Failure to comply with the new policy \u201cmay subject an individual to discipline, up to and including termination.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
A number of faculty members at Texas A&M University\u2013Victoria have quit after the university announced in late June that full-time faculty are required to be on campus for eight hours a day, five days per week this fall. As a result, multiple classes have been canceled and some departments are nearly empty, said Teresa Klein, president of the Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just chaos there,\u201d said Klein, who teaches psychology at Del Mar College. \u201cWe\u2019re hearing tears. There\u2019s one woman who just had a baby who quit because she said, \u2018I just can\u2019t do this. I can\u2019t be away from my child.\u2019 We have people who are taking care of elderly relatives, and there\u2019s just no way they can do that and be on the road for four hours a day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearly three-quarters<\/a>\u201472\u00a0percent\u2014of Texas A&M\u2013Victoria faculty have addresses in the Houston area, which is about a two-hour drive from the Victoria campus. Others live as far away as San Antonio, Klein wrote in a blog post<\/a>. <\/p>\n According to a June 26 email from the provost, which Klein read to Inside Higher Ed, \u201cfaculty are expected to have day-to-day physical presence on campus for in-person interaction with students, administration, other employees and the community,\u201d and \u201cto be on campus 5 days a week and maintain a 40-hour workweek.\u201d Failure to comply \u201cmay subject an individual to discipline, up to and including termination.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas A&M\u2013Victoria officials did not answer Inside Higher Ed\u2019s questions about the policy, but said in an emailed statement Monday that \u201cflexibility is not an exemption from accountability.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cTexas A&M University-Victoria is beginning a new chapter, but the standard is already clear. The Texas A&M University System holds its faculty and employees to high expectations, and A&M-Victoria will rise to meet them,\u201d the statement read. \u201cThe university has communicated with faculty for more than a year about teaching loads and the importance of maintaining a meaningful campus presence. These expectations are consistent with Senate Bill 2615, other applicable state law and A&M System policy. This is ultimately about students. A&M-Victoria is welcoming a freshman class 23\u00a0percent larger than last year\u2019s. Those students should find an active, vibrant campus and educators who are dedicated to their profession, engaged with their colleagues and invested in student success.\u201d<\/p>\n