New Push For Full-time Faculty Jobs

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by jimnagrom, Nov 30, 2006.

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  1. jimnagrom

    jimnagrom New Member

  2. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Hey, I've always wondered what would happen when all of the full-time faculty are finally retired and all that's left are a bunch of poor abused little adjuncts.
     
  3. Andy Borchers

    Andy Borchers New Member

    This is a very interesting article. The growth of "non-traditional" faculty has been noted for some time in the academic world. I suspect that institutions do this for four reasons. First, non-traditional faculty are significantly less expensive. As noted in the article benefits and pay are much lower. Second, non-traditional faculty are a lot more flexible - you can raise or lower their loads,
    remove them if ineffective, etc. Third, well managed adjuncts can bring freshness to the classroom. Finally, adjuncts can help fill niche needs - my schools, for example, has a local attorney teach business law as we really don't have enough load to support a full-time business law instructor.

    The downside is a sort of cultural war suggested in the article. A two class system is a reality in many schools.

    I like AACSB's approach - in accrediting they don't care if faculty are full-time, part-time, tenured or not. They're looking for "continuing faculty" that have on-going relationships with a school and do more than just teach.

    I'll really be surprised if the AFT is successful. State legislatures are short of money in many states. Mandating what sound like "cushy" jobs probably won't stand the political test.

    Regards - Andy
     
  4. aic712

    aic712 Member

    Interesting

    I just found this article while checking out Strayer Ed's stock on Yahoo. It's about their re-accreditation by Middle States, and one of the requirements was "hiring more full-time faculty"

    http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061130/dcth013.html?.v=78

    "Middle States has reviewed the University's report and has requested additional information on the implementation of three proposed improvements: changes to the University's bylaws, hiring of additional full-time faculty, and testing procedures to assess core competencies of incoming students."
     
  5. jimnagrom

    jimnagrom New Member

    Re: Interesting

    That's interesting. All UoP associate faculty (their phrase for adjuncts) faculty just received an "faculty info document" we have to complete and mail in ASAP.
     

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