Have you had problems with the Administration? Did you get locked out of Senior Seminar? Are Departments arguing over whose job it is to address your issues?

If you have had problems with Major Cancellation, Registration, Account Holds, Graduation Applications, Senior Seminar Applications, or anything else you can think of, list them here in a comment.

Please post your name (Or at least some sort of moniker) in the comment so that we can respond to each of you specifically.  Try to be as specific as you can—we'll do our best to give you advice drawn from over two decades of combined Kean Student experience!

Who Remembers the Steaming Pipe?

So what we've got here is an article from the Steaming Pipe—the only physical record (At least, the only one we could find) of the change that Student Government underwent in 2008.

Basically, Student Government used to be its own company, a not-for-profit organization.  Then, in 2008, they gave Kean the entire contents of their bank account (Over $1 Million) and became a department.  Aka, the President's office pays them as employees.

Truth be told, your peers who run in the Student Org elections don't even know that SO is a department until they get in—so don't blame them.  What you should do, instead is read up, boys and girls; just ignore the bad grammar.

Track The Money!

Kean University, The Organizations

Take Back Kean on Youtube!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

From all of us at TBK,

Enjoy your Holiday and your time off.

Are You Ready to Rally?

Remember the protest we mentioned a few weeks ago?

Well, the time is nearing!

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3rd
OUTSIDE THE MOVIE THEATER AT THE CORNER OF
MORRIS AVE. AND STUYVESANT AVE.


(THAT'S LIKE, A MILE FROM KEAN.  SO AT LEAST DRIVE BY US FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!)

Lesniak's Office is right next to Union Theaters.

NJN Reports on Kean Restructuring

In Response to The Question of Racism and Gender Discrimination:

HeWhoMustNotBeNamed asked if the Dismissals mentioned in a recent TBK post could be the result of Race or Gender Discrimination. 

The breakdown of Race and Gender among the employees I mentioned in the recent article, Students Continue to Suffer the Consequences of Kean's Confusing Debt, does show an unusual disparity.  Dr. Barbara Wheeler, a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Kean, believes this is the case.  She wrote the following in her article for the KFT Voice:

“I came today to register my disbelief, disgust and disappointment regarding the blatant racial, gender, and age discrimination inherent in the list of 12 professional staff members of the Kean Federation of Teachers who were laid off.”

I think it is somewhat unfounded to accuse Farahi of Racism.  There is no tangible evidence that proves he is racist, and I find it difficult to believe that he would be so proud of Kean’s diversity were he indeed a racist.

What I do believe is that something strange went on during these layoffs and I want to thank Dr. Wheeler and her Article for bringing my attention to the manner of their notification:

“Even more reprehensible was the fact that the number of 26 layoffs was made public before the individuals were told that [they would be] laid off.  Equally cruel was the way in which they were told.  The KFT personnel were summoned by phone and herded into Human Resources in groups of four, which appears to violate their rights to privacy.  None were told how or why they were chosen for dismissal.”

 Why was the Administration unwilling to explain these terminations, even personally to those KFT members?  Without a doubt, the choice to dismiss them in groups represents an ethical transgression on the part of the Administration as well, and the premature announcement of the number of positions to be dropped seems predatory in nature.  Granted, you can’t judge a book by its cover, but if someone sees a Lion running towards him across a field then he should probably be afraid.

My guess, and I stress that this is a guess, is that whether there is a race issue or not, the Administration wants the Faculty to fear it like that Lion, and that by itself would be a reason to question these actions.

Some People Have Asked Us What The Purpose Of This Blog Is

Here's a story that might help explain just that:

Two years ago, a student (let's call him David, because he has asked to remain anonymous) transferred to Kean with the intention of majoring in Social Work.  He made the switch from Raritan Valley Community College to Kean in 2008 after recieving his Associates Degree in Human Services, primarily because Kean offered him an affordable and well-regarded program.

David could have moved on to Rutgers, or a variety of other State Schools that offered better student-to-faculty ratios and a better overall reputation, but instead chose Kean because he wanted to help people.  Social Work is, after all, a degree centered around helping those who are less fortunate, those who fight the uphill battle towards financial security in hopes of realizing that elusive American Dream.

Where else, other than Kean University, would a New Jersey resident go for a Social Work Degree?  Ramapo College, Monmouth College, Centenary College, Seton Hall, and Richard Stockton College all offer the BSW Degree, but none of them has Kean's incredible diversity.  Furthermore, part of Kean's mission is to provide Education to those who are backed up against economic barriers.  So where else, really, should a student who plans to make his living by helping those who face such economic barriers go?  In Dave's opinion, nowhere.

Unfortunately, once Dave was accepted to Kean and attended the transfer-student registration session, he was told by his faculty advisor to avoid pursuing the BSW because the department was in shambles and on its way out.

Because he already had one foot in the door, Dave did build a schedule that day and has continued at Kean as a Sociology Major.  He still intends to help people, and may eventually find his way into a Social Work position once he graduates, but the tools he had hoped would help him achieve his goals vanished out from under him.


