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A sensible solution to faculty shortage at community colleges: increase faculty course loads at research universities to 6 courses a year from 2-4. You could eliminate instructor and some untenured faculty positions. This would free up faculty who would be available for positions at community colleges.
That's just not going to happen. The first big research university to do that would lose top professors in droves, then lose AAU membership and or other memberships and status markers and then funding. It'd spark a race to failure.
On the academic side our set of college and university systems yield the best higher education system in the world, for now anyway.
The general rubric.......our professors and departments groom, teach and guide graduate students who teach mostly freshmen and sophomores - it works very well.
Too many students are being funneled into large state research universities. More of these students should attend community colleges or regional universities their first two years, as the cost to the parent/student, state and taxpayer would be much less. At many research universities, classes are huge being taught by a TA while professors are doing research, teaching 2-4 classes a year, making $175k-$200k+ year, holding 3-6 hours a week. Unfortunately, most of this research has zero relevance for students post-graduation.
You make a lot of claims here, but what's the data behind them?
You do understand that professors doing research have to bring in funds to pay for that research right? The expectation is that a research professor will bring in 3-5 times their annual salary in outside funds. Research isn't a cost; it's a profit center.
And with that, students, including undergrads, benefit by being on research teams. They are learning by doing.
You make a lot of claims here, but what's the data behind them?
You do understand that professors doing research have to bring in funds to pay for that research right? The expectation is that a research professor will bring in 3-5 times their annual salary in outside funds. Research isn't a cost; it's a profit center.
And with that, students, including undergrads, benefit by being on research teams. They are learning by doing.
That response is very predictable. There are many, many tenured professors that claim to be doing research that bring in zero dollars to a university. Typically you have a few professors in a department that are doing the bulk of research and bringing in funding.
That's just not going to happen. The first big research university to do that would lose top professors in droves, then lose AAU membership and or other memberships and status markers and then funding. It'd spark a race to failure.
On the academic side our set of college and university systems yield the best higher education system in the world, for now anyway.
The general rubric.......our professors and departments groom, teach and guide graduate students who teach mostly freshmen and sophomores - it works very well.
Higher education reform has to start somewhere. The more the public (taxpayer) becomes aware of what is really going on at many research universities they will start to demand reform. I have seen many professors get tenure, teach a couple of classes a semester, hold 3 or 4 office hours a week, and do zero research. I would expect defensiveness from professors in higher education as reform would impinge on golf games, and other free time. For tenured professors, it really is a part-time job in a lot of cases. Accreditation standards are not stagnant. Certainly they can can change over time and do. Most professors at research universities have little to no idea of what constitutes good teaching. The majority of doctoral students graduate with little idea of what constitutes effective teaching. Typically, doctoral students, outside of education, are not even required to take a course on teaching.
That response is very predictable. There are many, many tenured professors that claim to be doing research that bring in zero dollars to a university. Typically you have a few professors in a department that are doing the bulk of research and bringing in funding.
You make a lot of claims here, but what's the data behind them?
You do understand that professors doing research have to bring in funds to pay for that research right? The expectation is that a research professor will bring in 3-5 times their annual salary in outside funds. Research isn't a cost; it's a profit center.
And with that, students, including undergrads, benefit by being on research teams. They are learning by doing.
The norm for departments where there's not much research and publishing going on, is to teach 3 courses per semester or academic quarter, which is considered a heavy load. Those who do crank out books and articles regularly have a lighter teaching load.
And not all research brings in grant money. A lot of research or other publication activities, like coordinating article contributions to a monograph from a variety of contributors in a given field, in the role of book editor, don't pay anything to the institution. They confer prestige on the institution, but don't generate research-related funds. I don't know where this "have to" bring in funds to pay for their research comes from, unless it pertains to medical and scientific research.
The norm for departments where there's not much research and publishing going on, is to teach 3 courses per semester or academic quarter, which is considered a heavy load. Those who do crank out books and articles regularly have a lighter teaching load.
And not all research brings in grant money. A lot of research or other publication activities, like coordinating article contributions to a monograph from a variety of contributors in a given field, in the role of book editor, don't pay anything to the institution. They confer prestige on the institution, but don't generate research-related funds. I don't know where this "have to" bring in funds to pay for their research comes from, unless it pertains to medical and scientific research.
All you have to do is look at the CVs of many tenured professors to see they are teaching a couple of courses a semesters and NOT cranking out books and articles nor doing much of any other research. There should be a systematic post-tenure review process where tenured professors can be terminated if they are not producing. People in the ‘real’ world get fired for not doing their jobs; it should be the same in academia.
All you have to do is look at the CVs of many tenured professors to see they are teaching a couple of courses a semesters and NOT cranking out books and articles nor doing much of any other research. There should be a systematic post-tenure review process where tenured professors can be terminated if they are not producing. People in the ‘real’ world get fired for not doing their jobs; it should be the same in academia.
You assume that the job for all professors in each subject is cranking out books, articles, or research. That simply isn’t the case. Plenty of public research universities offer fine arts programs, and the focus of those is actually helping the students build their skills and make connections in the field. I assume that is the same in many other areas as well. Professors may have experience working in X or Y field and have good experience and connections that will benefit students looking for jobs. A university is not just a research factory.
You assume that the job for all professors in each subject is cranking out books, articles, or research. That simply isn’t the case. Plenty of public research universities offer fine arts programs, and the focus of those is actually helping the students build their skills and make connections in the field. I assume that is the same in many other areas as well. Professors may have experience working in X or Y field and have good experience and connections that will benefit students looking for jobs. A university is not just a research factory.
At the vast majority of research universities, research is the top priority and is heavily promoted and rewarded. Now that research obviously can take different forms, depending on the subject area. You will find at most research universities, there is relatively less emphasis on skill development than at regional universities or community colleges.
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