saved, but interest reduced from 6.5% to 1.3% For new employees – Eight-year average salary for calculations – instead of 5 years (lowers benefits) – Retirement age increased

Legislative Session Union “gag” bill? Union decertification bill? Changes to retirement system? Higher Education Reform (Texas Plan)? Funding? $1.5B shortfall expected

Changes to Retirement System 2012 Will employee contribution increase to 5%? Will the Defined benefit plan be eliminated? Will DROP be on the table again?

Texas Plan 7 Solutions 1.Measure teaching efficiency and effectiveness. 2.Publicly recognize and reward extraordinary teachers. 3.Split research and teaching budgets to encourage excellence in both. 4. Require evidence of teaching skill for tenure.

Texas Plan 7 Solutions 5.Use “results-based” contracts with students to measure quality. 6.Put state funding directly in the hands of students. 7.Create results-based accrediting alternatives.

2. Publicly recognize and reward extraordinary teachers. Up to 25% faculty receives bonus based on: – quality of teaching – # of students taught “Easy to implement” – Teachers of classes ranked in top 25% receive awards (up to $10,000 per course per semester)

2. Publicly recognize and reward extraordinary teachers. Factors that affect student ratings InstructorCourseStudent Gender *Academic Field *Gender EthnicityRequired/ElectiveEthnicity Years of Teaching Experience Level – Freshman to Senior Age Expressiveness *Difficulty *Achievement/Expect ed Grade * EnthusiasmClass Size *Prior Interest in Subject Communication Ability Time of dayAttitudes *These factors have been shown to bias ratings.

And what does student satisfaction have to do with LEARNING? 2010 Study at the US Air Force Academy – First semester freshmen – Required Calculus I course – Instructors randomly assigned – Identical syllabus – Identical exams Ratings were compared to performance in follow-on classes

And what does student satisfaction have to do with LEARNING? Less experienced, less qualified professors had students who performed better in the Calculus I course AND rated professors more favorably More experienced, highly qualified professors produced students who performed better in follow-on courses, EVEN after receiving lower grades in Calculus I

And what does student satisfaction have to do with LEARNING? “…our results show that student evaluations reward professors who increase achievement in the contemporaneous course being taught, not those who increase deep learning.” Carrell, S. E. & West, J.E. (2010). Does Professor Quality Matter? Evidence from Random Assignment of Students to Professors. Journal of Political Economy, 118(5) (pp )

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“building a world class education system” “continued improvement for K-12 and higher education institutions”

Governor Rick