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March 28, 2024, 07:41:12 PM

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University Challenged

Started by Alberon, March 16, 2020, 10:17:12 PM

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BlodwynPig

The Finnish job is still on - but can I be arsed to complete the arduous application with only a minute chance of getting even an interview?

Advice, i.e. motivation, please

bgmnts

If you dont i'll look down on you.



BlodwynPig


BlodwynPig

Quote from: bgmnts on March 24, 2020, 02:34:49 PM
If you dont i'll look down on you.

Not difficult, I'm only 5'5'', Foz

Attila

Senior management has just sent all of us a link, demanding that we download and install Simple In/Out on our home PC or laptop or phone during the lockdown/work from home time -- basically a time clock 'for our safety and security' -- ie so they can see when we're online and what we're working on/looking at.

My response to my HoD: you can fuck that sky high.

My dept is having a similar response.

Senior management bought this shit literally yesterday afternoon, and without any reviews, testing, or moral compass, is making this demand.

Nope.

Of course, these are the same people who sent around an email Monday noting that as a result of the virus/lockdown, we're going to have to downsize, and people will be culled/forced into 'voluntary redundancy.'

At least wait until the corpse of the semester has actually fallen over and cooled off, first, you ghouls.

Quote from: Attila on March 24, 2020, 06:32:32 PM
Senior management has just sent all of us a link, demanding that we download and install Simple In/Out on our home PC or laptop or phone during the lockdown/work from home time -- basically a time clock 'for our safety and security' -- ie so they can see when we're online and what we're working on/looking at.

Of course, these are the same people who sent around an email Monday noting that as a result of the virus/lockdown, we're going to have to downsize, and people will be culled/forced into 'voluntary redundancy.'


Fucking hell, mate - sorry to hear this, on both counts.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: Attila on March 24, 2020, 06:32:32 PM
Senior management has just sent all of us a link, demanding that we download and install Simple In/Out on our home PC or laptop or phone during the lockdown/work from home time -- basically a time clock 'for our safety and security' -- ie so they can see when we're online and what we're working on/looking at.

My response to my HoD: you can fuck that sky high.

My dept is having a similar response.

Senior management bought this shit literally yesterday afternoon, and without any reviews, testing, or moral compass, is making this demand.

Nope.

Of course, these are the same people who sent around an email Monday noting that as a result of the virus/lockdown, we're going to have to downsize, and people will be culled/forced into 'voluntary redundancy.'

At least wait until the corpse of the semester has actually fallen over and cooled off, first, you ghouls.

We could start a virtual University. Open-source, free, inclusive and diverse.


bgmnts


Attila

Quote from: Small Potatoes on March 24, 2020, 06:35:28 PM
Fucking hell, mate - sorry to hear this, on both counts.

Cheers -- on the positive side, my dept's gone mental on the idea of downloading that crap onto our home computers/phones, etc, if the email thread in response to it is any indication.

Considering how much extra work we're all doing on top of the usual chores to maintain any semblance of a semester, it's downright insulting that senior management assumes we're all skiving since we don't have to be on campus.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: bgmnts on March 24, 2020, 07:24:48 PM
Sign me up!

Cab University.

What will your contribution be?

Our Engineering, Maths, Town Planning, Biochemistry and History departments are full

Surely there has to be room for a postcolonial literary theorist in this new post-pandemic educational institution. I can't provide anything actually useful, but I can bang on about Frantz Fanon for fuckin' hours.

Blue Jam

Sign me up too! I'm a life scientist, so can I be head of the the Department for Mental Illness, Baldness and Phimosis Research?

bgmnts

Quote from: BlodwynPig on March 24, 2020, 10:23:43 PM
What will your contribution be?

Our Engineering, Maths, Town Planning, Biochemistry and History departments are full

Custodian?

Attila

Senior Management have finally replied to the burning pitchforks and angry peasants (our response basically to the spyware) -- it's only for those campus bods who would otherwise have to work on campus, and not meant for teaching and researching staff.

Uh huh. Right. That was NOT the email that was sent originally: it was that we all had to do it.

Also, zippitey do dah from them about not withholding strike days wages (many universities are waiving the wage-docks). Of course we'll have our wages for striking docked.

fatguyranting

I'm half way through a creative taught MA and the pressure on the academic staff to keep things turning over with distance learning is obviously intense. To the point where I'm more stressed by the panic soaked emails from the course leader than I am the risk of gasping to death as a result of the the virus. I get a strong sense people are terrified that students will be looking for fees back along the line. The sad thing (not a massive issue in the grand scheme of things I know) is that most of us only did the course in the first place as it offered the chance of networking with publishers, agents and the like and that's all gone now.

