Re: Request for feedback

[Bill Lantry <wlantry@owl.engl.sru.edu>]

Dear Judy,

Thanks for your note. It wouldn't surprise me if we're not faced with the
same kind of thing here soon, so I'm very interested in what people have to
say on this one...

I *did* think of one solution. Is your writing center networked?
Are the dorms in question networked? Does your campus have a moo?
Listserve ability? Html capability, with webforms?

You can likely see where I'm going on this one... until plans
for physical presence can be made, do you have capabilities
to supply on-line tutoring? It might make things much easier...
that way, you could satisfy both the dorm director and the new
president, and perhaps even have a justification for requesting
more resources...

HTH,

Bill


At 10:45 AM 8/21/96 -0500, you wrote:
>I've received the first request that's really made me angry, and I'd like some
>advice on how to handle it.
>
>Monday afternoon I met with the director of one of the dorms. This quarter
>they're starting what they call a RResidential LifeS program. They're providing
>classes and services in the dorms for a cohort of 400 entering freshman. Then
>they'll track how these students do. 
>
>Last Monday, exactly two weeks before school is scheduled to begin, the
>director (I'll call her Kelli) asked me to provide tutoring in the dorms
>starting this fall. She wants at least 10 hours per week. I know that other
>centers provide tutoring in satellites like this, but clearly the request is
>coming a bit late for advanced planning and such.
>
>I told Kelli I had the following reservations:
>
>*It's awfully late to start something like this.
>
>*Tutors need security and supervision. She said security was in place. I said
>supervision was not, and even experienced tutors need backup some times.
>
>*Instructional materials are in the center. She said they would pay to have the
>materials reproduced and would provide file cabinets.
>
>*My staff is young and inexperienced: most were trained last spring.
>
>*We generally turn people away fall quarter. I'm not sure I'm prepared to move
>tutors over when I'm not sure they'll be booked and I'm turning away people in
>the center.
>
>*We'd need to figure out procedures for scheduling and such, and I wouldn't be
>able to send over someone to serve as receptionist.
>
>*I can't afford to add staff and asked if the Residential Life program would be
>willing to provide funding. Kelli said that the President considers this a
>reallocation rather than new services and that the Residential Life program is
>already paying for all the classes. (This isn't true, by the way. I know the
>department is providing four sections of the first course in the first-year
>comp sequence. The Residential Life program is paying for an additional two --
>but they only did this under duress; the department chair said there wouldn't
>be additional sections unless the Residential Life program coughed up the
>money.)
>
>I was so nonplussed about the late request that I didn't think about or raise
>other issues. One big one -- for me -- is my time. In the two weeks before
>school starts, I have to get the center reorganized (we just moved our
>quarters) and move my office, provide a week of training for my new teaching
>assistants, and get the fall schedule up and running. This says nothing about
>prepping for classes or working on the textbook I'm scheduled to submit to my
>publisher in November. Plus the Residential Life program didn't offer to pay me
>anything for adding to my workload. Another is input. No one asked me if I
>wanted to do this or if it was a good idea. I've simply been told this is a pet
>project of the new president. (He's been here a year.) And I've been told
>that the Learning Center is providing tutoring for other General Education
>classes.
>
>In all fairness to Kelli, I should say that she called the first time in July.
>Of course, no one pays me to work during the summer (although I do). In fact, I
>was out of the country. When I came back the third week in July, there was a
>second message -- a rather snippy message -- saying that I'd better return the
>call since I hadn't returned the first call. I called and got voice mail. I
>asked Kelli to call me at home, and she called the English department late last
>week.
>
>I'm sorry to be so grumpy. I clearly feel put upon by this request and would
>like some cooler, more rational voices to provide me with some more reasonable
>response to think about. I'm scheduled to talk with Kelli again early next
>week.
>
>Thank you.
>
>Judy Kilborn
>