Press releases from both EMU-AAUP and Eastern Michigan University have confirmed that arbitration, initiated after disputes surrounding the Academic Partnerships contract, has ended. The arbitrator decided not to grant any of the relief requested after determining that EMU was not in violation of any workplace agreements detailed in the original grievance.
From the EMU press release, "An independent arbitrator has ruled in favor of Eastern Michigan University in a grievance filed by the school’s faculty union that asserted an agreement with Academic Partnerships (AP) regarding the marketing of online courses violates provisions of the union’s collective bargaining agreement."
From the EMU-AAUP:
“This ruling makes it clear that EMU administrators cannot hire an outside party to rewrite our curriculum and redesign our course offerings,” EMU-AAUP President Judith Kullberg, a professor of political science. “An independent arbitrator has recognized that our faculty and our union have an ongoing role in all academic decisions at EMU.”
Their release also details that the original grievance was filed by several faculty members, including Professor Tricia McTague "an assistant professor in the department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology at EMU."
You can read the entire ruling at a link provided by EMU. In his concluding statement, the arbitrator, Mark J. Glazer, said, "Ultimately, if AP remains in the marketing, recruiting and promotion areas, there would not be a contract violation. If it ventures into the areas reserved for faculty input, a grievable event could potentially occur. "
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— Patrick Campion is the WEMU Program Director. You can contact Patrick at734.487.3363, on twitter @WEMUPC, or email him at pcampion@emich.edu
