Here are some frequently asked questions. More recent additions begin at the top of the list. If you have further questions, feel free to contact one of the unit officers.
Dwight Hines, chair; Marion Dixon, secretary; William Breslove, treasurer and Kirstin Hanley, delegate.

Q: What is the COVID-19 safety policy for the fall 2022?

Mask Policies: At present, campus is a mask-optional environment for indoor spaces including classrooms, labs, and studios. While management has noted that the mask policy is always subject to change depending on local conditions, we are unclear on how closely they plan to follow public health guidance. 

Vaccination Requirements: All incoming students must continue to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or they must submit a waiver to claim a medical or religious exemption; in addition, boosters are strongly recommended (and students are informed that boosters are readily available from the Allegheny Health Department clinic one block from campus).

Q. What can I do now if I have underlying medical conditions that put me at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 and believe my return to campus will be unwise?

A. The University will continue to offer ADA accommodations for eligible medical conditions (including those related to COVID-19). The contact person in Human Resources is Sharon Berardelli (sberardelli@pointpark.edu). We would encourage faculty who have concerns about the risks of COVID-19 to consult with their health care provider and contact HR before the start of the term, if possible.

Q. What protections do we have in the CBA regarding Safety?

A. See ARTICLE 34 – HEALTH & SAFETY. The University must comply with all applicable laws related to the health and safety of employees in the workplace. Conditions that have come about due to the COVID-19 pandemic present some challenges that the University and faculty continue to deal with.

The latest CBA (2021-2024) created a Student/Faculty Enrichment Committee (Section 3). This committee’s mandate is to better ensure the healthy and safety of faculty and students. See the union and administration’s communication about this committee starting in the Fall 2022.

Q: What kind of professional development resources are available?

A. See ARTICLE 13 – PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. Each faculty member has access to $700 annually for professional development. And each member may apply for additional funds for presenting at scholarly conferences or pursuing other scholarly activities. The additional funds can be up to $1300 (for a total annual allotment of $2,000). For the additional funds, faculty members must apply to the Provost’s office by November 1.

Q. How is faculty work related to online course development and teaching defined in the CBA?

A. Online instruction is mentioned in ARTICLE 23 – MODALITY OF INSTRUCTION. The University may offer courses or programs in any modality that the University determines to be appropriate, including, without limitation, traditional on-ground instruction, online instruction, and hybrid instruction. All modalities of any course or program have the same learning outcomes, objectives, course descriptions and approval processes. The University must provide, and faculty members must complete, training to provide online education.

Compensation for online is detailed in ARTICLE 10 COMPENSATION, Section 6, where stipends are listed for Online Course Development, Revision and Text Book updates. In all instances, the activities set forth in this section must be initiated and/or determined by the University in order to be eligible for the payments described herein.

Should the University request that faculty develop a course to be taught online, this course (the syllabus, course material, tests, etc.) is owned by the faculty member who created them, according to the new CBA (2011-2014). However, as is detailed in ARTICLE 8 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Section 2, “the University retains the right and license to store and save such materials for determining the learning outcomes of past courses.” Or in the case of the faculty member being unable to teach the course, the University retains the right.

Q. What is Shared Governance?

A. Shared Governance is a concept, like Service, that is viewed differently depending on one’s perspective. As is defined in the CBA, [ARTICLE 22 – SHARED GOVERNANCE] Shared Governance operates through the Faculty Assembly. Faculty have the right to make recommendations to the University through the Faculty Assembly in specific areas listed in the article, with recommendations being the operative word. The University does not cede any decision making or management rights through Shared Governance.

