TACT STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
2001 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

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Mission Statement

TACT works to inform Texas faculty, the public, the Legislature, and the Governor about the needs and issues of higher education. Our focus is on baccalaureate and graduate universities, and we stress the faculty perspective.

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In addition to the priorities listed on the TACT Legislative Agenda, the Association believes in the following:

  • It should be the goal of all parties involved in Texas higher education to systematically reduce the use of adjunct and part-time faculty to the level required to teach specialized, periodic courses. Part-timers should not be used as cost reduction devices. When needed, part-time faculty should receive proportional pay and benefits accorded their full-time colleagues.

  • Distance Learning programs can provide educational opportunities to students unable to attend campuses and can provide specific expertise otherwise unavailable statewide. Care must be exercised, however, that the other advantages of a college education are not sacrificed, most notably the interaction with professors and other students. Additionally, the intellectual property of the professor producing the course must be protected, as must the quality of the material.

  • Shared governance on campus assures that sufficient communication and deliberation contributes to quality decision-making, including the preparation of the university budget.

  • The quality of a Texas college degree must not be undermined through the good intentions of providing opportunity to the educationally underprepared. Academic standards must be protected in the design of courses, expectations of their students, and grading policies.

  • The State should continue to pursue health insurance avenues for active and retired employees to maximize accessibility and affordability.

  • Retirement programs for all state employees should be equitable, flexible, and portable to provide for the golden years of diverse employees and career paths.

  • We favor accountability of faculty. However, state-mandated, standardized testing of students by discipline, for the purpose of comparing faculty, programs and institutions, risks uniformity of classes, an undue burden on students, invalid measures of changing disciplines, misplaced financial resources, "teaching to the test," and independent thought and diversity among the faculty.

    Approved 10-14-00