StraighterLine is a private, for-profit operation that has partnered with three private colleges and Fort Hays State University in Kansas to offer on-line courses in writing, algebra, statistics, economics and accounting for just $99.  The partner institutions have agreed to recognize the StraighterLine courses for credit. It’s the latest twist on the growing problem of the commercial outsourcing of higher education teaching.

StraighterLine’s plan to expand its commercial partnerships has hit a snag as the accrediting agencies are now taking a close look at the company. But StraighterLine isn’t the only outfit offering course delivery partnerships with universities and colleges. Higher Ed Holdings Inc., a Texas-based company, is providing on-line Master’s programs in education at Arkansas State University and Lamar University. It all means university and college unions need to think quickly about ways to defend the quality and integrity of academic work from these outsourcing arrangements.

Here in Canada and the United States, the law is pretty clear: outsourcing and contracting out is permitted unless there is specific agreement otherwise. That’s why some unions in Canada have directly taken on the matter in their collective agreements. The Saint Mary’s University Faculty Union, for instance, has some strong language prohibiting outsourcing:

Except to the extent and to the degree agreed upon by the Employer and Union, no work ordinarily performed or which could be performed by an Employee covered by this agreement shall be performed by another employee of the Employer or by a person who is not an employee of the Employer.

This language has the added protection of ensuring that new work may not be contracted out either. As we’re seeing, this is especially important now with the rapid rise in new forms of technologically-mediated course delivery.

The threat from outsourcing isn’t going away any time soon. However, collective bargaining may be one way that we can help close the door.

— David Robinson, Canadian Association of University Teachers