Students Not Widgets

While I am weary to be heading out to picket again this morning in the cold at 7am, an activity I never thought that I would be doing nor one that I enjoy, I am encouraged by the great response I have received from readers of this blog. Students and teachers alike have shown support and understanding for the complexity of this situation – they display a reasonableness that confirms the great work we do at the college building citizens. It is worth recalling that it is part of the mission at the CCP to “prepare students to be concerned and informed citizens.”

Most understand that CCP students are not mere “consumers of education”; rather they are members of our community, a wonderfully diverse population with a variety of needs who rely on CCP to help them to reach their educational and professional goals. While it is useful to apply the lessons of business and industry to help contain costs and keep the College financially sound, we must remember that we deal in students, not widgets. The goal of the institution is to educate, to serve the city, and not to maximize growth and return profit.

One comment from a student on my colleague’s excellent CCP Faculty MySpace page struck me, “CCP is a business like any other.” This is a common 21st century mindset, but a quick and necessary review of the mission and funding model of the College reveals that is not at all the case. The special nature of a Public open-admissions institution is vital in framing a response to the strike.

The devastating increases in tuition over the past few years are not a result of the increasing salaries of the faculty and staff, as was shamefully suggested recently in the news, but are a direct result of the city falling short of its commitment to providing 1/3 of the funding for the college, they currently pay around 19%. In addition, there have been changes in the funding structure from Harrisburg that no longer fund the College per student enrolled but offer more of a flat funding model.

The Unions certainly recognize the funding challenges at the College; and they realize that salaries are a large part of any institutional budget. However, it is counter-intuitive to the mission of the College to reduce the current levels of funding for the staff and faculty. The Unions are not asking for raisees but only cost of living increases like everyone else who works for a living. The funding challenges for the College need to be solved by all of us together.