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FSEC revisits classroom quality issue
By DONNA LONGENECKER
Reporter Assistant Editor
Although UB is fast becoming one of the most high-tech universities in the country, the quality of its instructional space and availability of educational technology classrooms may be suffering a meltdown, according to a report presented by the chair of the Faculty Senate Facilities Planning Committee to the senate's executive committee at yesterday's meeting.
Joseph J. Zambon, professor of periodontics and endodonics and chair of the committee, cited numerous and continuous complaints from faculty—everything from dirty classrooms, broken desks and holes in the walls to defective sound systems and projection equipment, and poor heating and ventilation.
The problems are university-wide, Zambon said. Several faculty members have reported numerous, unsuccessful attempts to have equipment repaired, costing them precious instructional time and, in one instance he cited, a cancelled class.
"This is not news," he said. "Everybody knows the instructional classrooms are horrific."
Not only that, but some faculty members are finding it difficult, if not impossible, to teach in an educational technology classroom, he added.
He explained that faculty members spend time tailoring instructional materials and curriculum to meet the university's increasing emphasis on educational technology, only to have to revert back to more traditional forms of instruction, such as handouts and the blackboard, when IT classrooms aren't available. Many reported being assigned IT classrooms one year but then not being able to get such a classroom again the following year.
Faculty members have been encouraged to use educational technology, he noted, only to have it taken away from them.
And some faculty members, according to comments from members of the FSEC, simply would be happy to have a decent blackboard.
While it costs about $40,000 to $50,000 to upgrade classrooms to meet IT needs, Zambon explained, he suggested that spending about $5,000 to $10,000 per classroom in simpler upgrades could solve some of the IT concerns.
On a more basic level, classroom cleanliness is a big issue for faculty members, Zambon noted, with many simply finding the work environment dirty and poorly maintained. For example, he pointed out that a couple of classrooms in Diefendorf haven't been improved since the 1970s and complaints are constantly received regarding inadequate ventilation in that building, as well as many others.
He said that more than half of the dental students taking part in a self-study accreditation survey a couple of years ago reported dissatisfaction with the quality of classrooms on campus, citing heating and ventilation problems—including classrooms being too cold—as well as having to use dirty and broken desks.
"Things seem to be sliding downhill," Zambon said, noting that his report to the FSEC isn't the first time the classroom-quality issue has been brought to the attention of the Faculty Senate or the university administration. "Recommendations have been made, but not acted on," he said. "Faculty become very upset by this kind of thing."
Prospective dental "students visiting the school aren't shown classrooms because we're embarrassed by them," he noted.
"This is a work environment issue for faculty—this is where the students learn," said H. William Coles, associate director of the Educational Opportunity Program and chair of the Professional Staff Senate.
The last upgrades to classrooms were made two years ago, Zambon pointed out, when the administration spent about $800,000 to improve instructional space.
"The immediacy of these concerns suggests that the most egregious things should be taken care of," said Michael Cohen, professor of neurology and pediatrics and chair of the Faculty Senate.