Queensborough Community College Faculty defy threats and act to require college to offer required courses

Queens, New York – October 9, 2012 – Under pressure, threats and intimidation of the college faculty by the CUNY Chancellery, the Academic Senate of Queensborough Community College in Bayside this afternoon voted overwhelmingly to support the college’s ongoing commitment to students and the principles of Shared Governance and Academic Freedom.

Defying administrative threats to halt instruction in English Composition courses because English Department faculty would not approve courses that reduce instructional time in the classroom, faculty leaders adopted a policy that would prohibit ending the offering of required courses and possible resulting loss of accreditation.

Given the choice between losing their jobs or keeping the full 4 hours on instruction for students who enter the college with English as their second language and with significant lack of preparation for college level work, English faculty chose to act on behalf of their students and their colleagues have supported them.

The principle and practice of respect for Academic Freedom had been severely compromised as faculty were told how they must decide an academic matter or suffer reprisals.  Although apologies had been offered, the basic position of the University and College administrations remained: faculty, in effect, have no choice but to accept as their own the decisions and judgments being made by administrators with no direct involvement with the students of the College.