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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1982)
Atiyeh’s plan calls for tuition freeze From Associated Press and Emerald Reports Wednesday's weather wasn't all bad — it was a sunny day for higher education in Oregon. For what may be the first time in years, the budget news, released Wed nesday from Salem, was good For the next two years students won't pay higher tuition, faculty will receive a 2 percent pay increase and some ailing programs will receive more funding at state colleges and universities under Gov Vic Atiyeh's proposed budget for the 1983-85 biennium University Pres Paul Olum said he is "enormously pleased ' by the tuition freeze and the increase in faculty salaries Chancellor Bud Davis also is "very pleased'' with the governor's support "It has been very clear to me and others that tuition in our state system has been too high," Davis said "In addition. this budget allows for a 2-percent faculty salary increase which had been promised but not delivered The proposed budget would increase spending by nearly $80 million over the $503 million budgeted for the current period The tuition freeze alone would cost $20 million The faculty salary in crease, already approved by the State Board of Higher Education, would cost $6 1 million The budget, which includes adjust ments for inflation, also anticipates lower staff and operating costs due to project ed declining enrollments But Olum expressed concern at the continuation of "enrollment-linked fund ing ' "I worry that this policy could force a further spiraling down of enrollment," he said However. Olum and Davis said they feel Atiyeh is making good on recent campaign promises it does seem 10 me inai governor Atiyeh s proposals for the colleges and universities show real concern for higher education and a determination to fulfill his long-stated committment to support public higher education in this state." Olum said "(Atiyeh) has stood by his word that Oregonians will continue to be offered quality and affordable state-supported higher education, which will play a vital role in Oregon's economic recovery," Davis said Sweetening the pot a bit more. Atiyeh recommended adding $1 million for li brary acquisitions and services and $3 million for maintenance projects that were deferred when funding needed to be cut because of state revenue short falls Bill Lemman. vice chancellor for ad ministration. said both library acquisi tions and building maintenance "had surrerea miseraDiy irom ouagei cut backs " While current funding levels would be continued for most other higher educa tion programs, the proposal would add $4 million to beef up high-technology programs in both private and public colleges Atiyeh has said high-technology education is a top priority because it is considered crucial for attracting new industry and improving the state s econ omic development Of the $4 million tor high-technology education. Lemman said $13 million would be spent in private programs and public community colleges and $2 7 mil lion would remain in the state system Lemman said most of the money would be used for electrical engineering pro grams at Portland State University and Oregon State, cell biology at the Univer sity and computer science at all three universities Oregon daily _ _ emerald Eugene, Oregon Volume 84, Number 63 1 Thursday, December 2. 1982 i Mixing teaching with graduate work By Joan Herman Otttw EmmM Some University graduate students are in the twilight zone " They aren't just students, but they aren't quite professors They are a group of about 900 graduate teaching fellows who do everything from teaching classes to researching specialized fields in var ious departments and schools Some GTFs also hold administrative positions in places like the EMU or Affirmative Action office, but the largest group are teaching assistants whose lobs include grading tests and papers, holding office hours and sometimes leading discussion groups and lab sections On top of all that, some GTFs take as many as 16 hours of graduate level courses, do research for their theses and work an average of 12 to 15 hours a week Brenda Cochrane, a sociology GTF, says overwork is probably the biggest problem, and there is a “constant jug gling of academic work and the work you get paid for." Cochrane, who is working towards a doctoral degree in sociology and a master's degree in industrial relations, teaches Sociology of Women to 110 students and serves as the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation pre sident. She says sometimes “it gets a little crazy.” Difficulties arise Tom Keating, a special education GTF, says often he works more hours than he 's actually paid for. classes they have never taught before because "you’ve got to prepare lectures you've never given before, go through reading material you've never read before,” Cochrane says. "You're starting from scratch. It's al most impossible to do all that in 12 hours. Tammy Maurer, for-, merly a biology GTF for five years, says it is not uncommon to exper ience job 'burnout.'' Teaching while taking exams can be difficult, she says "It’s rough. The crux is when you’re at the point where you have to do well and your job is pulling at you. But we all survive. We keep each other sane,” Maurer says. A single parent, Cochrane says the high stress level of her job creates "a real problem in dealing with Tammy Maurer, a five-year biology GTF and “former shy person, "says a teaching fellowship is a challenge and a confidence builder. relationships outside of school." Tom Keating, a special education GTF, says he usually puts in more hours than he is paid for. When he first started his job, Keating says he worried about his qualifica tions, but "you jump in over your head and you start swimming. You don't sell yourself short." Keating works at the University's neuromuscular education lab as a re search assistant for the Bio Feedback Project. The project researches how environ mental variables and training affect people with cerebral palsy. His duties generally include doing the mechanics of the project, such as operating data collection equipment and videotaping clients. In spite of the pressure, Cochrane, a former high school teacher, says she wouldn't want to go back to her old job and enjoys the challenge of having full responsibility for a University class. "It’s fun to be able to design your own class, teach it your own way and plot it all out for yourself," she says. Beyond a basic class description and syllabus to follow, Cochrane says she has almost "total leeway" to do her job, and except for the title and the pay, she is functioning as a professor. Maurer, who at 27 looks younger than some of her students, says she enjoyed teaching because it gave her the opportunity to dispel the non science major's fear of science. A former "shy" person, Maurer says teaching helped her more clearly ex press important ideas and question scientific concepts she used to take for granted. Although she never had full respon sibility for a class, Maurer did have responsibility for lab sections. Prior to her GTF position Maurer had never taught a class and was "terrified" of teaching for the first time, she says. Although she still gets "butterflies," Maurer says she is more confident. Although all three have different rea sons, they agree money is an incentive to being a GTF. In addition to having their graduate tuition waived, GTFs are paid fairly well, according to Cochrane. Their pay scale is based on the full time equivalency rating, which depends on their graduate status and how many terms they have been GTFs Cochrane says most GTFs work 12 to 15 hours per week and earn from about $4,000 to $6,000 for a nine-month per iod. But probably the biggest advantage of being a GTF is the job itself. “There aren’t too many people who would get a job at 7-11 as opposed to doing something more interesting and challenging,” says Keating.
