Update (10)
Update is a subsection of compensation and specifically discusses compensation for the updating of courses. Ten contracts included this term. Compensation (wages) is a mandatory topic under all state statutes covered by this statute. As a subtopic of compensation, the pay for the updating of courses might also be considered a mandatory topic. Otherwise, it is a permissive topic for bargaining.
Examples
Observations. This is a controversial topic on many campuses. It can certainly be argued that the initial preparation for a distance education course, particularly by an instructor new to the area, is a large undertaking deserving of additional compensation. The argument, however, is less strong for the revision of a course. At the point that a course is revised, a faculty member is presumably experienced with distance technologies and familiar with the pedagogical tools that are successful in this medium. Non- distance educators might wonder why distance education course updates are compensated when traditional course updates are not.
This author generally recommends that, where possible, distance courses should be treated in the same way as traditional courses. In this situation, rather than defunding the compensation of distance course updates, faculty might argue that all substantial course updates should be funded, whether distance education courses or not.