Teaching Fellows Hired At Professors' Insistence

After a misunderstanding with Summer School adminstrators, several science professors this week said they had successfullly argued their case to reinstate teaching fellows to their non-laboratory science courses.

The controversy began this winter when Director of the Summer School Peter Buck said he had decided to reduce the number of teaching fellows in all courses except laboratory and computer sciences, and foreign languages. "Outside of these, we would do a case-by-case review," Buck said yesterday of his earlier decision.

When Summer School professors arrived to teach, several said that although a letter about the changes was sent by Buck, they didn't talk to him about the matter and were surprised to find that teaching assistants had not been assigned to their courses. The professors said they wrote letters and called the Summer School office until TFs were finally found.

"It took the professors rather longer than was necessary to realize that we were serious," Buck said.

But professors complain that Summer School administrators made an abrupt policy change by requiring them to ask for TFs in courses that have customarily had them.

Robert G. VanBuskirk, who is teaching a course in cell biology, said that because the Summer School program is designed to replicate courses taught during the school year, teaching fellows are especially necessary.

"It's ridiculous to say [VanBuskirk] doesn't need a teaching fellow," said one teaching assistant who asked to remain anonymous. "It's ridiculous. It isn't Summer School's place to decide that."

Other professors also said they needed help toteach their courses.

"It's my philosophy of teaching genetics thatyou have some sort of extra schedule time whereproblem solving is discussed," said William D.Fixsen, who teaches an introductory geneticscourse. "To teach the course well, I need someoneto be able to take on that responsibility."

Professors and teaching fellows speculated thatthe policy change had to do with money. Teachingfellows said they receive $2350 for helping outwith a Summer School course, but that graders--whohelp only to grade students' final exams--receive$15 per student. Most of the professors contactedsaid their courses had enrollments of under 100students, and they added that employing gradersthus costs considerably less money than hiringTFs.

But Buck insisted TFs were unnecessary for manycourses and that the policy change was not aresult of budget constraints.

"If you look at the way support teaching staffhas grown, you wonder if any good has come out ofthis," Buck said