The 2016-17 school year has officially ended. Congratulations to those members who completed classes through Roosevelt’s struggles, and through its restructuring, which should be mostly in place for the 2017-18 school year. The school will be selling buildings, restructuring colleges, and working to stabilize and grow undergraduate, transfer, and graduate enrollments. RAFO can confirm that very early indications seem positive: there has been an increase in enrollment for the summer term, the first at Roosevelt since 2008. And first indications are that there will be an overall increase in enrollments for the Fall, though those numbers will not be firm until the semester opens.
But first, summer – and summer will be busy. Next week, RAFO will begin full negotiations with Roosevelt on a new contract. The administration has told RAFO leaders that RU will be relying on adjuncts through the school’s restructuring, and has repeatedly assured us that adjuncts are important and valuable for the future of the school. RAFO intends to make the administration live up to those assurances with a contract that increases adjunct opportunities for stability within Roosevelt, resources to make adjuncts better instructors and researchers, and a wage that matches the rhetoric of value that the administration has spoken of.
As the summer term begins, we at RAFO will reach out to those of you who are teaching, to make sure you are getting the support you need and find out what you still need. We are also asking all RAFO members to stay in touch with the leadership as negotiations continue. Those who want to stay informed should like RAFO’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/RAFO1920/) and Twitter feed (@RAFO1920) for news about Roosevelt as well as other issues of interest to those of us concerned with adjuncts and higher education.
See you this summer,
The Officers of RAFO