Seeing feedback on teaching for UOP

slb1957 · Mar 17, 2005

I have been accepted to teach at an UOP branch campus. I will be going thru faculty certification soon. I would really appreciate any feedback from people that have taught at the branch campuses. I will not be teaching online courses at this point.

Specifically, I wonder:

1. How challenging is the course material for undergrads and grad students?

2. How do you like the structured content approach?

3. What has been your experience dealing with admininstration?

4. Did you stop teaching for UOP? If so, why?

5. Would you recommend this?

6. How is UOP teaching experience viewed by other colleges/universities when applying there/

Thanks much!

Rich Douglas · Mar 17, 2005

Originally posted by slb1957
I have been accepted to teach at an UOP branch campus. I will be going thru faculty certification soon. I would really appreciate any feedback from people that have taught at the branch campuses. I will not be teaching online courses at this point.

Specifically, I wonder:

1. How challenging is the course material for undergrads and grad students?

Not always daunting intellectually, but students have to do a lot for each course. They typically have both individual and team assignments due each week.

2. How do you like the structured content approach?

You have the flexibility to change the material, provided you don't change the text (which is usually electronic), the first week's assignment, and that you teach to the course objectives. What's nice is that you don't have to create the course, and you often have the opportunity to teach the course again (and soon!), in which case your prep time is diminished dramatically.

3. What has been your experience dealing with admininstration?

Payroll can be a mess; keep track of your contracts and payments. Campus chairs are overworked and underpaid (which is why I left my chair's position), so it is sometimes hard to get support.

4. Did you stop teaching for UOP? If so, why?

No, but I've cut back. Salaries are horrible. What makes them a bit more palatable is that your students are very capable, you get to teach frequently, and the course development aspects are lessened.

5. Would you recommend this?

Great training and great experience. I would certainly recommend it, especially for those new to adjunct teaching. But people coming from other schools are often disappointed at the lack of pay and attention. (UoP has a mentoring program, but they don't "baby" their instructors, which some people expect.)

6. How is UOP teaching experience viewed by other colleges/universities when applying there/

This I do not know. Perhaps others will have good feedback for you.

Thanks much!
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You're welcome. Good luck.

slb1957 · Mar 17, 2005

Rich,

Thanks a lot. Your comments are very helpful.

armywife · Mar 18, 2005

I can comment on the other end of it having been a student there. The fact that you care at all is a good thing. I have had two kinds of teachers at UOP---those that literally could care less and are happy the course syllabus is set up for them. I have actually had classes where I never even heard from the teacher. The class essentially ran itself and we all wondered if we even had a facilitator at all! On the other hand I have had some teachers who were AWESOME and totally involved. I even had a couple call me at home to ask how it was going! So from what I have seen the teachers make of it what they want. Some skate by and collect a paycheck in my opinion and others actually work hard and care. That is entirely NO DIFFERENT from my experience at a brick and mortar undergrad institution complete with dorms/activities etc. At my "live and in person" institution I had some profs who could not have cared less and others who were great. As far as how other colleges might view that, I have heard some people (anti-DL snobbery that is ) say that distance learning schools employ teachers who just want to skate by but I guess they haven't walked throughbrick and mortar University of Anyplace at All....because my experience was that can be true of ANY school. To be honest I had far more personalized attention. I know at NC State we had classes in an auditorium where they took attendance by what number seat you were in. "Oh number 45 is not there so I guess that one is absent". No personal attention there.

What are you going to be teaching and how did you land that job?I would love to land an adjunct faculty job teaching online. I am hoping a PhD will help with that.

Andy Borchers · Mar 18, 2005

I taught for UoP some time ago - my experience may have been somewhat different than is currently going on.

Regards - Andy

Originally posted by slb1957

Specifically, I wonder:

1. How challenging is the course material for undergrads and grad students?

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In my experience UoP was on the low side with respect to challenge. I generally find that programs with six week terms simply can't cover the same amount of material that folks do in a 15 week term.

2. How do you like the structured content approach?
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As Rich said they allowed some flexibility - but understand that they aren't really hiring adjunct professors that develop their own course material - they are hiring facilitators to conduct classes.

3. What has been your experience dealing with admininstration?
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My experience was poor - consistent with Rich's assessment.

4. Did you stop teaching for UOP? If so, why?
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I didn't feel that teaching for UoP really added much to my experience base - and they didn't pay well. There were better places to teach.

