Online learning arrangements stalling professors’ union contract - Melissa Daniels, Pennsylvania Independent

Online courses are playing a role in PASSHE’s contract negotiation with the professors’ union. Right now, professors are compensated at $800 per credit when developing a new online course. Professors in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education are at a standstill in contract negotiations with the administration, and among their differences is whether to continue a $3.6 million to $5 million annual cost for online instruction. A contract with PASSHE and the state system’s professors union, the Association of Pennsylvania State Colleges and University Faculties, expired 15 months ago. Divisive issues holding up negotiations include health care, workload and pay for temporary faculty, according to union representatives. Just as divisive, the state is proposing getting rid of a system that has traditionally compensated faculty for developing and teaching online courses. http://paindependent.com/2012/10/online-education-stalling-professors-union-contract/