Horn_in_Aggieland said:

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95 Buzzbait said:

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I love Victoria….but the Home Depot men's restroom has had issues….

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I still go back to read that post when I want to die laughing.

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I must have missed toolbox-sale level thread. You got a link?

That's why universities pumped them up so much. Online classes have greater revenue and lower costs than in person classes. In person is limited by physical space, but online can be spun up to the maximum number of students and adjunct faculty you can convince to work remotely.

This is just the same whinging about Return to Office that we have seen in private industry. My Dad lives in Victoria and I can see why this is a problem as getting qualified instructors to actually move to Victoria permanently would be a problem. If students don't have to be on campus 5 days a week I don't see why the instructors need that requirement though. I would bet the average student only attends in person courses 3 days in a week.

bonfarr said:

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This is just the same whinging about Return to Office that we have seen in private industry. My Dad lives in Victoria and I can see why this is a problem as getting qualified instructors to actually move to Victoria permanently would be a problem. If students don't have to be on campus 5 days a week I don't see why the instructors need that requirement though. I would bet the average student only attends in person courses 3 days in a week.

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Just another case of what happens when lawyers write all the laws. They were all history majors, so they fancy themselves as historians. Then because they paid for their advanced degrees, they fancy themselves as academics. They are neither.

bonfarr said:

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This is just the same whinging about Return to Office that we have seen in private industry. My Dad lives in Victoria and I can see why this is a problem as getting qualified instructors to actually move to Victoria permanently would be a problem. If students don't have to be on campus 5 days a week I don't see why the instructors need that requirement though. I would bet the average student only attends in person courses 3 days in a week.

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Agreed. Seems like an unforced error by the school. The article states that the statute doesn't specifically require 40 hours on campus. Seems like the school has a need for labor and they decided to make the conditions of employment such that a lot of the labor said bye. Nowadays remote work is a consideration that some value, just like salary, insurance, and other benefits.

Quote:

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The bill restricts telework for public higher education faculty members, but does not specifically require they spend 40 hours per week on campus. As of Monday, no other Texas A&M campuses appear to have implemented a similar rule.

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Rubicante said:

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If they've been allowed to work remotely from other cities for years, giving them barely a month's notice that remote work is no longer allowed and they are expected to work in Victoria full-time seems to be inviting chaos.

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This isn't a job coding, writing press releases, or even, for the most part, doing research like legal research. It is a university faculty position where office hours, teaching (imagine that), and on-campus research -- where all the facilities and materials ACTUALLY ARE -- is not only PART of the job, it IS the job. It is sort of like Detroit requiring auto maker assemblers to actually be present in building cars. Hard to do that remotely.

I'm not saying there are no tasks that can't be done remotely, and perhaps the 40 hour requirement is a bit draconian. However, I think this is the area where remote work has been terribly abused, and this is public employment. The government has a clear right to set the standard here.

University profs living 2 hours away is a bad thing, anyway. No telling how many classes were cancelled over the years when the prof "couldn't get away," or didn't want to bother with the commute. Had they actually been on campus, they'd have been at class. I recall a summer class I took in college (not at A&M) where the prof cancelled Friday classes (it was a M-F class) for the entire session. We didn't mind, but I'm sure the department knew what was going on. Plus, that was an extreme exception. I think that was the only class I had my entire undergrad or grad time (don't even ask me how many hours I have...) where something like that happened.

Now, I imagine, it is an entirely different story. Sorry, but that's BS. A private school can do what they want, but not a public school. And even private schools receiving federal money need to have some accountability.

AggieKatie2 said:

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https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty/2026/08/25/faculty-quit-texas-university-orders-them-back-campus

Basically a bunch of faculty are quitting because they are expected (by law) to be on site 5 days a week.

It's their right to quit, but way to leave university students in a bind.

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Well, bye.

Free at-will world. They can find a better job and University can hire/fire as well.

This: "faculty are expected to have day-to-day physical presence on campus for in-person interaction with students".

State and university finally addressing a small part of the university system fraud against students. These are basic requirements.

Ag with kids said:

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HaroldShipmanAg said:

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Ag with kids said:

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HaroldShipmanAg said:

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Rubicante said:

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If they've been allowed to work remotely from other cities for years, giving them barely a month's notice that remote work is no longer allowed and they are expected to work in Victoria full-time seems to be inviting chaos.re

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requiring professors to actually be in class the horror.

