By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org
    
CHICAGO – Perhaps the mentality in education circles is starting to change a bit.
 
Some unionized educators are starting to realize that pay increases must be tied to performance, rather than being “automatic” every year regardless of student progress.
 
Proof comes from Chicago, where a chapter of the American Federation of Teachers that represents nearly 1,500 instructors at the City Colleges of Chicago have agreed to a collective bargaining agreement that eliminates automatic “step” salary increases and embraces performance bonuses based on eight criteria, according to a report published by InsideHigherED.com.
 
The performance bonuses will not be individual in nature. They will be given to all staff members if certain goals are met. Partial bonuses will be available to all staff members if some of the goals are met.
 
The goals will be based on the following:
 
The number of students who earn degrees or certificates; the number of “at risk” students receiving degrees or certificates; the number of students who transfer to four-year schools within three years of enrollment; the number of remedial students who advance to college-level work; the number of new full-time students who earn 30 credits in their first year; the number of part-time students who earn 15 credits in their first year; the percentage of former students who are employed in the fields in which they were trained; and the median earnings of graduates in fields that they studied.
 
“Meaningful but achievable” goals will be established, according to the news report. For instance, one goal would require that five years from now the system graduates 25,000 students, an increase from 8,567 this year. The targeted number of graduates would increase each year, leading up to the 25,000 mark.
 
The new contract passed with the support of 72 percent of faculty members and 80 percent of professional staff members, despite the fact that many faculty leaders spoke against the deal and union leaders on two campuses urged members to vote against it.
 
This is a step in the right direction. It provides incentives for instructors to worker harder to make sure students get the instruction they need to succeed in college and beyond.
 
The city college system enrolls many students who are not quite ready for college-level work, so their work will be cut out for them. But the instructors have accepted the challenge and we salute them for their cooperation and willingness to risk their raises to help students achieve their goals.