Q. What are my rights as a full-time faculty and member of the NewsGuild/CWA Local 38061?

A. All Full-Time Faculty at Point Park University, at any academic rank, have the same legal rights as members of the union. It is unlawful for an employer [the University] to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights. Non-tenured and tenure-track faculty are free to show support and participate in their union’s activities without worry that their actions may negatively affect their continued employment or progress toward tenure and promotion. All faculty members have the right to have a union representative present during any meeting that may lead to discipline, written reprimand or termination. (See the following for an explanation of your Weingarten Rights)

Q. What happens if I am experiencing a problem with a colleague or a member of the administration?

A. The union recommends the following: 

• You should try to work out any problems in your workplace with your chair, your colleagues, Human Resources, your union representative, and/or your union steward. 
• If you believe you are experiencing a case of discrimination or being sexually harassed there are specific avenues to address these conditions that can be found here:
  • (Title IX Notice of Nondiscrimination). 
  • (Point Park Policies on Sexual Misconduct)
• As a union member you have Weingarten Rights, whichis the right to bring a union representative with you to any meeting that you feel is investigatory about your work, your conduct, or your performance. You can stop any meeting with a director, advisor, or administrator at any point and ask for union representation if the meeting becomes investigatory or disciplinary.

If in any meeting that you have with representatives of the administration (including HR, the Provost or a department chair) you feel like a situation has the potential to become disciplinary, we recommend calling a union representative to that meeting.

The Point Park Unit has these positions/officers

• Chair: Dwight Hines
• Secretary: Marion Dixon
• Treasurer: William Breslove
• Delegate: Kirstin Hanley

The Point Park department stewards are also available if you have concerns/questions about a meeting or other work matter. Feel free to contact any of them even if they are in a different department from you:

• Dora Ion (Literature, Society, & Culture)
• Joe DeFazio, Mark Voortman, and Jeffrey Seaman (Business Analytics & Technology)
• Ben Schonberger (Photography)

Q. Why can’t faculty and the administration get together one on one and arrive at acceptable deals that satisfy both parties?

A. Since FT Faculty are members of a labor union, the Union is the exclusive bargaining representative for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The administration is required to negotiate with the Union on any and all of those matters and cannot do so with individual faculty outside of specific instances noted in Articles 8 and 10 in the CBA. Attempts to circumvent this process made by either the administration or individual faculty members is what is know as direct dealing, which is an unfair labor practice under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). Prior to August 28, 2017 when the CBA went into effect this was how the administration dealt with faculty over salaries, course releases, work load and other economic issues. Some faculty may have done well for themselves, but many others were unable to obtain satisfactory results through individual efforts. The whole idea of a union is rooted in the strength and power of collective action. The Collective Bargaining Agreement that the Union negotiated for the FT Faculty is the only reason the administration had to ask for a pay freeze rather than enact one unilaterally; the reason faculty haven’t been furloughed; the reason faculty haven’t been let go entirely.

Q. Am I required to take an overload course? Am I required to do an independent study with a student?

A. No. Faculty are NOT required to teach independent studies or overloads. Doing so is entirely voluntary.

Additionally, faculty are limited to 8 units overload per semester (and 12 units overload for the summer semester) . See ARTICLE 21 RESPONSIBILITIES OF FACULTY, Section 7. 

Q. What are the requirements of full-time faculty for Service?

A. A faculty member’s relationship to service is a dynamic one. There is no one way to fulfill the service articulation of the CBA and there is no clear definition of service in terms of limits or total amount. Faculty must evaluate their own workload and service load and determine instances where it is appropriate to take on additional service duties or to say, “No,” when they determine that a service project will affect their teaching. It is incumbent on Chairs, whose job is drafted in response to the Part Time and Full Time faculty contracts, to recognize the reasonable limit to a faculty member’s service profile.

Service requirements can be found in Article 21 RESPONSIBILITIES OF FACULTY.

Section 1 notes that for Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors and Visiting Professors service is required. Non-tenure track faculty (Master Teaching Artists, Senior Teaching Artists, Teaching Artists and Lecturers) may, but are not expected to, participate in service work.