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What professor has 8 hrs of class from 0800-1700 every day of the week?

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take it up with the A&M system.....

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But, seriously...they probably have, what, maybe 9-10 hrs of instruction a week.

So, they're not in "class" that other 30 hrs...

And, it's not the A&M system that did this, it's the Texas legislature...A&M is just following the law.

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9 hours a week in the class room + 18 hours a week in prep, grading etc. + administrative duties. It can add up fast.

Why is there a university in Victoria, TX? Just shut it down and lease it out to ranching or oil businesses.

TAMU CC can absorb the student body or the students can go to SA or Houston.

doubledog said:

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Ag with kids said:

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HaroldShipmanAg said:

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Ag with kids said:

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HaroldShipmanAg said:

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Rubicante said:

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If they've been allowed to work remotely from other cities for years, giving them barely a month's notice that remote work is no longer allowed and they are expected to work in Victoria full-time seems to be inviting chaos.re

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requiring professors to actually be in class the horror.

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What professor has 8 hrs of class from 0800-1700 every day of the week?

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take it up with the A&M system.....

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But, seriously...they probably have, what, maybe 9-10 hrs of instruction a week.

So, they're not in "class" that other 30 hrs...

And, it's not the A&M system that did this, it's the Texas legislature...A&M is just following the law.

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9 hours a week in the class room + 18 hours a week in prep, grading etc. + administrative duties. It can add up fast.

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I was referring to his comment about professors being required to be in class…no teacher has 40 hrs of class.

And that prep/grading and much of the admin duties could be done anywhere, so requiring them to do it on campus isn't necessary.

Now, my institute where I'm staff requires us to be in the office 40 hrs a week even though technically we're exempt from this law.

South Platte said:

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Why is there a university in Victoria, TX? Just shut it down and lease it out to ranching or oil businesses.

TAMU CC can absorb the student body or the students can go to SA or Houston.

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We just took over the university from UH I believe.

Ag with kids said:

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South Platte said:

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Why is there a university in Victoria, TX? Just shut it down and lease it out to ranching or oil businesses.

TAMU CC can absorb the student body or the students can go to SA or Houston.

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We just took over the university from UH I believe.

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This is correct. I stayed at my dad's place and took a semester of classes at UHV a long time ago when I was trying to save money. Two of my four profs were former instructors at TAMU that were married to men in the oilfield industry that were forced to relocate to Victoria when their husbands were transferred and they weren't thrilled about the move.

Happened on the main campus also. Lots of profs moved to Europe during covid and didn't want to come back and most didn't when told they had to.

Faculty need to be on campus not only for the classes they teach but also office hours each day for students who need to consult with them. College is first and foremost about the students, not the staff. A reasonable professor could find a way to be on site for teaching and office hours to meet the needs of his/her students, and still wrap in some flexibility for their schedule also. We do it in the private sector and had to rein in some of those who wanted to work at home all the time. That dog just doesn't hunt.

The friction you see playing out publicly isn't from public/private employees trying to be reasonable. It's those who want to redefine how they work to their terms exclusively. Well, in a booming economy and labor-short market, you might get by with that temporarily. But in the real world and over the cycle, it's a pipe dream. Welcome to the real world where people have to show up for work, just like those who work in the factories, farms, and forests.

I don't really see what the issue is here. What's the controversy?

The university knows all employee addresses, so they can't complain about the mass exodus. They had to know most would leave instead of commuting. Employees had the choice to stay and move to Victoria or quit. They chose to quit.

Sounds like everyone got to make their own decisions and have to live with the consequences of those decisions. Is it perfect? No. But most of the time the best we can ask for is to have options and the ability to make our own choices.

https://texags.com/forums/5/topics/1810305

To those professors, do not let the door hit you on the way out.

MemphisAg1 said:

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Faculty need to be on campus not only for the classes they teach but also office hours each day for students who need to consult with them. College is first and foremost about the students, not the staff. A reasonable professor could find a way to be on site for teaching and office hours to meet the needs of his/her students, and still wrap in some flexibility for their schedule also. We do it in the private sector and had to rein in some of those who wanted to work at home all the time. That dog just doesn't hunt.

The friction you see playing out publicly isn't from public/private employees trying to be reasonable. It's those who want to redefine how they work to their terms exclusively. Well, in a booming economy and labor-short market, you might get by with that temporarily. But in the real world and over the cycle, it's a pipe dream. Welcome to the real world where people have to show up for work, just like those who work in the factories, farms, and forests.

