For most academic institutions, it is the summer break.  Many students are away from campus pursuing that internship or summer employment that will boost their resume, or simply  taking some time for a little rest and relaxation.

One of the interesting employment dilemmas for colleges and universities involves summer teaching.  They want to serve the interests of students by offering a diverse array of classes so that a student can get ahead if he or she wishes to graduate early, or so a student who may have withdrawn from, or failed a class can make those credits up.

However, many faculty are on 9-months contract that covers only fall and spring semesters.  Summer teaching provides an additional stipend or an opportunity to offer a class that might not typically fit into the semester rotation.  Yet, there are opportunity costs - teaching in the summer takes time away from leisure, time away from family, or, for many, time needed to work on research and scholarship that could not fit into a busy semester schedule of teaching, service to the college or university through committee governance, and advising.

The challenge for many academic institutions is to find the price point that will be attractive to students to take away their own opportunity costs of leisure and/or summer employment, yet offering a stipend significant enough to entice a faculty member to incur those opportunity costs, while providing an additional source of revenue to meet budgetary demands.  

For some colleges, the stipend offered might be a percentage of salary, say 6-8%.  For others, it might be based on some combination of academic rank and student enrollment (i.e., a full stipend if some threshold is reached, say 8 students, but only 75% of that amount if only 6 students are enrolled).  

With the latter, the situation is complicated by when the college sets that enrollment date.  Does the college set it two weeks prior to the start of the summer session, and risk the enrollment numbers dropping by the time the class begins, resulting in less revenue for the institution?  

Or, does the college base the enrollment on those remaining in the class after the drop/add deadline, and shift the risk to the faculty member?  That faculty member might have reached the full threshold by the first day of class, only to find his or her stipend reduced, through no fault of his or her own, when some students drop the class.

Just another HR challenge faced by your colleges and universities every year.

Like most managers, I engage in a semester-long battle with absenteeism.  I have the enviable position of teaching two sections of business statistics.  Combine that with a time slot of 8:00 A.M. and/or 9:00 A.M., and you can envision the long waiting list of students at registration.

Students are over 18 and they're paying for the class, so why should I care whether or not they attend?

1) After 18 years of teaching, and thousands of data points collected, a clear picture emerges - attendance and doing one's homework matters.   After every exam, I can see a clear correlation between amount of points earned on a chapter problem set and the subsequent exam score.  At the end of the semester, I can see a clear correlation between points earned and a student's final grade.  Similarly, attendance is a predictor of success in the class.  

Over the past several semesters for a class that meets 4 times a week, 50 minutes a day, for 15 weeks:

Shocking, I know.
 
2) Students often think professors revel in student's poor performance; that we want to force rank students into something resembling a normal curve.  Here's the secret....we really don't.  I'd much rather see success on exams than failure.  As most managers know, giving quality feedback takes time.  It is much, much easier to grade an exam where a student gets an answer correct, than when he or she has made a number of mistakes.  A student's absence, more likely than not, means less success on an exam, and subsequently more work for me.

So, my attendance policy is a continual work in progress:



I think that it provides significant flexibility (though students might think differently). Stuff happens during a semester - illness, job interviews, travel, car breaks down, a competing college-related event.  Four absences (essentially a week of classes) should be sufficient to meet most circumstances that a student might face over the course of a semester.  Similarly, the exponential penalties are significant enough to discourage more absences than that.

Yet, there are always new excuses and challenges that cause me to revise it yet again....but you'll have to wait until Monday to read about it.

So, have at it, people.  What flaws do you see?

In case any of you are interested, I'll be on Talent Net Radio tomorrow at 7PM Eastern/6PM Central to discuss the nexus of human resources and the classroom. 

Here is the link to the show

Here are the questions we'll be discussing; you can join the conversation with me and the #TalentNet team of Craig Fisher (@fishdogs), Crystal Miller (@theonecrystal) and Matt Charney  (@MattCharney) by using the #TalentNet hashtag or calling in live.
Q1. Do you think that there's a skills gap within HR and recruiting?  Why?
Q2. What is the ideal educational background for an HR leader - or is there one at all?
Q3. Are graduates ready to step straight from the classroom to the HR frontline?  Should they?
Q4. Which matters more in HR and recruiting: education or experience?
Q5. Where do organizations like SHRM fit into the development equation?
Q6. What's your advice to someone beginning their HR career?

Hope you'll join us.

So, I was a bit snarky in yesterday's post about the Careercast.com study that found being a university professor the least stressful job in 2012.

Why snarky?  If you ask many of my fellow academicians, particularly those untenured assistant professors at Division I Research Universities, they'd scoff at the results.

