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Generosity earns a severe scolding
3 July 2008
Academic faces censure for giving his time to run extracurricular revision class. John Gill reports
When an advanced economics course at Birkbeck, University of London, was shortened by two weeks, the academic who led it thought his usual end-of-module revision session would be more important than ever.
Every year for the past 18 years, Bernard H. Casey has run the extra session at the end of the course in quantitative economic methods.
He has never been paid for his time, and all he has asked of the university is the use of a room for an hour or two, which it has happily supplied.
This year things were different, and Dr Casey now faces disciplinary action for the potential "detrimental impact" caused by his holding the revision session.
As the end of the module approached, he put in his normal request at the faculty of lifelong learning to book a room.
In an e-mail exchange, Matthijs van den Bos, award co-ordinator, initially thanked Dr Casey for his "generosity" in offering to hold the seminar, but said he must stick to the 22 sessions allocated for the module.
Dr Casey told Times Higher Education: "I told them this is ridiculous: I've been teaching this course since 1989 and have always held this session. But the reply was 'no'.
"I talked to the students and said, look, this is a bit silly, but let's hold a session anyway. A colleague arranged a room, and we went along and did it."
Dr Casey informed Dr van den Bos in an e-mail that he had held the seminar despite his instructions, adding light-heartedly: "I submit myself for punishment."
The award co-ordinator responded by demanding to know how many students took part and what costs were involved. Dr Casey replied that he had incurred travel costs "and purchased a cup of tea" but would not make an expenses claim.
He refused to name the students attending an "extracurricular" session and added: "I realise that I have sinned grievously and, thus, request appropriate punishment."
Last week, a month after the session was held, Dr Casey received a letter from Martin Hodkinson, the faculty manager, ordering him to attend a disciplinary interview to "investigate your decision to conduct a revision class".
It says: "The purpose of this meeting is to establish if your decision to hold a revision class was in violation of instruction from line management. In addition the investigation will consider the potential detrimental impact on the students taking the course."
Dr Casey told Times Higher Education that he was astonished by the development, particularly the suggestion that the revision session may have had a "detrimental impact" on the students.
He pointed out that although the course had been cut from 24 to 22 weeks this year, the content remained the same, which made an extra session all the more useful.
"This is the kind of thing that even the new University of Poppleton would find bizarre.
"The problem with Birkbeck is that it's stacking itself up with extraordinary amounts of admin staff and reducing teaching staff, but that's a standard story these days," he said.
Birkbeck declined to comment while disciplinary procedures continued.
john.gill@tsleducation.com.
Readers' comments
This story shows how ridiculous University management can be. Dr. Casey was giving up his own time and a room was obviously available. They should be thanking him not disciplining him. Unfortunately, as Tutors we have to act more and more like automatons and not as individuals. Also if his students do not pass he could also be repremanded for that. It is a lose, lose situation.
Just another indication that the age of the bean-counter and box-ticker is upon us. (Looks over shoulder) Thank goodness it'd never happen at my own university!
I was planning to apply for the MSc programme at Birkbeck, but must wait for the outcome of this witch-hunt.
Is there any truth in the suggestion that Birkbeck is changing its motto from "In nocte consilium" to "In nocte vacuum"?
Yet again we have management telling teachers how to teach. I have a large teaching load, with many students, but I am also involved in a number of enterprise projects, all of which are pushing forward students' understanding of the commercial world etc. But I and my colleagues have been told by management that we cannot have secretarial help for the more mundane day to day tasks, and that these secretarial tasks form our "core" duties. I was actually told that "These innovations are all well and good, but they're the first thing to be dropped". Intellectual freedom? The place is being run like Zimbabwe. When are these self-appointed University Emperors going to realise that they're naked?
Pathetic really... but also indicative of how management in universities (and elsewhere) can interpret as attracting disciplinary action almost anything they want. <p>Birkbeck, University of London would have been much better off not to make an issue of this and let it go. They now reveal themselves as narrow-minded bureaucrats with vindictive tendencies, and in this respect they are the ultimate losers (as well as the students).
Managers telling academics what to do. We do their work and they interfere with their next clever idea, teaching system or whatever...Most academics normally bypass all this nonsense anyhow. What about someone discipling the manager for interfering with academic freedom?