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Sure.

But that shouldn't mean 0800-1700 M-F.

I work at TAMUCC and know a lot of profs here. They do their work on campus and probably do 20 hrs a week at home, minimum.

They're not trying to **** off.

Now, granted, I work with the engineering, computer science/GIS, and marine biology people...so they're probably more passionate about their work.

NOTE: I am not faculty. I am the lead staff engineer at our institute. So, none of this **** affectcs me.

These instructors and profs that resigned.... did they never or rarely go on campus... students in their classes just remote/tele-learned?

Think about this for a second. If you can learn something online, there's no need for a college curriculum in it, much less a degree .

Quote:

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The university knows all employee addresses, so they can't complain about the mass exodus. They had to know most would leave instead of commuting. Employees had the choice to stay and move to Victoria or quit. They chose to quit.

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Sounds like the new campus president really didn't think this through, if it's true that 72% of their faculty have Houston area addresses.

But hey, they did offer an accommodation:

Quote:

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During a back-to-business breakfast, faculty were told that they could rent a room, at their own expense, for $1200/month in an old dorm building on campus. The rooms have barebones accommodations and do not include an in-room kitchen.

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https://aaup-texas.org/blog/f/texas-am-victorias-eleventh-hour-chaos

Ag with kids said:

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MemphisAg1 said:

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Faculty need to be on campus not only for the classes they teach but also office hours each day for students who need to consult with them. College is first and foremost about the students, not the staff. A reasonable professor could find a way to be on site for teaching and office hours to meet the needs of his/her students, and still wrap in some flexibility for their schedule also. We do it in the private sector and had to rein in some of those who wanted to work at home all the time. That dog just doesn't hunt.

The friction you see playing out publicly isn't from public/private employees trying to be reasonable. It's those who want to redefine how they work to their terms exclusively. Well, in a booming economy and labor-short market, you might get by with that temporarily. But in the real world and over the cycle, it's a pipe dream. Welcome to the real world where people have to show up for work, just like those who work in the factories, farms, and forests.

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Sure.

But that shouldn't mean 0800-1700 M-F.

I work at TAMUCC and know a lot of profs here. They do their work on campus and probably do 20 hrs a week at home, minimum.

They're not trying to **** off.

Now, granted, I work with the engineering, computer science/GIS, and marine biology people...so they're probably more passionate about their work.

NOTE: I am not faculty. I am the lead staff engineer at our institute. So, none of this **** affectcs me.

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The mass exodus means, if nothing else, that those leaving did not spend a lot of time on campus prior to the policy change. If they did, this shouldn't be too big of an impact. How many are realistically going to quit if they've been going in for 4 days a week, full time, and just taking Friday (or one day) off?

The answer is no one. These folks were almost universally mailing it in, and it was being terribly abused. They got called on it, figured out that they didn't want to move to (or near) Victoria, and quit. That's fine, but they aren't victims here. People shouldn't pretend they are. The burden of proof is on them to show they've been productive remotely, and there's nothing that's been shown to prove that. Asserting it as an assumption isn't proof.

Like I said earlier, I think the requirement is a bit much, but if it polices those who aren't doing what they should be doing, then it is worth it -- especially in the short term.

Tramp96 said:

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twelve12twelve said:

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Seems like the school should have not hired so many people from the Houston area. Wait, you mean to tell me people don't want to live in the armpit that is Victoria? That's unpossible.

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Hey now, Victoria is a great place to live.

Way better than living in Houston.

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Not for leftists, which is most certainly what they are working for a university.

StonewallAggieDEFENSE said:

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Think about this for a second. If you can learn something online, there's no need for a college curriculum in it, much less a degree .

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Unfortunately, as long as industry requires a degree in that field then there will be kids looking for that degree and schools to offer it.

Tramp96 said:

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twelve12twelve said:

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Seems like the school should have not hired so many people from the Houston area. Wait, you mean to tell me people don't want to live in the armpit that is Victoria? That's unpossible.

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Hey now, Victoria is a great place to live.

Way better than living in Houston.

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Victoria has its nice spots. Downtown is beautiful. Fossati's Deli is awesome. Most of you probably know, but it Victoria was the capital of DeLeon's Colony during the empresario/Stephen F. Austin era.

