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Classroom complaints continue at FSEC

Published: February 12, 2004

By DONNA BUDNIEWSKI
Reporter Assistant Editor

Two reoccurring themes affect the quality of the teaching and learning experience at UB—the shortage of centrally scheduled classrooms and the quality of the classroom itself, according to a spring 2003 faculty survey of instructional facilities. Clean, well-supplied classrooms are in short supply and classrooms, period, are at a premium, survey results indicate.

Joseph Zambon, professor of periodontics and endodontics, and chair of the Faculty Senate Facilities Committee, presented the results of the survey, along with updates of classroom maintenance projects and initiatives, to members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee at Wednesday's meeting.

To date, noted Zambon, 93 classrooms have been evaluated, resulting in just about that many work orders for such items as burned out lightbulbs, stained ceilings and broken window blinds. Last spring the university re-instituted the practice of using student evaluators to check classrooms for maintenance issues.

In general, the survey found, faculty members are satisfied with the quality of the technology in classrooms, such as computers and video projectors, and feel that when problems do arise with the equipment, they are solved in a timely manner. Faculty also reported a fairly high level of satisfaction with the condition and scheduling of student laboratories.

However, classroom maintenance continues to be a major problem, according to the survey and past reports by Zambon. Faculty comments collected from the survey resoundingly report in many cases extreme dissatisfaction with the quality of teaching space on campus. The most common complaints noted in the survey include dirty classrooms, broken chairs, poor lighting, inadequate heating and cooling, inadequate to non-existent chalk and eraser supplies, and filthy chalkboards. Numerous comments throughout the survey expressed frustration about repeated attempts to get anyone, especially maintenance, to address frequent requests for repairs and supplies. A sampling of faculty comments noted in the survey:

  • "A filthy classroom with broken chairs, scuffed floors and mangled blinds shows the students exactly what the university thinks of them and how much it values education, teaching and learning. The total disregard and disrespect of the teaching-learning process as evidenced by classroom quality tells students they don't matter, the institution doesn't matter and they don't have to apply themselves. It also tells them they can contribute to the classroom as garbage pit by eating and drinking."

  • "Classrooms are a disgrace! Rooms are dirty, furniture broken (and rooms are) either too hot or too cold (with) no way to adjust. Lighting was not designed for instruction. Most rooms open into very noisy hallways and doors must be kept open to get some air/heat/cooling.

  • "I have been unable to regularly schedule a technology classroom, despite reorganizing my entire content around Blackboard. It is hard to teach with Blackboard when you don't get a room."

  • "Scheduling is an ongoing problem. The best example I can cite is that for a medium-sized survey course in biochemistry (180-200 students), which meets four times each week, we have been unable to secure a single room on all days during the fall semester. This results in two obvious problems: students forgetting which room to go to on a given day and one of the rooms being too small to serve as an examination room for the class, necessitating dividing up the class into two groups during exams."

Melvyn Churchill, professor of chemistry, said that 13 sections of an undergraduate chemistry course could not be seated for fall of 2004—he reported a similar problem last year, resulting in many students taking the course later in their studies, creating an even more congested scheduling nightmare. "It's a backup problem that's going to get worse every year," said Churchill.

Zambon said the problem with maintenance is that those who work in that department police themselves. "The maintenance people are reluctant a lot of times to say that there are things that need to be done because then they'll have to do them. Lighbulbs are the big thing. There apparently is some sort of magic, minimal number of lightbulbs that aren't working (in a room) before they'll replace lightbulbs," said Zambon.

But, he noted, "The big thing for them (faculty) is that there aren't enough classrooms." The university has lost about 60 centrally scheduled classrooms over the years, down from 200 to 140, explained Zambon.

Although President John S. Simpson said money for classrooms is "as scarce as hen's teeth," he indicated he's making the case for more instructional space to SUNY officials and that UB has a capital budget as part of this year's budget package.

William Baumer, professor of philosophy, pointed out that capital funds can be used for building operations, new buildings and equipment with a lifetime of more than three years.

Educational technology upgrades are planned this year for rooms in Alumni Arena, Kimball Tower and Baldy, Diefendorf, Capen, Clemens and Cooke halls.