We all know the price of gas is climbing out of sight but what can we do about it?
First, slow down. I have a 30 mile commute to my school 5 days per week. My schedule varies too much to carpool so I’ve slowed down. Driving 55 mph instead of 65 mph saves me a lot of gas and it doesn’t really take that much longer to get to work. I’ve acheived average mpg’s as high as 40 in my Subaru Legacy but we can do much better.
Why not change the academic schedule to a 4 day week. Kalamazoo Valley Community College did it during the last oil crisis and cut back on gas consumption for students and faculty. Everyone liked it so well they kept it up long after the crisis ended. Just think, everyday weekend was a 3 day weekend!
Another thing we can do is teach online at least one day a week. This is going to be a hard sell on my campus. The Vice President of Academic Affairs tends to resist any changes that don’t originate in his office. So the trick is to get him to think its his idea. Hmm….
Fortunately I’ve been hired to do a workshop on Blackboard later this summer. My plan is to entice faculty to use podcasts and vodcasts in their courses. A little show-and-tell session with the VP ought to get his mental juices flowing.
