5/9 email to Chairs

I know that this process of budget cuts is taking place on a much tighter time frame than any of us would have hoped. I know that most of you were already working on scenarios for 10, 25, and 50% cuts in the adjunct budget following our briefing with P&B on April 23, and we all thought we would have more time to adjust the staffing and curriculum than we do now. The breakdown in negotiation between CUNY and the PSC of an extension on the date for notification of appointments for adjuncts resulted in the accelerated timeline we are now working on. As you work towards resolving the budgets in each of your units, I wanted to provide a few suggestions and explanations to guide your deliberation and decision making process.

Carlos Serrano has provided each Dean with financial targets that show the dollar amounts that would correspond to a 35% cut within each school/division. The Deans have discretion to provide for variation within departments, but each school/division should aim to meet the specified targets for Fall 2020.

Although all of the reductions do not have to come from non-reappointments, I see no way that any school/division can meet the adjunct reduction targets without significant non-reappointments. One of the reasons these non-reappointment letters need to go out by the May 15 deadline rather than removing work from adjuncts at a later date is that the non-reappointment letters will qualify eligible adjuncts for unemployment benefits soon rather than later.

Although significant non-reappointments are expected, other modes of meeting the targets can include reductions in loads for adjuncts, combining sections, having larger sections taught by tenure-line faculty, reduction in non-contractual reassigned time for faculty, and cancellation of low enrollment classes. The cost of instruction data should be particularly useful for this part of the exercise.

A topic that has come up in discussions about financial planning this year has been rescinding of sabbaticals. I don’t think we can make a blanket ruling at this time that all faculty sabbaticals are postponed, but Deans and/or chairs should present this option to faculty scheduled for leaves in the fall. I have already heard of many faculty that were scheduled for sabbaticals that want to postpone them, particularly if their projects involved significant travel, and this policy should be considered as a way to staff sections made vacant by reductions in the adjunct budget.

A remaining uncertainty is the mode of instruction for the fall. Today Governor Cuomo extended the New York pause until June 7, and I do not see a scenario where we will be on campus in any extensive way in the fall. Therefore I believe you should consider online and possibly very limited hybrid modes of instruction in planning/revising your schedules for the fall.

The situation for the fall remains fluid. We hope to hear shortly about the mode of instruction, and there are a number of factors including the enrollment, guidance on the CARES act, and changes in the status of the state budget that will influence the campus’ financial picture. In the meantime, thanks for all the effort you are putting into the current adjustments.

Best

Michael