A trio of challenges out of Washington confront higher ed administrators with regard to our lower-level employees

The term "Perfect Storm," since it entered the American language following the book and film of that name some 16 years ago (and referring to three weather patterns coming together to create the ultimate blow up), has been way overused and abused.

But the term fits our current situation perfectly.  Three forces --- not from three directions but all out of Washington --- have combined to make managing the hours and compensation of our part-timers and lower-level administrators very difficult indeed.

The first is the definition of full-time for purposes of healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act.  Thirty hours a week is all it takes to meet that definition, although 35-40 hours is the range of full-time employment we are all used to seeing.  This raises a particularly ambiguous issue with regard to adjunct faculty members, who may spend unspecified and uneven amounts of time prepping for classes.

Second is the NLRB's flip-flop last week in the Columbia University case in which the Board majority reverted to the NYU decision of 16 years ago in which the agency had held for the first time that GAs and TAs are primarily employees.

Number three is the set of new regulations regarding exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Executives, administrators and professionals, if they are to be exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA, had to receive an annual salary in the neighborhood of $23,000 minimally.  That now jumps to $47,000.  The result is that many coaches, admissions counselors and other low-level professional employees in higher education must either have their salaries increased or begin keeping time sheets in anticipation of receiving time-and-a-half for all hours over 40 worked in a week.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education,  "Colleges are worried about how to cover the costs of overtime pay that dozens of coaches, counselors, and other employees may soon become entitled to under a new federal rule designed to ensure they're paid equitably."

I have yet to meet anyone in higher ed who is planning to vote for Trump.  I, too, will cast my vote for Mrs. Clinton.  But I confess to bending a bit under the weight of the regulatory activity that has come out of the eight years of the Obama Administration.  This trio of labor and employment developments is only the latest in a long line.  Particularly as we in the private sector of the higher education industry struggle with enrollment and budgetary challenges, a little easing of the pressure from the federal bureaucracy would not be unwelcome.

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September 20:  Managing Your International Students

The NAACP is investigating the school district in Upper Darby (PA).

The organization wants to know why the district's superintendent, whose contract had been recently renewed for five years, was suddenly ousted in July.  According to Philly.com, Upper Darby --- home to one of the ten largest school districts in the state and the most diverse of Philly's suburban communities --- may also be the scene of racial segregation.  And that in turn, suggests the news story, may have a lot to do with the super's sudden exit.

At a time when race is a hot issue on many college campuses --- leading to the ouster or resignation of a number of senior administrators across the higher ed landscape --- this is a K-12 story that may be worth watching.

Herewith, an informative report on the impact that immigration has had in Germany...

The Week in Germany

Editorial Dear TWIG Readers, (©www.colourbox.com) At a time when mass immigration has created uncertainty for Germany's future, a new study brings some promising news. This month, the Bertelsmann Foundation - a nonprofit organization based in Germany - released a report that shows some of the positive effects that immigration can have on Germany. In 2005, entrepreneurs and small-business owners with foreign backgrounds created 947,000 new jobs in Germany, the report states. In 2014, the number of immigrants in Germany rose by 9 percent - but the number of jobs they created rose by 36 percent to 1.3 million. The data shows that workers with foreign backgrounds have created an increasing number of jobs over the years, which is promising news considering Germany's aging working-age population. "We show with our study that people with a migrant background in Germany do not take away jobs from anyone - quite the opposite," Aart de Geus, chairman of the Bertelsmann Foundation, said in a statement. Another result that is perhaps surprising is the type of jobs that were created. A common stereotype is that migrant workers predominantly open Döner Kebab restaurants and corner stores. This, however, is a misconception: only 28 percent of business owners with foreign roots work in the restaurant and retail industries, with the remaining 72 percent working in other industries (such as manufacturing and construction). Although the report did not include data from 2015 (the year that Syrian refugees came to Germany in large numbers), it does demonstrate the positive impacts that workers with foreign backgrounds can have on an economy.  "People with a migrant background are not only working as self-employed persons, but they also create jobs and allow many people the chance to participate on the job market," De Geus said. Nicole Glass Editor, The Week in Germany Webteam, Germany.info

My alma mater is tearing down silos in Cleveland, Ohio.