5. Would you recommend this?
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I agree with Rich - if you have no adjunct experience, UoP is a place to start. I wouldn't consider UoP to be a destination - but rather a place to go for a while.

6. How is UOP teaching experience viewed by other colleges/universities when applying there/
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UoP has been viewed with disdain by administrators at other schools I have worked at. Perhaps this is a matter of being jealous - but many other schools like to think of themselves as being better than UoP.

I will say this - as I see it UoP doesn't employ the concept of faculty governance. The corporate structure they employ may well serve profit motives - but I don't see very positive results in student satisfaction and academic excellence.

Rich Douglas · Mar 18, 2005

Re: Re: Seeing feedback on teaching for UOP

Originally posted by Andy Borchers

In my experience UoP was on the low side with respect to challenge. I generally find that programs with six week terms simply can't cover the same amount of material that folks do in a 15 week term.

I disagree, but with caution. I feel some courses are great in the 5- or 6-week format. Others (like statistics and finance) should be spread out. (Actually, statistics is covered in 2 courses at the u/g level, making it one 10-week course).

Students take one course at a time. When I was teaching at Webster, they took two per 11-week session. This is, essentially, the same amount of material covered in the same time. The difference is that UoP students (like students at National U. and other schools with similar calendars) focus on one course instead of juggling two or more.

What I DO think is weak is the learning team format. Yes, I understand the value of collaborative learning teams, and the value of working professionals learning from each others. But it is still school, and I think much learning still takes place in the classroom (virtual or otherwise). But instead of meeting for 40-48 classroom hours per class, UoP students only meet for 20 (u/g) or 24 (graduate). Theoretically, the remaing learning takes place in their teams. But does it? Has anyone actually measured this learning and compared it to that which takes place in the classroom? In my year of full-time employment with UoP, I didn't hear of any such thing. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm convinced WORK gets done in student team meetings, but I'm not sure how much LEARNING gets done. I feel this is a cheat. At National, students take one course per calendar month. But they have the normal number of contact hours (by being in class twice per week instead of UoP's once). Students still do WORK and LEARNING outside of the classroom--individually or in self-formed study groups. But they're in class for the same amount of time as their peers in traditional programs.

Again, let me say: UoP's learning team approach cheats students out of valuable classroom time, and it requires faculty members to cover less material. Student learning teams DO NOT advance the learning in their courses by covering material not covered in class. Their learning teams might reinforce what was covered in class, but it's not the same as having some of the learning itself shifted out of the class and into the learning team meetings. No.

As Rich said they allowed some flexibility - but understand that they aren't really hiring adjunct professors that develop their own course material - they are hiring facilitators to conduct classes.

I trained UoP faculty for more than a year (and still do). I couldn't agree with this more. UoP doesn't hire faculty--they hire facilitators. In fact, we emphasize facilitation skills in our training, and stress using the facilitative method in class. That's all good (because 4 hours of lecture is boring!). But does this differ from other programs who use primarily adjunct faculty? When I was an adjunct at Webster, no one cared about either my advancing the knowledge of the field, nor my classroom skills. At least UoP focuses on the latter instead of neither.

My experience was poor - consistent with Rich's assessment.

I didn't feel that teaching for UoP really added much to my experience base - and they didn't pay well. There were better places to teach.

The pay is terrible. I continue to teach there because I do make a difference with my students, and because I'm very familiar with the processes and the courses I teach. I feel it is a good starting place for people new to teaching as adjuncts, but not always a good place for experienced instructors. (Plus, experienced instructors often balk at the very structured environment in which they're expected to operate--and they hate the pay!)[/b]

I agree with Rich - if you have no adjunct experience, UoP is a place to start. I wouldn't consider UoP to be a destination - but rather a place to go for a while.

UoP has been viewed with disdain by administrators at other schools I have worked at. Perhaps this is a matter of being jealous - but many other schools like to think of themselves as being better than UoP.

I will say this - as I see it UoP doesn't employ the concept of faculty governance. The corporate structure they employ may well serve profit motives - but I don't see very positive results in student satisfaction and academic excellence. [/B]

Faculty governance? Far from it. There is a gulf between adjunct faculty and the administration. I spent a year trying to bring my faculty in on the process, and I think I had a lot of success. I really built solid, professional relationships with them. But doing so involved overcoming a system not designed for it.
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Andy and I have sparred many times regarding for-profit and not-for-profit schools. These discussions are largely a matter of philosophy and opinion, which actually made them very valuable. But when it comes to cold, hard facts, we couldn't agree more: UoP is what it is.

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