Such policies should be developed by appropriate faculty bodies or committees, not by the administration in the absence of meaningful faculty participation. The process for developing such procedures is arguably as important as the procedures themselves, and must take into account local conditions and institutional particularities.
I served on a committee that was charged with discussing appropriate partner accommodation policies. The fundamental problem we faced is the same problem faced by most faculty governance: we don't control the damn money. No matter how much the faculty support spousal hires, no matter how much we need them for faculty recruitment and retention, if the administration isn't willing to pony up the money, then what's the point of the policy?
It is true, when there is no money, nothing else can be done. However, it is understandable that they want to keep the local conditions into account. Sometimes there are places or even countries where things are cheaper than in others. For example, a hotel in Buenos Aires charges much less than one in England. These things should be considered!
ReplyDeleteLaura