Excerpt from WDTN
As the Wright State University faculty strike is set to continue for a fourth day, some parents of students say they're concerned about how their kids' education is being impacted.
"We are paying tens of thousands of dollars for our kids — parents all like me — for our kids to go there," said DeeDee Harshbarger, whose son is a sophomore at Wright State.
Harshbarger, a high school teacher who is not taking sides in the labor dispute, said she's frustrated students like her son are caught in the middle of the stalemate.
Harshbarger said all of her son's professors have walked out of the classroom. She said one of them told students that any coursework done during the strike may or may not be counted toward their final grade.
"What are these kids going to do when the strike is over, and the staff comes back, and is the staff going to say, 'OK, now the past two, three weeks, whatever, you have to make up that work and get it done by this time?'"
Noeleen McIlvenna, a history professor and AAUP-WSU officer, said she encourages parents and students to complain to the university if they're concerned about quality of education during the strike.
McIlvenna said union faculty members will decide on a case-by case basis whether or not work done during the strike will be counted.
"We don't even know if these people who assigned it were qualified," McIlvenna said. "Every professor will have to make that assessment when they get back. What work did you do? Was this an assessment that mattered?"
But Wright State spokesperson Seth Bauguess sent a statement to 2 NEWS, saying: "Students should take all assigned coursework seriously. If the strike persists the university will honor its commitment with students for course completion and coursework will be used to support class grades."
According to data compiled by university officials, about 44 percent of AAUP-WSU faculty have shown up to teach their classes as of Thursday, Bauguess said.
"Parents' concerns about quality of education are reasonable," Bauguess said. But as in the case with any interruption in classes, he added, "we are doing our best to provide the education they are paying for."
Meanwhile, DeeDee Harshbarger and her son are waiting to see how long the strike goes on before deciding what to do next.
"They know that they have to do something because they can't put students at jeopardy," Harshbarger said. "They can't take our money and not give our kids an education."
The Wright State Board of Trustees is gathering for a special executive session Friday afternoon, according to the university's website.