Think I'm kidding?

Susan Adams highlighted the results of the study in Forbes.  While the article is a pretty basic summary, the real reason to check it out is the outrage in the comments section from those very individuals.

Philip Nel, a Professor of English at Kansas State University, attempted to break down how much work he does in a typical week during the school year, as well as what a professor does during the summer (when he or she is unpaid). 

It's enlightening and (anecdotally) accurate.

The good people at Careercast.com have come out with their list of the top 10 least stressful jobs in the United States.

Topping the list?

University professors.

The field's high growth opportunities, low health risks and substantial pay provide a low-stress environment that's the envy of many career professionals.

Americans are going to college in record numbers. In fact, 63.3% of citizens ages 18 to 30 have or are on track to earn degrees, according to PayScale.com. And the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows job seekers with college educations are still twice as likely to land a position as those without. These facts combine to create rising job opportunities in the college ranks, which help make teaching jobs less stressful than ever before.

Other reasons for its ranking?  Being at the pinnacle of one's field, students choose to be there, performance isn't based on standardized tests, and the opportunity to earn tenure.

So, everyone else....enjoy your stressful jobs...I'm going to relax here at my desk.

Two weeks of the NFL season are in the books.  Are you enjoying the slow-paced action as replacement refs try to figure out what is going on?   Difficulty spotting the ball, clock operation mishaps, and some basic misunderstanding of the rule book have made a typical fall Sunday afternoon somewhat less enjoyable....particularly if your team is on the losing end of a bad call.  I believe there is almost universal accord that the current replacement refs are not working.

But, a larger lesson to be drawn is that, perhaps, not all human resources are easily replaceable.  That a race to the bottom in terms of labor might not be the wise path to take.  Certainly the "scab" refs are cheaper than the refs that are striking, but they are also pretty bad.

So, I wonder how many of those who are disgusted with the incompetence being displayed by the replacements are still looking at Chicago and the teachers strike thinking, fire them and bring in someone new?  There are so many unemployed, and, hey, anyone can teach 3rd grade.

Be careful what you wish for.

After 16 months of strife, and seemingly endless recall elections, the final vote was cast in Wisconsin.  Governor Scott Walker retained his position and can serve out the remainder of his term.  Meanwhile, a total of three Republican State Senators were recalled, changing power in the Senate from a 19-14 edge for the GOP to a 17-16 advantage for the Democratic party.

But, some questions linger....
1.  Who will be teaching Wisconsin children 5-10 years from now?

• The hubbub started with Gov. Walker asking public employees (primarily teachers; firefighters and police were exempted) to increase their contributions to health care and pensions without an increase in pay.  The unions negotiated a tradeoff of a wage freeze for better pensions and health care.
• Not only is pay stagnant, there is some concern that given how pay is defined in the Act that eliminated collective bargaining rights, teachers may face as much as a 30% pay cut to accompany those increased benefit contributions.
• Many of the most experienced teachers retired before Walker's rules went into effect for the 2011-2012 academic year. Class sizes have increased in many districts.  Many adjunct/substitute teachers had to be hired.  Quality is impacted.
• Morale has already been negatively impacted; do you think many teachers were emboldened by Tuesday's election results?  Will the stress be significant enough for many to simply throw in the towel and look elsewhere?
• If I'm 18 years or younger, I've just spent 16 months watching my teachers being vilified; referred to as "thugs" and "parasites."  Am I going to be rushing into college and declaring my major as elementary or secondary education?  
• If I am completing my education degree, will a Wisconsin school be my first or even second job choice?

2.  If I am a parent and on the job market, is Wisconsin now going to be a destination where I might considered working, given the turmoil that has gone on?  As 800 million was cut from the education budget, am I going to get the same quality education for my children that existed 2 years ago? 

3. If I am a business looking to relocate, or currently operating in Wisconsin, will there be long-term concerns about the educational preparedness of the workforce 10 years down the road?  Will whatever tax incentives provided to locate here be enough to counteract the likely increased training costs that will be borne by the organization?