BlodwynPig

I've let the genie out of the bottle and the RA's are considering righting a co-signed letter to the University asking for 6 month employment relief (i.e. contract extension) to tide us over until the job market picks up again

Dr Trouser

Quote from: BlodwynPig on March 25, 2020, 02:07:14 PM
I've let the genie out of the bottle and the RA's are considering righting a co-signed letter to the University asking for 6 month employment relief (i.e. contract extension) to tide us over until the job market picks up again

good idea, but get an arts graduate to check the spelling and grammar

BlodwynPig

Quote from: Dr Trouser on March 25, 2020, 02:09:07 PM
good idea, but get an arts graduate to check the spelling and grammar

fucking hell - mind GONE

Puce Moment

No meetings, nothing much coming in on email. We were supposed to end teaching this week anyway.

Starting to think that this is now a paid jolly, something I have never been able to take advantage of after many years of freelance wok.

Attila

Quote from: Puce Moment on March 25, 2020, 02:29:24 PM
No meetings, nothing much coming in on email. We were supposed to end teaching this week anyway.

Starting to think that this is now a paid jolly, something I have never been able to take advantage of after many years of freelance wok.

I would be so, so happy to be in that position...we're still teaching through to the end of next week. Fuck knows when assignments are actually supposed to come in now, as the deadlines have been changed what feels like 20 times so far, and students are being allowed extensions with no supporting evidence for need. We've been warned we might be marking stuff for this semester clear into August if not next semester, if you consider resubs and extensions.

My inbox remains absolutely nuts with stuff from colleagues, admins, senior management, and students. A lot of it is people hitting 'reply all' though, and people sending emails to their seminar groups on Canvas but actually sending them to everyone on that Canvas module because they don't know how to focus or limit their emails (I cannot imagine what my inbox would look like if I hadn't turned off 99% of Canvas's settings).

Quote from: fatguyranting on March 25, 2020, 02:01:19 PM
I'm half way through a creative taught MA and the pressure on the academic staff to keep things turning over with distance learning is obviously intense. To the point where I'm more stressed by the panic soaked emails from the course leader than I am the risk of gasping to death as a result of the the virus.

I empathise. I feel more stressed out trying to hold my classes together than I do being worried about getting virus'd up  or Mr Attila's contract going tit's up (he's independently contracted as an electronics engineer) in the next week or so.

I've been spending more time online in the past 10 days, and writing so much in terms of a constant stream of rah rah emails to students, and fielding the 9 billion emails from colleagues and managers, that it's like, 'If only I got the corovid, I could legitimately take a few days off.' Although knowing my university, they'd sack me for slacking.

Our management is worried as fuck about recruitment and how all of this is going to impact tuition income. Yet more talking about downsizing and redundancy. Yeah that makes me want to work even harder on their behalf.

Endicott


BlodwynPig


Puce Moment

Attila, this is a major shift in the way everyone lives. Please don't get stressed about delivering some notion of a proxy perfect course during these times.

Everyone has to adjust, including your students, your line managers, and you.

Dr Trouser

UKRI is in a strange place at the moment, have had many calls this week;

Research Councils - 'we need more money to look at the science of CV19'
Innovate UK - 'fuck off we're manufacturing ventilators and giving R&D money to companies to help them stay afloat, stick your microscope up your arse'


Attila

Quote from: Puce Moment on March 25, 2020, 02:57:08 PM
Attila, this is a major shift in the way everyone lives. Please don't get stressed about delivering some notion of a proxy perfect course during these times.

Everyone has to adjust, including your students, your line managers, and you.

<3

Appreciated, honestly. I think my dept for the most part has been amazing in the transition.

My HoD just sent around a summary today of a big faculty meeting -- he summed up all of these insane coro intitatives with 'Stay frosty everyone, take breaks, get some rest - the main thing we need to do right now is get to the end of next week [ie end of term].'

Blue Jam

Still not heard the outcome of that job interview I had just over a week ago now. Got no idea if that's bad news or good news. Whatever, it doesn't seem important right now.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: Blue Jam on March 26, 2020, 05:59:33 PM
Still not heard the outcome of that job interview I had just over a week ago now. Got no idea if that's bad news or good news. Whatever, it doesn't seem important right now.

Zilch for my outstanding applications. I think, yes, they may be taking stock

Blue Jam

Yes, I was told the latest start date for this position would be in July, but that's not going to happen. I'm wondering if the funding body have postponed the start date, or HR are a bit too short-staffed to make offers or rejections, or if the PU has been forced to sack the whole thing off. Whatever, it was a useful experience and nice to "meet" some new people and talk science, I guess.

Norton Canes

Lent my services to answering queries to the coronavirus@ mailbox over the last few days. Exoected to be fielding a lot of worried messages from prospectively infected students and staff but instead it's swamped by complaints that we"re not refunding tuition or accommidation fees.