In Section 3, the term “service,” as used in this Agreement, is work by a faculty member, beyond teaching, that contributes to the betterment of the University and/or the overall community. Service includes, but is not limited to, leadership and/or active involvement in any of the following areas:

(a)  University, department and/or faculty committees;

(b)  University task forces or projects for the betterment of the University or department;

(c)  Active student organizations in an advisory capacity;

(d)  Other activities documented as appropriate service by the Provost or University President;  

(e) Peer and part-time faculty observation

(f)  Assessment related to accreditation and other external reviews; and

(g)  Professionally-oriented or community-based organizations reasonably related to the faculty member’s discipline

Q. Can I get a course release for scholarship?

A. Yes. See Article 21 RESPONSIBILITIES OF FACULTY, Section 6

Application for Scholarship Release:

• Applications for Course Reduction for Scholarship (Article 21, Section 6) are due to the Provost by December 1^st.
• The protocols for how to apply for these course releases are described (but not detailed) in the CBA.
• As you go to write your scholarship reduction application, a couple of things to keep in mind:
  • These should be formal documents that fulfill the areas described in the CBA.
  • Your proposal should cover the entire forthcoming academic year. That is, if you would like to apply for a course reduction in the Fall of 2022 for three credits, and for a three-credit reduction for the Spring of 2023, your application should be for BOTH semesters and speak to how you will use your time in each.
  • These applications are competitive.

Q. Is it obligatory to have my Teaching Observation done by my chair?

A. Not necessarily.  See Article 25 FACULTY EVALUATION, Section 3

For example:

• Non-tenured faculty members will be observed in class by agreed-upon peer faculty and/or the Department Chair at least once annually in the first three (3) years of employment. 

You can be observed by a peer, your chair, or a chair-appointed person. You can choose. You can invite a person into your classroom—be it a peer in your department, a colleague in another department, or someone from a satellite office (such as the CIE)—and conduct more than one observation a year. You can choose your chair to be this person. If your chair decides that they don’t think that a peer other than her/him self was an appropriate choice for the observation, then the chair can do an additional observation or appoint  someone on the chair’s behalf.

• Tenured Faculty and non-tenured faculty who have been employed by the University for six (6) or more years will be observed in class by peer faculty and/or the Department Chair no more often than once every other year. 

As above, you can choose who you wish to conduct the observation. If it is not the Chair, the Chair can receive a statement from the observer as to whether there was anything of note in the observation.

• All materials covered by Article 25 FACULTY EVALUATION shall be considered confidential and shall not be disseminated except in compliance with applicable law and in pursuit of the legitimate interests of the University.   
• The clause “unless the university has reasonable cause to believe that an observation is required to address specific complaints” captures when the number of observations could change.

In the event that management has received a complaint or has “reasonable cause,” then management has the right to appoint or assign someone to come to your classroom to conduct an observation.

Management should contact you about this though, and make arrangements prior to coming to your classroom.

• If that’s the case, and management contacts you that there’s been reasonable cause or a specific complaint, and you feel that these complaints are not valid, we recommend contacting a union representative. 
• Please note that Faculty Teaching Observations are a tool to help faculty identify and improve issues with their classroom practices. The intent is formative and are not to be considered a method to punish or be punitive, specifically toward non-tenured faculty. 

• The union recommends that departments have an open and transparent discussion of what a teaching observation looks like prior to undertaking one. if you are worried about your department’s alignment with the CBA, feel free to run the process by union representatives to see if it conflicts in any way. 
• Save these observations. They can be part of your annual self-evaluation report, as well as part of your dossier when you go up for promotion. You are not required to share the materials if you do not wish however.
• If you are a peer doing an observation, you could count this as “service.”

