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Eastern Michigan University's campus in Ypsilanti, Mich.

(Ann Arbor News file photo)

Eastern Michigan University is laying off most of its full-time lecturers in the College of Education.

The Ypsilanti school issued layoff notices to 10 of its 11 full-time lecturers in the college in December, according to a group of lecturers at the school. The layoffs are effective Aug. 31, 2014.

In their existing roles, the lecturers are tasked with placing, supervising and teaching student teachers enrolled in EMU's education program and undergoing a practicum at a Michigan high school.

"I'm concerned because the student teacher supervisors that place student teachers have relationships with the school districts. We have relationships with the teachers," said Pam Olech, a lecturer who received a layoff notice in December. Olech, a retired elementary school principal and certified teacher, has worked at EMU for 11 years, eight of them as a full-time lecturer.

She continued: "I'm nervous in terms of what the layoffs are going to do to the program and the student teachers."

Contacted Tuesday morning, an spokesman said the university had no immediate comment but was working on a response. The COE dean had not responded to a request for comment.

The 2013-14 academic year has been a tough one for EMU's College of Education. In the fall, Washtenaw-area teacher unions called for school districts to boycott the use of EMU student teachers due to the college's affiliation with the state's controversial Education Achievement Authority. Over the winter, dozens of EMU faculty protested the affiliation, eventually prompting the school's dean, Jann Joseph, to step down from the EAA board.

Undergraduate enrollment at COE has decreased in recent years. In 2008-09 undergraduates were enrolled in 40,089 credit hours, a number that shrunk to 30,743 credit hours in 2012-13, according to the 2013 EMU data book.

Lecturers say EMU is highlighting budget woes and low enrollment to justify the layoffs. EMU's COE also has 32 part-time lecturers whose employment is renewed on a semester-by-semester basis.

Starting at 11 a.m. Tuesday, EMU lecturers hit the Ypsilanti campus and began gathering petition signatures from people dissatisfied with the layoffs. By 1 p.m. the group had 129 signatures.

Lecturers are trying to get the attention of Susan Martin, EMU's president.

"We're really hopeful that President Martin will hear about this and she will fix it. We've tried to have a conversation with the dean. We want president Martin to hear us," said Sonya Alvarado, president of the EMU Federation of Teachers union.

Of the layoffs, she added: "This is totally new this year, they've never done anything like this before."

A laid-off EMU employee can be recalled up to two years after termination. Both Alvarado and Olech have been told that EMU might recall some of the lecturers, but say it's far from a sure thing.

"They have mentioned that [recall] is a possibility, but there has not been any kind of guarantee," Alavarado said.

Editor's note: EMU officials are saying the school issued layoff notices to 8 lecturers, union representatives contend the school issued notices to ten current lecturers.



Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for the Ann Arbor News. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@mlive.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.