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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 30, 2018 11:47 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator John H. Eichelberger, Jr. |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Restoring Management Flexibility to the State System of Higher Education |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that would restore to the Pennsylvania State system of Higher Education (PASSHE) the flexibility it needs to compete in today’s competitive education marketplace. As we contemplate changes in the governance structure of PASSHE, I believe it is even more important to look at the subject matters which will be under the control of that governance structure. As indicated in both PASSHE’s self-study by NCHEMS and the Rand Corporation study on behalf of Legislative Budget and Finance, the system has over time ceded away powers critical to maintaining its viability. NCHEMS commented that current governances is “driven by the provisions of collective bargaining agreements than by the exercise of leadership,” and noted the need to ensure that future collective bargaining agreements “are designed to promote nimbleness” to address the challenges faced. Under the current agreement, university administrators do not have the final authority to hire personnel, to transfer personnel, to shift courses among campuses, to utilize distance education, or to downsize departments, among other things. The Rand study presented interviewees’ responses with regard to these restrictions as follows: “faculty contract language limits their level of managerial autonomy and prerogative to move faculty around and reassign them to different programs, courses, and departments in response to restructuring and consolidation.” My legislation will restore the necessary flexibility to the State system by preventing future collective bargaining agreements from containing provisions which result in a delegation of necessary management authority away from the current or any future PASSHE governance structure. The ability to create new offerings, re-design campuses and institutions, and to adapt to the ever-changing modern workplace is critical to the future success of our state-owned institutions. Please join me in sponsoring this important proposal. |
Introduced as SB1247