Proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
for Ratification with Commentary from AAUP Leadership
June 10, 2020

​In the spirit of amicable labor relations, Rider University and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) hereby agree to a one-year extension of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the parties, as described below. 

1. All elements of the present (2017-2020) Agreement between the parties shall remain the same except as specifically modified herein. 
   
   Such items as wages, governance, workload, all remain as in the existing Agreement. Among other things that means that furloughs and other reduction in salary are off the table.
   
   
2. In the summer of 2021, there shall be a total of twelve (12) research and development fellowships, as divided below, with six (6) summer fellowships set aside for nontenured tenure-track faculty and six (6) summer fellowships set aside for tenured faculty. There shall be a maximum of ten (10) summer research fellowships with a stipend of $5,250 per fellowship and there shall be a maximum of two (2) summer developmental fellowships with a stipend of $5,250 per fellowship. 
   
   While this is the same as it was this year it had to be included in the MOU since it is not in the Agreement but was the result of a previous MOU we did last year.
   
   
3. There shall be no reimbursement for travel to conferences as long as CDC guidelines restrict non-essential travel. Should the CDC lift its guidelines restricting non-essential travel during Fiscal Year 20-21, the parties shall meet to discuss the availability of travel funds, if any. 
   
   While this does contemplate the possibility of funding becoming available later in the year prudent planning calls for you to assume no such monies will be available.
   
   
4. A faculty member shall automatically be granted, upon written notice to the Provost's office, an exclusion of one year from the countable years of service that constitute that individual's tenure probationary period. Such notice must be provided to the Provost's Office no later than June 30, 2020.
   
   This will have the same effect as utilizing the one-year addition to the tenure clock for family obligations connected with a “caringforachildinthefirstyear oflifeand/orthemedicalneedsofaseriouslyillspouse, domesticpartner,parent,orchild”. Thus, the mandatory dates for coming up for promotions (Assistant Professor 2 or Associate Professor) or tenure would be extended by one year. Requesting this addition to your tenure clock does not mean you cannot apply for promotion or tenure on the dates you were initially scheduled to do so or even earlier. Under our Agreement there is no penalty for applying for promotion or tenure prior to your mandatory date for doing so. Therefore, there is no penalty or cost connected to extending your tenure clock by notifying the Provost under this provision of the MOU. This change does not affect reappointments.
   
   
5. If Rider resumes face-to-face classroom instruction during AY 20-21, faculty members may choose to opt out of in-person instruction, provided that:
   
   a. ​​​Deans' offices are notified of the faculty member's choice no later than July 1, 2020 for the Fall semester, and no later than December 1, 2020 for the Spring semester. 
   
   b. Faculty inform their Deans of their plans for how their courses will be facilitated remotely. 
   
   c. If a section of a course being taught by a faculty member who opted for all-remote instruction is canceled due to low enrollment, and that faculty member is unable to meet a teaching load of nine (9) credits in the Fall 2020 semester he/she may be assigned, if possible, an available course that they are qualified to teach either during the J term or the Spring 2021 semester to make up his or her load during J term or the Spring 2021 semester. If necessary, to meet the 18-credit hour normal teaching load for these individuals the course preparation limits per semester in Article XXVII.L shall be lifted. 
   
   No faculty member can be required to carry out face-to-face teaching if they do not want to do so. No reason is required, simply notification to your Dean by July 1, for the Fall semester.  This right extends into the Spring semester when the notification date is December 1. A decision to teach all your courses remotely in the fall does not bind you for the spring semester. If you choose to teach all your courses remotely per this section of the MOU you need to inform your Dean how you intend to do so. This ispurely for informational purposes and the Dean has no power to alter your pedagogical decisions. Will it be synchronous s or asynchronous, will you record lectures and post them to Canvas, how will you do office hours etc.? In addition, the limit on doing no more than 2 preparations in any one semester would be lifted if that is the only way a normal teaching load over the full academic year can be obtained. This does not apply if you are teaching remotely as per your regular workload or if you are only teaching some of your courses remotely or in a hybrid mode. If a normal workload cannot be obtained there can be no docking of base salary but your Dean may ask you to carry out a special project. Such projects would be worked out between the faculty member and the Dean. Such projects may include, but shallnot be limited to the following:
   1. ​curriculum and disciplinary study;
   2. teaching methodology;
   3. mastering of new disciplinary subject matter and/or techniques;
   4. basic skill support;
   5. advising support;
   6. research;
   7. student recruiting;
   8. grant applications.
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6. A one-time AY 20-21 Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) will be made available to all full-time faculty who have at least ten years of service to the University and will reach age 65 by July 1, 2021. Faculty who opt for this benefit will teach 50% of their normal teaching load and be paid 66.7 % of their base salary. Full benefits will remain in place for these faculty members as defined by past practice. Faculty must apply for this ERI no later than August 1, 2020. 
   
   
7. Class instruction for Academic Year 20-21 shall begin on August 31, 2020, with in-person instruction during the Fall 2020 semester ceasing no later than Tuesday, November 24.  All classes will be delivered through remote instruction during the week of November 30 through December 4, and final exams will occur during the week of December 7 through December 11.
   
   In the email to members this date was listed as September 1, 2020. This was changed to August 31 in order to assure that each class period met the same number of hours. All classes would become remote for the last week of instruction and for final exams. 
   
   
8. There shall be no utilization of Article XV (Layoff) during AY 20-21 unless Rider University is prohibited by the State of New Jersey from opening beginning on September 1, 2020.  
   
   There can be no use of the layoff article for any reason including financial exigency during the 2020-21 as long as the governor allows reopening of colleges and universities by September 1. If the University cannot reopen for reasons other than action of the state this section of the MOU would still be in effect. If Rider is forced to close the campus after having opened this section would still be in effect. Effectively this means that no member of the unit can be laid off any time sooner than September 1, 2022.
   
   
9. The parties shall commence negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement on or about June 1, 2021. Prior thereto, both the AAUP and the University shall exchange proposals for inclusion in such new collective bargaining agreement by May 1, 2021.
   
   
10. This extension shall be effective as of June, 2020 and  shall expire on August 31, 2021. All other terms of the present contract between the parties shall remain in effect. ​

June 10, 2020