p-fac – The Columbia Chronicle

Editor’s Note: Relationship between college, adjunct faculty must improve

October 15, 2018

A string of recent updates regarding the college’s relationship and collective bargaining with part-time faculty demonstrate a flawed rapport between the two parties, an issue that must be amended for th...

Columbia alumna gives voice, laughs to women of Chicago

December 11, 2017

Kelsie Huff, a standup comedian and 2003 theatre alumna, has created a voice for Chicago women in comedy by providing opportunities for women in a typically male-dominated industry. Originally from Richmond, Illinois, Huff came to Columbia to study radio but soon discov...

Do students know what they’re picketing for?

December 4, 2017

Though I support the right to lawfully and peacefully protest what groups believe are injustices, as a student, I cannot place my full support behind the Nov. 29–30 part-time faculty union walk-out and strike. During my time at Columbia, I have had many classes taught by adjunct ...

New report sheds light on CPS students’ education

By Blaise Mesa

November 27, 2017

Chicago Public Schools students are learning at a faster rate than 96 percent of their counterparts, but problems persist in meeting national educational standards, according to local experts. A Center f...

Part-time Faculty Union t-shirts will be distributed during the union's Nov. 29–30 strikes.

P-Fac plans strike, final votes to be cast

November 21, 2017

Columbia’s part-time faculty union will vote for a two-day strike in response to union claims of bad faith bargaining from the college and economic pressures. P-Fac members will vote to strike during three different membership meetings this week in different locations throughou...

Students need to join together for on-campus change

By Editorial Board

November 20, 2017

Members of the Columbia community have formed a coalition to voice frustration with the administration’s actions and bring about change at the college.The college’s part-time faculty union and some students have created a group named OurColumbia to protest rising tuition, cuts to student resources and continual departmental changes, as reported Nov. 6 by The Chronicle. At the coalition’s Nov. 10 meeting, members plotted...

P-Fac fears losing jobs over new qualification

November 13, 2017

About 20 adjunct professors were not assigned classes for the Spring 2018 Semester because they failed to provide information proving them qualified to teach under Higher Learning Commission guidelines, which the part-time faculty union claims violates its contract. HLC guide...

President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim discussed a 2 percent tuition increase during the SGA meeting Oct. 31.

‘Let’s slow it down this year’: Tuition raises, but not as much as it could have

November 6, 2017

Students can expect larger bills after a 2 percent undergraduate tuition increase and an average 2.8 percent increase in on-campus housing costs were announced Oct. 31 during an annual presentation by President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim and other administrative leaders at a Student Governm...

Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Robin Kelly introduce legislation to provide employment to at-risk youth

April 21, 2017

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), unveiled two pieces of legislation aimed at addressing youth unemployment in high-poverty areas April 18 at the Chicago Urban League, 4510 S. Mi...

Tipping the scale: Adjuncts accuse administration of demanding ‘unethical’ grade changes

April 10, 2017

After a student missed 10 of the 15 class sessions for a course, adjunct professor in the Creative Writing Department Marcia Brenner gave the student a failing grade. Soon after, she said college administrators asked her to change the grade to a pass. The college’s faculty manual ...

Tanya Harasm and Clint Vaupel, staff members represented by the United Staff of Columbia College support, fellow staffers’ rights to teach classes.

College, P-Fac case could near decision point

February 27, 2017

The Part-time faculty union’s continuing conflict over whether or not full-time staff can teach has moved into a more intense legal struggle. While the union has taken the conflict to federal court in January to enforce an arbitration and avoid a National Labor Relations Board deci...

P-Fac seeks injunction to enforce arbitration award

February 20, 2017

A Feb. 6 federal court motion filed by Columbia’s part-time faculty union asks for a preliminary injunction requiring the college to comply with compensation awarded in a Jan. 11 arbitration ruling. The arbitration, which decided the union’s collective bargaining agreement preve...