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USF faculty decries teacher-student ratio, low national ranking

Staff file photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER (2007)

In addition, student surveys ranked USF 96th in the country for undergraduate business programs.

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By LINDSAY PETERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 5, 2009

The faculty union at the University of South Florida filed a grievance against the university this week over the size of classes scheduled for the spring semester.

The grievance focuses on mass lecture classes in the college of business administration and on communications classes created to meet the state's Gordon Rule, which requires students to acquire certain communication and math skills.

More than 80 of the Gordon Rule writing sections have more than 30 students each, the grievance said.

"In these two categories, the university is clearly going too far and is abdicating its obligation to reduce inappropriately large classes," said Sherman Dorn, USF faculty union president.

Dorn said the grievance affects both the faculty teaching the classes, "who face extraordinary burdens in the assignments that they have received," and other faculty who would suffer if the practice spread.

The grievance referred to the 2009 Business Week rankings of U.S. colleges, which ranked USF's programs 101st in the country.

USF was last among the ranked programs in student-faculty ratio.

In addition, student surveys ranked USF 96th in the country for undergraduate business programs.

"Why should anyone be surprised that two years after USF doubled the size of many of the business lecture classes, students and Business Week are giving the college a thumbs down?" Dorn asked.

"To any administrator who wants to lard up classes with bodies and overload teaching faculty, I have one question: How do students benefit when you exploit faculty?"

Reporter Lindsay Peterson can be reached at (813) 259-7834.

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