What surprises me the most about the whole situation is this:  Why would a school, especially one that focuses so predominantly on helping those in need, abandon a well-regarded Major designed to breed undergrads who would do just that?  Moreover, why would a school that plans on eliminating a field of study in such a way plan to do so without informing incoming and transfer students who expect to earn degrees?

The answer, at least in part, resides in the Middle States Report:  Two words, 'Fiscal,' and 'Crisis.'

Students Continue to Suffer the Consequences of Kean's Confusing Debt:

In the October issue of the KFT Voice, a newspaper produced by members of the Kean Faculty, layoffs are the topic of discussion.

12 Professional Staff Personnel have been given notice by the Administration, and many of them support critical student services.  Among these individuals are the Director of our Passport to Academic Success program, one of only two Academic Advisers in the Spanish-Speaking program, and a Financial Service Coordinator.

What's more interesting is that these people are not new-hires, that five of these people have been working at Kean for 19 to 31 years.  Furthermore, not one of these valued staff members was told the reason for their termination.

There has also been contention concerning the Ethnic and Gender makeup of this group of Staff Members:

83% are Women

50% are African-American, including the only two Males in the group

16% are Hispanic

33% are White Women

(Data taken from Dr. Wheeler's article in the KFT Voice)

So, what explanation is the Administration giving in response to questions from the Faculty?  Debt Service!

Because of the Farahi Administration's debt, our student body is forced to pay the price.  Dr. Katz points out that Kean students are paying 62% more for tuition then they did five years ago and are getting in return a higher student-to-faculty ratio as well as a Faculty that is overstressed by increasing demands from the Administration.

Faculty members now serve as our advisers and councilors as well as our teachers—such a turn of events would not be terrible if there were enough full-time faculty to go around.  75% of Kean's course instructors are Adjuncts who cannot remove registration blocks, and 95% of all Freshmen and Sophomore classes are taught by Adjuncts.  This means, in all likelihood, that incoming Kean Students will not have the same opportunity to pursue advisement that upperclassmen do.  Furthermore, Faculty who must serve as advisers to Freshmen and Sophomores are unlikely to be able to personalize those students' schedules based on interest or ability.

To quote Dr. Katz, Kean Students are only paying for "more trees and shrubs, more signage and public relations, more buildings and privatized maintenance," and worst of all,  "more Deans and Vice Presidents."

Just as Promised: Our first installment of the MIDDLE-STATES SELF-STUDY REPORT

Here are TBK’s findings after examining the first Chapter of the Middle States Self-Study Report: 

The Purpose of the Kean Self-Study report is to “determine… how well the University is ‘fulfilling its mission and achieving its goals’ and… answer the question ‘how well are we collectively doing what we say we are doing?"  (Page 3)

Naturally it speaks of declining State funding over the past two decades, and briefly juxtaposes that against the increased scope of education that Kean has risen to provide over the last half-century.   (Page 3)  What does that mean?

Well, over the past decade, the Kean Mission Statement and Strategic Plan have led the school to the “Achievement of University Status” as well as an “evolution” insofar as providing “foundation for the enhanced levels of academic programming evident [at Kean] today.”  Accordingly, the “end result has been a revitalization of the campus, expanded learning opportunities, and a focus on educational excellence within a global context.” (Page 4)

But what sorts of “expanded learning opportunities” abound here at Kean? 

Certainly our institution has grown in size, but the Undergraduate degree in Social Work, a Nationally Accredited and recognized program, no longer exists.  The Philosophy department, a branch of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences that served about 800 undergraduates each semester, will be completely dissolved by the end of Spring 2011, and the 2,000 students that are enrolled in our Business School don’t even know it’s not Accredited.

The Report boasts of Kean’s incredible diversity, something worthy of praise, and references both the substantial increase in Freshman enrollment trends while noting that  “58% of its first-time full-time freshman classes” are composed of students from “minority backgrounds.” (Page 5) 

Despite this trend in increased enrollment, the document states that “Kean’s efforts to increase the number of full-time faculty are ongoing though a net gain has not yet been achieved.”  (Page 6)  What this means is, even though Full-Time Enrollment at Kean is growing by leaps and bounds, the number of Full-Time Faculty is diminishing.  In fact, the wording of the report implies that this deficit in Faculty has been an irresolvable problem for the last ten years. 

What is worse is how the Self-Study glosses over this issue of a growing Student-to-Faculty ratio:  There is no mention, at this point in the document, of what “Efforts” have been made to increase the presence of Full-Time Faculty on campus, and certainly no reference to the 28 Professors to whom the Farahi Administration has given notice.  Why should the leadership of this University, especially in light of their own recognition of this problem, lay off such an inordinate number of Faculty? 

The Study also lauds a “critical change [that] occurred in spring 2008 with the revamping of the course schedule to improve space utilization,” and how “The reconfigured scheduling template… increased space utilization on Fridays from 13% to 45% and eased parking demands all other days of the week.” (Page 8)  Any students who started attending Kean before the schedule change occurred two years ago knows that the parking situation on campus has only grown worse and that the new schedule all but removes provision for students who want to both work and attend classes full time.  If that serves as any sort of augur to the Kean student body, then know that we’re not done with change.