Q. What are my responsibilities related to course assessment?

A. Full-time faculty responsibilities for assessment are covered in the CBA, ARTICLE 21 – RESPONSIBILITIES OF FACULTY. Assessment performed by faculty is noted in two areas:

1. Under “teaching” which covers all full-time faculty

and

2. Under “service” which covers full-time faculty with the exception of non-tenure track faculty

Below are the relevant excerpts from ARTICLE 21 in the CBA:

ARTICLE 21- RESPONSIBILITIES OF FACULTY 

Section 1         The primary responsibilities for Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors and Visiting Professors shall be teaching, service and scholarship. The primary responsibility for non-tenure track faculty (Master Teaching Artists, Senior Teaching Artists, Teaching Artists and Lecturers) shall be teaching. Non-tenure track faculty may, but are not expected to, participate in service work. Non-tenure track faculty may, but are not expected to, engage in scholarship. 

…

Section 2         The term “teaching,” as used in this Agreement, shall include the following: 

…

(e)        Assessment, including revising courses in light of course objectives and modifying courses and programs when necessary in light of assessment results, provided that assessment is limited to one (1) program review and/or core assessment per academic year.

…

Section 3         The term “service,” as used in this Agreement, is work by a faculty member, beyond teaching, that contributes to the betterment of the University and/or the overall community. Service includes, but is not limited to, leadership and/or active involvement in any of the following areas:

…

 (f)        Assessment related to accreditation and other external reviews; and…

…

Section 5         The course load requirement set forth in Section 2 above shall be reduced for faculty members engaging in the following activities by the indicated amounts (per semester):

…

 (s)       Assessment in excess of the assessment required in Section 2(e) above – 1 unit (or 1 unit of overload), provided that this sub-section shall not be applicable to Program Coordinators and Faculty Leaders unless those individuals perform assessments in excess of those required by the Program Coordinator/Faculty Leader position…

Assessment done as part of teaching responsibilities differs from assessment done as part of service responsibilities. 

As part of their teaching, most faculty assessment consists of their periodic revision of courses based on observation and data they gather themselves or receive from fellow faculty.

If full-time faculty were to perform more work in this area than listed in Section 2 (e) above, the University must reduce the course load requirement or provide overload (payment), except in the instances noted. This is a situation where faculty and administration should define and agree to the work being done prior to faculty performing the work.

Assessment done as part of service is defined specifically as “…related to accreditation and other external reviews…” This would be along the lines of work done in preparation for a Middle States visit or other accreditation. Program assessment is done as service. Core Assessment is done by the Core Outcomes Assessment Committee (COAC) and is also work done as service.  Note that faculty work that falls under service includes a range of areas of which Section 3 (f) is one option.

If there is any confusion about requirements, what is voluntary vs. mandatory, please contact one of the unit officers.

Q. What is the governing structure of the Pittsburgh Newspaper Guild and how are members elected to those positions?

A. Any member of the unit and local can be nominated and run for these positions. Details are in the guild Bylaws.

• The local is governed by a 14-member Executive Board composed of six officers elected by the entire membership and four officers elected by each of the two units — Post-Gazette and Point Park.
• You can find the complete list here on the Newspaper Guild’s Website.
• The Local has the following positions/officers:
  • President: Zack Tanner
  • 1st Vice President: Ed Blazina
  • 2nd Vice President: Karen Dwyer
  • 3rd Vice President: Vacant
  • Treasurer: Patti Sabatini
  • Secretary: Alex McCann

Post-Gazette unit delegates: Andrew Goldstein, chair; John Santa, secretary; Melissa Tkach, treasurer, and vacant, delegate.

Post-Gazette two-year associate rep:

Point Park unit delegates: Dwight Hines, chair; Marion Dixon, secretary; William Breslove, treasurer and Kirstin Hanley, delegate.

• The Point Park Unit has these positions/officers
  • Chair: Dwight Hines
  • Secretary: Marion Dixon
  • Treasurer: William Breslove
  • Delegate: Kirstin Hanley

The local and each unit holds the annual election of officers in October. Election Bylaws here.

Q. How do I retire?

• See ARTICLE 12 – RETIREMENT.  Faculty members shall be eligible to participate in a Group Retirement Annuity Plan (“GRA Plan”) offered by the University.