My first encounter with Case Western Reserve University was in January 1974, nearly a year after I was released from active duty by the United States Coast Guard.  I had three years of experience as a Public Information Officer for Charlie Gulf's Great Lakes region (followed by a year of travel and freelancing), which got me an entry level editor/writer position with CWRU's Office of University Communication.  During the next five years I got two promotions, ending up running the whole shop, and completed the course work toward my PHD in American Studies.  I then moved across campus to become a law student for the next three years.

CWRU is the 1967 amalgamation of Case Institute of Technology, where the famous Michelson- Morley experiments, which provided empirical support for Einstein's theories of relativity, took place, and Western Reserve University, which in the 1950s had been ranked as having a top-ten medical school.

Now Case is poised to be a top-ten healthcare entity once again.  As reported on NPR this morning, Case and the Cleveland Clinic are combining resources to create a new facility in which medical, dental and nursing student all will train together.  In the Fifties, Western Reserve's med school achieved its high ranking by an innovative curriculum that put med students in contact with patients from the very start of their education to be doctors.  Now, ripping down the silos that separate the three predominant healthcare professions is likely to catapult successor CWRU into the very top tier yet again some sixty years later.

What Case and the Clinic are doing is a guidepost for what all of us in higher education must do, if we are to thrive.  This advice goes double for the private sector.  Silos must go if we are going to maximize our resources.

A good book on this topic is Silos, Politics and Turf Wars by Partrick Lencioni.  It's a slim volume and quick read, but worth the investment of a little time and money.  The provost at my home institution had her deans read and discuss it at a retreat.  You could do a lot worse than that.  You might try combining it with the CWRU/Cleveland Clinic venture as a case study on point.

Bang v. Bang in the Austin City Limits

As the debate over concealed carry heats up in the Lone Star State, sex-shop proprietors are weighing in with a campaign entitled "Cocks Not Glocks."

Students, too, are joining in this sexy protest movement, reportedly attaching dildos to their backpacks to highlight the claim that, while guns are now allowed on public college campuses, apparently sex toys are not.

The motto of the new movement is "fighting absurdity with absurdity."  So far it all seems good natured.

On a more serious note, as I reported in an earlier post this week, a group of UT-Austin profs lost their bid for a preliminary injunction in federal court.  They hoped for a court order to keep concealed weapons out of their classrooms when classes start next month.  I assume they will appeal to the Fifth Circuit.

All I can say is: 2016 keeps getting more and more interesting.

Alternatives to guns?

My high school chum, Bob Marzen of Jim Thorpe (PA) sent me the following information:

Never thought about this before but important to  know!  I know some of you own GUNS but this is something to think about...   If you don't have a gun, here's a more humane way to wreck someone's evil plans for you. Did you know this? I didn't. I never really thought of it before. I guess I can get rid of the baseball bat.    Wasp Spray - A friend who is a receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Monday to rob them when they were counting the  collection. She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that  she get a can of wasp spray instead.   The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn't attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection. Thought this was interesting and might be of use.    On the heels of a break in and beating that left an elderly woman in Toledo dead, self defense experts have a tip that could save your life..  Val Glinka teaches self-defense to students at Sylvania Southview High School. For decades, he's suggested putting a can of wasp and hornet spray near your door or bed.  Glinka says, "This is better than anything I can teach them."   Glinka considers it inexpensive, easy to find, and more effective than mace or pepper spray. The cans typically shoot 20 to 30 feet; so if someone tries to break into your home, Glinka says "spray the culprit in the eyes". It's a tip he's given to students for decades.  It's also one he wants everyone to hear If you're looking for protection, Glinka says look to the spray. "That's going to give you a chance to call the police; maybe get out." Maybe even save a life.  Please share this with  all the people who are precious to your  life   Did you also know that wasp spray will kill a snake? And a mouse! It will!  Good to know, huh? It will also kill a wasp!!