Edit: Jim's Big Burgers is pretty cool. Sadly, the mall has seen better days.

surfandturfsbisa96 said:

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Tramp96 said:

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twelve12twelve said:

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Seems like the school should have not hired so many people from the Houston area. Wait, you mean to tell me people don't want to live in the armpit that is Victoria? That's unpossible.

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Hey now, Victoria is a great place to live.

Way better than living in Houston.

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Victoria has its nice spots. Downtown is beautiful. Fossati's Deli is awesome. Most of you probably know, but it Victoria was the capital of DeLeon's Colony during the empresario/Stephen F. Austin era.

Edit: Jim's Big Burgers is pretty cool. Sadly, the mall has seen better days.

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Every mall has.

Jim's Big Burgers is awesome defined.

Is Dairy Treat still around?

Tramp96 said:

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surfandturfsbisa96 said:

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Tramp96 said:

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twelve12twelve said:

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Seems like the school should have not hired so many people from the Houston area. Wait, you mean to tell me people don't want to live in the armpit that is Victoria? That's unpossible.

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Hey now, Victoria is a great place to live.

Way better than living in Houston.

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Victoria has its nice spots. Downtown is beautiful. Fossati's Deli is awesome. Most of you probably know, but it Victoria was the capital of DeLeon's Colony during the empresario/Stephen F. Austin era.

Edit: Jim's Big Burgers is pretty cool. Sadly, the mall has seen better days.

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Every mall has.

Jim's Big Burgers is awesome defined.

Is Dairy Treat still around?

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I don't know- I was down for a few days visiting historical places- Museum of the Coastal Bend, Battle of Coleto Creek site etc.. Didn't see Dairy Treat, but wasn't looking for it either.

Tramp96 said:

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surfandturfsbisa96 said:

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Tramp96 said:

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twelve12twelve said:

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Seems like the school should have not hired so many people from the Houston area. Wait, you mean to tell me people don't want to live in the armpit that is Victoria? That's unpossible.

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Hey now, Victoria is a great place to live.

Way better than living in Houston.

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Victoria has its nice spots. Downtown is beautiful. Fossati's Deli is awesome. Most of you probably know, but it Victoria was the capital of DeLeon's Colony during the empresario/Stephen F. Austin era.

Edit: Jim's Big Burgers is pretty cool. Sadly, the mall has seen better days.

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Every mall has.

Jim's Big Burgers is awesome defined.

Is Dairy Treat still around?

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Yes they just opened a new one near my dad's house.

I miss the old Corral restaurant since as a kid I was fascinated with the neon arrow the Indian on the marquee fired.

Edit after I found a photo online of the old sign before it was wrecked in a hurricane in 2015. In the 70s the thing was newer and a neon arrow would shoot off the bow.

Around and good as ever.

VC alum here. I enjoyed my education there. Our profs and instructors were really good for the most part and some of them were well-known in their fields. Stephen Hardin was on the faculty there, and he's one of the best Texas historians around.

South Platte said:

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Why is there a university in Victoria, TX? Just shut it down and lease it out to ranching or oil businesses.

TAMU CC can absorb the student body or the students can go to SA or Houston.

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Agree with this but I hope this improves the school. The A&M system largely sucks and is an embarrassment IMO outside of 1 or 2 of them. If we can't improve them, then just shut the doors. Everything these kids are being taught can be done online now anyway. Very few classes they aren't just regurgitating crap.

As an example, TAMU Commerce is an absolute ****hole joke and should be shut down. It's only gotten worse since we took it over.

YouBet said:

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South Platte said:

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Why is there a university in Victoria, TX? Just shut it down and lease it out to ranching or oil businesses.

TAMU CC can absorb the student body or the students can go to SA or Houston.

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Agree with this but I hope this improves the school. The A&M system largely sucks and is an embarrassment IMO outside of 1 or 2 of them. If we can't improve them, then just shut the doors. Everything these kids are being taught can be done online now anyway. Very few classes they aren't just regurgitating crap.

As an example, TAMU Commerce is an absolute ****hole joke and should be shut down. It's only gotten worse since we took it over.

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Spot on. UH didn't put up much of a fight from what I can tell giving up Victoria, that shouldve said a lot. I can't help but look at this as an example of diworsification. The TAMU system is lagging far behind the utx System, I don't see any net benefit for absorbing a school that's a few hours between A&MCC and Kingsville.