Teachers and adjunct administrators at Columbia College Chicago have reached a tentative agreement that could end a strike that has disrupted classes for six weeks — and has many students contemplating whether or not they will return next semester.
The union that represents part-time teachers at South Loop College said details of the agreement will be released after members vote on it. Voting begins Monday evening and ends Wednesday evening. Adjunct faculty will return to the classroom on Jan. 2 after the college’s winter break if members agree to the deal, union leaders said.
Leila Hernandez, a senior at Columbia University studying art history, said she was relieved that the strike might end. She said she attended rallies in support of adjunct faculty at the beginning of the standoff. But after weeks without a solution, she grew tired of being stuck in the middle between her teachers and college leaders.
“I feel like my parents were divorced and…they were trying to get me to choose a side,” Hernandez, 22, said.
In late November, after the strike had lasted more than three weeks, college leaders announced that classrooms affected by the strike would be taken over by full-time faculty or other teachers who were not participating in the strike. Columbia College did not say whether the other coaches were newly hired.
Students were told they needed to attend class with their substitute teachers or they would not receive credits. But many, including Hernandez, felt they were betraying their original part-time teachers by doing so.
“I felt bad that I chose to go back to classrooms that had substitute teachers, but at the end of the day, I should get that credit,” Hernandez said, adding that she would go into debt to pay for her degree at Columbia College. “If I don’t get that credit, it’s a waste of money.”
A Columbia College spokesperson has not yet responded to a request for comment on the initial deal. The union did not provide a specific number for how many adjunct faculty members were affected by the strike, but when they first arrived at the picket line, officials said nearly 600 teachers joined the walkout.
Katherine Lehman had been teaching students at the college for two months this semester before she went on strike at the end of October. The Latin American history teacher has been dog-sitting and house-sitting to make ends meet ever since.
“As December approached, I was definitely starting to feel some real fear that we might not have a spring semester either,” said Lehman, who has been teaching part-time at Columbia College since 2020.
Now that an agreement is on the table, she says, “I can’t wait to get back to teaching. I can’t wait for the students to meet with me every week, have them do assignments, and get them excited about the class content and subjects. Because my students in Columbia that I attended during… The last few years they have really engaged with Latin American history content in fascinating and innovative ways.
Part-time teachers at the arts-focused college voted to allow a strike in late October after leaders proposed canceling more than 300 classes. Officials said the cuts were necessary to close a $20 million shortfall and target classes that were under-enrolled.
Several faculty and adjunct students disputed the claims, saying administrators had reduced required classroom offerings, and that leaders’ plans to increase class sizes would hurt learning.
The school is unusual in that adjunct faculty, who are paid per course, make up the majority of the faculty — not full-time professors. Union leaders estimate that more than 1,000 chapters were affected by the strike.
Columbia College has a long history of hiring working professionals to teach students because they “bring the most current and innovative thinking to the structure and delivery of our curriculum,” according to the school’s website.
Adjunct faculty were paid between $4,700 and $5,600 per 3-credit course, according to Latest agreement Published on the Union’s website. This agreement expired at the end of August.
Lisa Kurian Phillip covers higher education for WBEZ, in partnership with Open campus. Follow her on Twitter @WBEZeducation And @LAPhilip.
The adjunct faculty at Columbia University Chicago have reached a tentative agreement, marking a significant development in their ongoing efforts to secure better working conditions and compensation. After months of negotiations, the adjunct faculty and university administration have come to an agreement that addresses key concerns and lays the groundwork for a more fair and equitable relationship between the university and its part-time instructors. This agreement represents a positive step forward for the adjunct faculty and demonstrates the power of collective bargaining in achieving much-needed changes in the academic labor landscape.