Yesterday, the great Tim Sackett had a wonderful post on HR's role is primarily a sales position.  So, put on your sales hat and tell me how you would recruit in the following scenario:

You're the HR director for a school district in Wisconsin.  $834 million in cuts to education have been enacted by the state government.  Despite massive cuts to valued programs such as Advanced Placement, music, and art, as well as a significant number of teacher jobs eliminated, you somehow have to fill a teaching position under the following constraints:

• Wages are frozen, or tied to an increase in the Consumer Price Index
• Health benefits  (including dental) that were negotiated by taking a lower salary now require the hire to pay 12.6% of wages
• Pension benefits that were negotiated by taking a lower salary now require the hire to contribute an additional 5.8%
• Wellness incentive premiums are suspended
• Collective bargaining rights have been stripped away
• Rights regarding teaching hours are suspended
• Rights regarding non-teaching duties are suspended
• Grievance procedure rights are suspended
• Class sizes will be increased
• Older, more experienced educators that you might have counted on to serve as mentors and models for younger teachers to emulate, have either been laid off or have taken early retirement.  Emeritus programs have been reduced or eliminated
• Rights regarding assignment, transfer, and reassignment have been suspended. 
• The people you are trying to hire have been demonized by the state government and the press, as lazy and parasitic. 
• Seniority rules that might have encouraged hires to put in their time have been eliminated, meaning it is likely that you are likely going to have go through the search process again in the not too distant future
• Its frickin' cold in Wisconsin from mid-September until May.

So, how do you convince the best and brightest educators to not only come to your district, but stay?   How do you lure a competent teacher with two kids, ages 7 and 8, to come to a state where the schools in which they will enroll have undergone significant turmoil?  What's your value proposition?

I am the son of teachers. My dad was a professor of psychology for 35+ years at Michigan State University. My mom was a Grammy-award winning choir director who taught at all levels of education. Growing up, I never was deprived of much. As public sector employees, they earned a reasonable salary and received reasonable benefits. They were home when I went to school, and they were home when I returned. Plus, they had summers off (though dad often taught summer courses).

So, I am quite intrigued and dismayed by the recent action of the Wisconsin governor toward public sector employees, and, in particular, school teachers.

Some may think that public sector teachers are getting rich off taxpayers. But, let's look at what compensation public sector school teachers do and do not receive.

Unlike most private sector employees, there is no promotional ladder to climb that promises higher compensation and benefits. A human resources professional can go from a specialist to a generalist to a VP of HR. An AP History teacher in 1995 will still be an AP History teacher in 2005, 2015, and 2025 (if they are still teaching). There is no corner office one can strive to achieve. He or she cannot aspire to the Senior Executive VP of AP History.  At best, there will be negotiated salary increases from year to year.

Unlike some private sector employees, school teachers receive no double digit percentage raises for excellent performance. Kids score higher on the statewide test or on the ACT, the teacher is not going to be showered with incentives.

Unlike some private sector employees, school teachers receive no profit sharing when the school district does well.

Unlike some private sector employees, school teachers do not receive stock options that could blossom down the road. There is no IPO money available for the local high school.

Unlike some private sector employees, school teachers are not offered a 4-5 digit signing bonus to teach 4th grade science.

Unlike some private sector employees, school teachers do not receive significant perquisites at their workplace. My grandma's neighbor use to work at Stouffer's and her refrigerator was stocked with the latest food stuffs. Another friend worked for Chrysler and would get significant discounts on the latest automobile. School teachers don't get a discount on pens or erasers. There are no free Post-It Notes. Postal workers do not get stamps at a 40% discount.

Certainly, those who choose the teaching profession because they are passionate about what they do. They are not expecting an extravagant compensation package. However, a social contract developed over several decades that basically said please take care of our children, and we will provide you with quality health care and a strong defined benefit plan (which was a common benefit offering in the private sector as little as 30 years ago).

That social contract is in danger of being broken.

What is a school teacher really worth? Who will choose to teach your children as those rights earned over decades of negotiation are challenged and eroded?

It's hard to believe that next week, I will start my 16th year of teaching. There's been trials and tribulations and ups and downs. I come from an academic family, so, even as a youngster, I thought I would know what to expect when I entered the classroom. Yet, I've had a few unexpected turns in my tenure:

• Having a student have her water break and go into labor during a class session. I don't recall the session for that in grad school.
• Being hit on by a student at a bar and getting a booty call at 2 a.m. in the morning.
• Living in Mississippi, let alone for five years.
• Starting over again and again

HR is a dynamic field, so it is to be expected that I would have to change textbooks regularly to keep up with changes in the law. However, I never anticipated how fluid the relationships I build with students would be. In most cases, I don't see students until their sophomore year, when they sign up for my statistics class. A fraction of those I can convince to become involved in human resources and join our SHRM student chapter. I may even get a fraction of those to join the chapter leadership and attend professional chapter meetings and HR conferences. Then, in what seems like an instant, they are gone and starting their professional careers (I am starting with an all new SHRM e-board). And, the cycle begins anew.

An influx of new students are preparing for their first year. Its too early to start saying goodbye again.