Tbers, First, I want to thank the members of the Teaching Breakfast list for their many thoughtful replies to postings. These are more influential than you might think at fostering an environment for improving teaching and learning on campus. Below is a question and reply recently posted to a listserv (my apologies for having lost the authors info on these postings) that asks us as faculty to become more active in making decisions concerning standards in curriculum, grading, admissions, and professional issues. I believe there are important issues here worth discussing. Please read this over and bring your thoughts to the next meeting of the TB on April 6 at 8 am in Morris Hall. ******* "In terms of defining core, shared values: What would you say might be some of the most important, basic issues that faculty ought to make decisions about (e.g., where they ought to decide: Do I stand for X, or do I instead stand for Y, or where they ought to decide: Do I think that X is more or instead less important than Y)? I really would like to get a better sense of what are basic points of contention concerning roles of higher education." To this posting came this response: As one example, I think that we need to address the matter of standards, particularly with respect to issues like curriculum, admissions, grading, & professional issues. As long as we are all over the map on these issues, we will be accused of not knowing what we are doing which of course, opens the door to those who want to impose their own standards (the Kansas Board of Education, for example). We (educators) should stand up against curricular intrusions (e.g., in this case even if we have strong religious beliefs). The issue is not faith. The issue is appropriate placement of content within appropriate disciplines. A second example. While we (i.e., higher ed. institutions) can choose to have differing standards for admission, we must also do two other things: 1) have adequate resources for, and strong commitment to student academic support if we admit those who are under-prepared; and 2) stop worrying about comparing institutions to each other [i.e. Stanford's or Evergreen's or MIT's performance are stupid bases for comparison to a mid-sized state institution with limited resources and essentially open enrollment]. Third, we should stand up against excesses in grading such as found in the "flunk 40%" killer intro courses or at the other extreme, unjustified, 100% 'A' distributions. I think it is possible for all students to achieve 'A' status, but there should be evidence of performance to back up those grades. Concurrently, we should insist on careful multi-faceted assessment that can provide a better basis for measuring student performance than the traditional grading system, loosely applied to the results of a 50-item multiple choice final exam. Finally, we should be more professional about the professoriate, demanding that if a person is hired to teach, that that person be trained in pedagogy as well as content. We should also be more precise about the skills faculty need to be effective & successful in the variety of roles they are expected to play, and we should insure that we provide the support necessary to promote that success. Along with this, the professoriate should be more unified in its definition and understanding of its professional (I prefer "meta-professional" status as discussed at: http://www.cedanet.com/meta). True professions have certain characteristics such as being: .Self-defined: the members of the profession determine its boundaries and scope .Self-directed: the members of the profession influence its mission and direction .Self-regulated: the members of the profession establish and maintain its rules .Self-evaluated: the members of the profession review its, and their performance .Self-corrective: the members of the profession take corrective actions when necessary .Self-governing: the members of the profession exercise willing control over their professional behaviors .Self-maintained: the members of the profession provide for its support .Self-protective: the members of the profession stand up and argue for its principles and practices While no profession is totally autonomous or free from appropriate oversight, the overarching characteristic of true professions is their members' willingness to take part in a unified effort to establish and maintain the quality and distinctiveness of their shared roles and responsibilities. Taking a stand in favor of this professionalism can only have positive effects. Mr. James B. Greenberg Director Teaching, Learning and Technology Center Milne Library SUNY College at Oneonta Oneonta, New York 13820 email: [log in to unmask] phone: 607-436-2701 fax: 607-436-3081 IM: oneontatltc "Ignorance is curable, stupidity lasts forever"