I completed the course in question a few years ago and benefited immensely from it. This behaviour by the university is ridiculous, in particular since it boasts with its high student satisfaction ratings in adverts. It can do so because of first rate teachers like Dr. Casey. Really, Birkbeck, is this a bad joke?
I'm not sure of the full details behind this story, because only one side is presented. Presumably Birkbeck has the opportunity to reply but has yet to do so!? I must admit to having some personal involvement here, I actuallly studied this Quantitative Economics class way back in the mid-80s, when Bernard Casey himself was also a fellow student on the same class... I also then taught Economic Principles for Birkbeck over 10+ years in the same capacity as Bernard (a Sessional Lecturer in Birkbeck 'speak') and continue to teach Strategic Managment as a Sessional Lecturer on the Postgraduate Diploma in Management (again 10+ years), so have many experiences of the system (I should add that I am also now employed full-time by Birkbeck, but hopefully this won't be seen to 'bias' my response?). <p>My impression is that the Faculty of Life-Long Learning, which manages/runs the classes Bernard and myself teach, is under enormous pressures to restructure and change, partly as a result of the government's ELQ policy which will see Birkbeck lose up to 30% of its funding... however, this is no excuse for poor management/administration, and it does look very much like a lack of common sense has been used here with the result that a sledgehammer has been used to crack a peanut... <p>My own experience suggess that the reduction in class teaching from 24 to 22 hours was never properly explained to Sessional staff and we have all had to cope the best we can... but with respect to my request to arrange an additional revison class outside the 22 contracted hours, this couldn't have been more different than Bernard's experience... the Programme Manager concerned, Jean Devaney, had no problem with my request and arranged for my revision class to take place in a Birkbeck teaching lab. There were no questions of censure, or concern about the impact on students, other than this was a good idea. I should add though, that I wasn't paid for the revision class but freely gave my time as this was for the benefit of the students! <p>All of this would seem to highlight some inconsistencies across the functional areas of the Faculty of Life-Long Learning (which is just one part of Birkbeck) and that these need to be reviewed and updated accordingly. However, it could be that these will be overtaken by structural changes within Birkbeck itself. <p>However, the important issue here, and this is what prompted me to reply (and Bernard this was in no way meant to undermine your position, rather I hope support it!?) is that in my long involvement with Birkbeck, which began as a student myself in 1985, I really have found that most staff are committed to the Birkbeck ideal, which is to provide opportunity for working people. <p>So if any potential students have been reading this trail, please don't be put off by this incident, because Birkbeck really is committed to providing opportunities to further your learning and career development.
If this story is true as printed it is indeed a shocking example of the invasion of the academic ethos by a self-regarding managerial bureaucracy, and also possibly on the continuing failure of the Birkbeck Faculty of Life-Long Learning to integrate itself properly into the College as a whole. During my 18 years' service at Birkbeck my colleagues and I offered students one or two optional additional revision classes at the end of the academic year as a routine matter, I think in the case of every course I taught. This was simply part of the Birkbeck ethos - the decent thing to do, given the efforts and sacrifices of the dedicated part-time students, and I have no doubt the overwhelming majority of my former colleagues continue to do likewise regardless of the plethora of parasitic administrative initiatives of the past few years.
It's a pity all Birkbeck lecturers are not as conscientious as Mr Casey. As a student there for the last three years, there have been several cases of lecturers cancelling classes to attend conferences, or because of illness, or even simply not turning up for no stated reason in particular. None of that ever occured when I was a full-time undergrad in the early 1980s. <p>I have signed up to the quantitative economic methods course next year and expect to find it difficult, not having done any maths since securing a grade C O-level in 1976. I for one will appreciate every last opportunity for revision available.
Around 3rd July 2008 Birkbeck College justifiably declined to provide comments to THES on the grounds that the matter was being investigated by the College. One week later Birkbeck College issued a press release in which they declared their support for 2 members of staff but made no such declaration of support for Dr Casey who is a long standing employee. In view of this one-sided support prior to the conclusion of the investigation it seems that the College has prejudged the case. This is not fair treatment and hardly inspires confidence in the findings of the investigation.