Process for becoming a FT Professor...... ????

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Han, Jan 9, 2006.

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  1. Han

    Han New Member

    I am looking for resources to the process to become a FT professor.... anything specifically related to DL would be interesting.

    I am more looking for an oversight articles, I have on order a book or two, but have come up short on surfing the web.
     
  2. eckert16

    eckert16 New Member

    Good luck on your search.

    Start with a subscription to The Chronicle of Higher Education (chronicle.com) as they are geared towards your goal. Short of that, do some research on your field of interest and the current and future job prospects. Both will help you decide if it is realistic.
     
  3. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 9, 2006
  4. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    And be prepared for A LOT of rejection. I sent over 300 vita until I obtained a FT job.

    Shawn
     
  5. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    It probably varies from school to school and from subject to subject.

    One of Degreeinfo's participants in its earlier days was a guy with a BS from MIT and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Texas, Austin. Despite publications and research experience, he hadn't been able to find a FT tenure-track position.

    When I was an on-campus student I watched the hiring process in philosophy.

    The position was advertised nationally. The opening was for somebody to teach particular classes and to raise the department's profile in a particular specialty area. It mattered whether a candidate had done his/her doctoral work at a school with a reputation in that specialty. Publications and recommendations mattered a lot. After narrowing down the field, finalists from around the country were invited to fly to San Francisco (at their own expense) to deliver audition lectures. (That created a great lecture series for us students.) Bottom line: it was a very competitive process and not an easy one for the candidates.

    That was philosophy at San Francisco State. I imagine that the process is much the same, but considerably more demanding, further up the food-chain at places like Berkeley and Stanford. They would be looking for acknowledged leaders in their field.

    But perhaps at the rural Bible college or the ACICS school levels, hiring might be more a matter of who you know. There's inbreeding and friends hiring friends. And when you see people with state-approved degrees on faculties, that's probably signalling that the hiring process wasn't competitive in that case.

    And it seems that some subject fields, business in particular, are less competitive than the humanities and sciences.

    I hear anecdotally that pretty much anyone with a masters degree in a relevant subject can find an adjunct job teaching business. I don't know if that translates to less competition for FT jobs and tenure, but I'd guess that it probably does.

    Perhaps one way to ease into full-time business teaching is to do adjunct work for a variety of schools, then put in for a FT slot when one eventually opens up. They would already know you, so you would have an edge.
     
  6. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Hello Han,

    Ted Heiks let me know about your thread. Since I have posted on this topic before, I'll do a little cut and paste job here:

    Having been both a full-time faculty and a full-time administrator (and on several hiring boards), here are some observations:

    Selection of a tenure-track faculty member is a very subjective process that will involve some objective measures as well. A lot of factors play into the process, including the candidate's personality, internal politics of the department, affirmative action and whether the candidate's research/teaching expertise fills a need or void in the department. A big consideration is whether there is a perceived "fit" between the candidate and the department. Keep in mind that hiring faculty is something that is usually done at the department and dean level, so a great deal of variation can exist between different departments at the same university (let alone between different universities).

    Keeping in mind that this is a subjective process and there are many things (such as "political hires") that are beyond control of the faculty candidate, these are the more objective parts of the hiring process:

    Education - Most community colleges require a masters degree to teach an academic subject (English, history, science, mathematics, etc.) or an undergraduate degree and some years of experience to teach a vocational subject (culinary arts, auto mechanics, air conditioning/heating, etc.). Universities usually require candidates to have the terminal degree in their disciplines (doctorate for most fields, masters in several fields).

    Teaching - Given the usually stiff competition for faculty positions, one generally needs evidence of successful teaching experience at the college level. Copies of student evaluations and/or peer/dept. chair evaluations are useful additions to one's application portfolio. Someone interested in teaching full time at the college level should begin by obtaining an adjunct (part-time) teaching position and doing really well at that. Depending on the discipline, creating and delivering staff development workshops, corporate training and K-12 teaching can be counted as relevant teaching experience.

    Scholarship - This is weighted very heavily in the hiring process at universities. One of the biggest mistakes that many people make is to think that a PhD is al that one leads to land a faculty position. Nothing could be further from the truth. To prepare for a full-time faculty position, one should seek out and join the leading professional/scholarly organizations in her/his discipline, attend the professional conferences (to see what is happening in the discipline and to establish a professional network with those who work in academia and hire faculty) and develop a research agenda, which includes presenting at professional conferences and publishing in the discipline's journals. Writing successful grant proposals is another activity seen as a scholarly endeavor.

    Service - Hiring committees will also look at a candidate's service outside the classroom. Service on campus committees (even as an adjunct faculty), serving in leadership or other positions in professional associations, service to/in civic and community organizations and charitable work are all seen as desirable activities.

    I hope that this helps.
     
  7. Han

    Han New Member

    Thanks everybody - the postings has helped.
     
  8. dst10spr97

    dst10spr97 New Member

    What Books

    Did you order on the subject Han? Just curious
     
  9. AuditGuy

    AuditGuy Member

    Great info Tony. One probably unneeded clarification is that degree generally means regionally accredited degree.

    I do see some DETC degrees at times on faculty listings, but very uncommon. Then again, I see unaccredited degrees on faculty listings at times too.

    Tony also posted a response one time that listed all things considered "scholarly activity" that I find extremely useful. Will post a link to it.
     
  10. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    I know two faculty members that make a living out of teaching online. Both of them work at Devry, they take administrative responsabilities as coaching and training together with teaching assignments. You can make a decent paycheck and work in the field of DL from the comfort of your home. Check the Devry website and see if they have something that fits your needs.
     
  11. Han

    Han New Member

    Re: What Books

    I have not looked over the threads yet posted above, but just reading the intro paragraphs, they look to be VERY helpful.

    I also ordered a book from amazon - something like "how to get a job in academia". It was average, not very specific in the Business field, which is what I wanted, but a good resource guide towards the end on where to look online for information.

    I found out that there is a conference by the Academy of Management that hosts students and schools looking for professors to come together. I will be attending that in the Fall.
     
  12. AuditGuy

    AuditGuy Member

  13. jfill

    jfill New Member

    FacultyFinder.com

    You could also create a profile on FacultyFinder.com. It is a very large database of online faculty members. Member schools then can search the database to find you.
     

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