<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><DIV>On Jul 2, 2006, at 7:27 AM, John R. Granholm wrote:</DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">This sounds like a good topic for a Journal Q&A feature if we can generate enough discussion. </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>snip<BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">John R. Granholm, RPT</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Registered Member, Piano Technicians Guild</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Assistant Editor, Piano Technicians Journal</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="mailto:jtuner@qwest.net">jtuner@qwest.net</A></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></SPAN></DIV> </SPAN>I hope a number of people will want to join this discussion. I'll start things off with a description of my experience. I started as a caut at the University of New Mexico 20 years ago via a bid process. The department was not satisfied with its current tech, I had been doing some last minute substituting in the recital hall and elsewhere, and I was invited to bid. The RFB (request for bids) asked for a per hour price for piano service, plus some kind of a bid for parts. I bid what I thought was fairly high at the time (over 60% of the going tuning rate as my per hour bid), but offered a substantial discount from list for parts as a sweetener. I was told later that my per hour was substantially higher than the competition, but they were able to select me based on my parts discount (rather ironic, as the only parts I purchased for years were things like replacement bass strings - a very minor part of the contract).<DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>I retained that contract for eleven years without a re-bid. The department found creative ways to avoid the bidding process. I operated under an open purchase order, with a budget cap. They would issue it for the maximum amount allowed by state law without bid, and would then do a mid-year adjustment. They also split the job among more than one account, so that I had a general music department PO, one for performance account (recital hall), one for All-State Festival, one for the major performance venue, etc. </DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>At the end of those eleven years, I was hired as a half time employee, which meant more than doubling my hours, but that's a different story. My thoughts on the bid process are mostly negative. I guess I can imagine a circumstance where it might be beneficial to the institution, but only if the standards for selecting a bid were very well crafted. In NM, bids for professional services can be evaluated on criteria in addition to price (actually, this is true of bids for tangible goods, like pianos, as well). So if an institution defined qualifications well, and had a reliable way of comparing bidders, a good outcome might be possible. </DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>What qualifications might one use? Well, RPT is an obvious one as a base line. Beyond that, one might ask for applicants who have completed training courses offered by manufacturers, like Steinway, Yamaha, Kawai, Bosendorfer, etc.; years of experience, particularly in performance venues; graduates of respected training programs, like North Bennett and Western Ontario, might be given preference (though here one has to be careful in deciding which are "worthy of respect": how is a university administrator to know?) Some departments ask for a bachelor's degree, which has a certain amount of validity (familiarity with the academic environment, greater ability to communicate with faculty). All of these are rather nebulous for the average department selection committee to evaluate, and there may be nobody in the area with requested qualifications. (Or it can be possible to craft the qualifications to fit one and only one potential or likely applicant).</DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>So here we come to an issue the caut committee has been grappling with for some time: coming up with some kind of base line standard beyond RPT, a "credential" which represents in some way the skills needed to do successful work in the higher education environment. It's a complex problem: exactly what skills are we talking about? How can we measure them?</DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>Whether or not this discussion leads to a Journal article, the caut committee would welcome a wide ranging discussion of these issues as we work toward development of a "CAUT Credential."<BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>Regards,</DIV><DIV>Fred Sturm</DIV><DIV>University of New Mexico</DIV><DIV><A href="mailto:fssturm@unm.edu">fssturm@unm.edu</A></DIV></SPAN></SPAN></DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV></BODY></HTML>