 Here’s our final note to you, our readers: 

“Today, another reorganization initiative is in progress—the further re-structuring of Academic Affairs.”  (That means they’re referring to the dissolution of the Philosophy Department and Social Work Undergraduate Degree)  “Phased in as early as July 1, 2010, the reorganization involves the elimination of almost all academic departments and department chairs on campus, replacing them with Schools presided over by Executive Directors (who will move out of the bargaining unit and into managerial status) along with coordinators of individual degree programs (who will continue as part of the bargaining unit).  Currently, only two undergraduate departments, History and Communication will continue to exist as departments. Given the pressing need to react to the ongoing fiscal crisis, the reorganization document was generated with and based upon a minimum of discussion between the administration and the faculty, although consultations on implementation continue.” (Page 9)

How the Farahi Administration will continue to carry out this reorganization is unclear.  One thing, however, remains startlingly explicit:  If only the History and Communication Departments are to remain untouched, then every student at Kean who is currently enrolled in one of the 46 remaining Undergraduate programs is at risk of having their majors cut out from under them, and the faculty responsible for their educational wellbeing has no say in the matter.

Just to be perfectly clear, that Means 11,278 Kean Undergrads out of 12,072 NEED TO KNOW THAT THEIR MAJORS ARE AT RISK.

We have Kean's Self-Study report on their FAILURE to meet TWO of the STANDARDS OF ACCREDITATION from Middle States

We'll post more soon about what we find in the document—but take a look at this annotation from Page 14:

In reference to a "lack of communication and information dissemination ¹ on campus...."

"¹ The subject of communication is a recurring theme in this document as well as past accreditation reports. It encompasses a range of characteristics, such as intent, nature, message, channels, and"The subject of communication is a recurring theme in this document as well as past accreditation forms. The need exists for further analysis of this term, including an operational reference of its use on this campus. To this end, the Steering Committee will follow a four-step research plan in fall 2010 to cover the topic with as much clarity as possible in the final copy of this self study."


So, if you have been caught in that cycle of endless advisement referrals or transfer evaluations like so many other undergrads, at least take comfort in the fact they might be aware they're doing it to you.

The quotations shown in this post are from a document entitled Toward World Class Education:  Kean University in Transition which was produced by The Middle States Self-Study Steering Committee on August 26, 2010.

If you don't believe us on this one, TAKE A LOOK AT THE KEAN WEBSITE: 14.4% of In-State Tuition goes straight to paying off the Farahi Administration's increasing debt

FULL TIME KEAN UNDERGRADS PAY:

$705 out of pocket PER SEMESTER!!

Graduate Students pay $564 PER SEMESTER!!

Check it out on your own:

http://www.kean.edu/admissions_tuition.html

Interested in Middle States Accreditation Statistics?

There's a reason why you have to hunt for it...
                                                  But we've found it for you HERE.

For The Record: A Defense of the Philosophy and Religion Program

This is a report written and compiled by Drs. Diaz, D'Sousa, and Pezzolo:

The bottom line, it seems, is that President Dawood Farahi and Provost Mark Lender are going after Departments by creating false evidence of declining trends in enrollment...

Protest Outside Rep. Ray Lesniak's Office in Union, NJ???

That's right, there's going to be one.  Get your hats and gloves ready for DECEMBER 3rd Ladies and Gentlemen—It's time to make a difference.

We'll have more info for you as the date approaches.

Dr. D'Souza's Letter to The Editor in The Tower: Fighting for the Philosophy and Religion Department

Dawood Farahi Forces HSS Chairs to Work Overtime for Pittance; Claims Cost-Cutting is a Necessity while Continuing to Purchase $25,000 of Star Ledger Adds Each Week

Concerned Kean Faculty

Here's a link to a website where Kean Faculty are blogging about the bad-happenings at our University.  These faculty may be ostracized by Farahi and the Administration, but we'll never put them out in the rain.

The Council of Concerned Faculty

Kean University Teachers call for Audit — Politics Patrol

"Often, I have asked here and in the column how Kean University can hire former Gov. (and priest wannabe) Jim McGreevey to teach ethics and keep its accreditation.  Apparently a lot of the teachers there have serious questions as well. A poll of Kean University educators showed 92 percent of  those polled had no confidence in the university’s leadership. They cited President Dawood Farahi’s policies and fiscal management.  Today at 1 p.m., the Kean Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers’ president, Randi Weingarten, will hold a news conference to call for an external forensic audit of the school’s finances before a controversial reorganization proposal that would cut programs and classes goes before the Trustees.  “This situation demands an outside investigation into how taxpayer money is being abused by an administration that has grown 31 percent and exploded university debt from $48 to $350 million in only six years,” said Kean teachers union president James Castiglione. According to published reports, Farahi, a naturalized citizen who immigrated to the US as a college student, is paid more than $293,000 a year and his biggest supporter is Sen. Ray Lesniak to whom he has made political contributions."  (Click to read Full Article)