Faculty Socialization and Gaining Tenure

2020 ◽  
pp. 51-71
Author(s):  
Carol A. Olszewski ◽  
Catherine A. Hansman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Tenure Track ◽  
Faculty Socialization ◽  
Acculturation Process ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Tenure Process

In higher education, ethical principles should guide administrators to develop policies and procedures that are just and fair to faculty, administrators, staff, and students and, as well, consider the needs of the various stakeholders affected by them. One example of a process that should be planned and carried out in an ethical way is the tenure-track process for faculty members. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss ethical issues and challenges institutions of higher education face in the tenure process and in socializing new full-time tenure track faculty members into academe. The authors discuss the acculturation process into the academy, then focus on interpersonal interactions and relationships, including mentoring and other supportive relationships and gender and minority issues that may affect the tenure process and acculturation into the academy. They conclude with future concerns and discussion of the ethical considerations for socializing faculty members into academe.

Employee engagement: exploring higher education non-tenure track faculty members’ perceptions

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad J. Kovaleski ◽  
Vishal Arghode
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Tenure Track ◽  
Content Type ◽  
North East ◽  
Tenure Track Faculty ◽  
Data Clusters

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study employee engagement in higher education by examining full-time non-tenure track faculty members’ perceptions at a North East US state public university. Design/methodology/approach The authors used semi-structured face-to-face personal interviews with 11 non-tenure track full-time university faculty. Using a phenomenological approach, thematic analysis was conducted for employee interview data. The data was further refined through first and second cycle coding. The primary eight coded clusters were further reduced to three data clusters, each representing an evolving unit of meaning. Findings The analysis revealed three themes relating to how full-time non-tenure track faculty experience and understand engagement: required institutional engagement, perceived necessary engagement and relational collegial engagement. Originality/value The study adds to the limited research available on non-tenure track faculty members within higher education organization and their perceptions of engagement.

Adjuncts in Higher Education in the United States

Education ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Hecht ◽  
Isabel Balseiro ◽  
Daniel Maxey
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Tenure Track ◽  
Advanced Degrees ◽  
International Graduate ◽  
Tier System

Although teaching remains the province of tenured and tenure-track professors in some elite colleges and universities in the United States, this arrangement is increasingly anomalous in many other institutions of higher learning. “Contingent professors” (here used interchangeably with the term “adjuncts”) refers to anyone teaching at the tertiary level who is not in the tenure stream. This entry refers principally to those with higher degrees who are paid by the course. The shift away from the tenure system may not have been as rapid as is often thought (it dates back at least some decades), but it is a sweeping change. Contingents now constitute a significant majority of academics. In 1969, over 78 percent of faculty were tenured or tenure-track; by 2009, that figure had declined to about 33 percent. Research faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows are not included in those figures; if they were, the overall representation of adjunct or contingent faculty in higher education would be considerably higher. Most contingent professors teach for a living; some may hope to land a tenure-track position. Others have full-time jobs and teach out of pleasure; yet others, having reached the end of their careers, prefer to teach at a more leisurely pace. Some do it for a short time, whereas others make a lifelong career of it. A considerable portion of non-tenured teachers in the United States are international graduate students or postdoctoral scholars, many of whom have financial, immigration, and communication challenges. What these educators have in common is that their jobs are insecure and can be terminated without review or explanation. The pay is low, sometimes close to minimum wage if examined on an hourly basis; more often than not, those paid by the course receive no benefits. Once hailed as the road to equality, higher education is now imparted in a context of stark inequity—a two-tier system in which some have a job for life, and others can be dismissed at any time. When the policy of paying faculty by the course is defended by institutional leaders, it is often with reference to the purported goal of achieving a certain nimbleness in matching the workforce with changing enrollments, the need to balance budgets, and an alleged surplus of scholars with advanced degrees. However, the inequity in pay, benefits, and working conditions is so stark that discussion of adjuncts has moved beyond the mere denunciation of their working conditions to an increased interest in improving those conditions. Nevertheless, the status of adjuncts raises many questions. How does this policy affect student learning? What does it mean that most professors now lack traditional academic protections of freedom of speech? Is it acceptable that the majority of academics are excluded from institutional decisionmaking while also lacking any clear path toward advancement on the job? Are unions addressing the needs of adjunct professors?

The Ethics Of Setting Course Expectations To Manipulate Student Evaluations Of Teaching Effectiveness In Higher Education: An Examination Of The Ethical Dilemmas Created By The Use Of SETEs And A Proposal For Further Study And Analysis

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Catherine S. Neal ◽  
Teressa Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teaching Effectiveness ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Student Evaluations ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Student Evaluations Of Teaching ◽  
Ethical Problems ◽  
Course Rigor ◽  
Overall Evaluation ◽  
Attendance Policies

Because student evaluations of teaching effectiveness (SETEs) are an important and widely used tool used in the evaluation and reward systems for faculty members in higher education, a discussion and analysis of the ethical problems that may arise as a result of the conflict created by expectations of performance is provided.  This discussion specifically focuses on ethical issues related to setting course expectations and attendance policies to manipulate students’ perceptions of course rigor and the overall evaluation of the course and the instructor.

scholarly journals A Case Study on Faculty and Professional Advisor Perceptions on Academic Advising

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agatha O'Brien-Gayes ◽  
Kerry Spitze
Keyword(s):  
Academic Advising ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Quantitative Difference ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Promotion And Tenure ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Liberal Arts Institution ◽  
Time Faculty ◽  
Tenure Process

This case study addressed the attitudes and perceptions of faculty and professional advisors at a public comprehensive liberal arts institution. Based on a survey administered to full-time faculty and professional advisors in Fall 2009, the results showed a quantitative difference in levels of satisfaction with advising between the groups. Faculty resported a desire to function more in a mentoring capacity as well as increased recognition for advising during the promotion and tenure process, and identified a systemic need for better communication of policies and procedures. Professional advisors also raised these concerns but reported a higher level of overall satisfaction with advising. Concrete strategies to improve advising delivery were identified. Some preliminary best practices were addressed.

Effect of Dark Personalities on Knowledge Hiding Behaviour at Higher Education Institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (04) ◽  
pp. 2050031
Author(s):  
Dewan Niamul Karim
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Significant Positive Association ◽  
Knowledge Hiding ◽  
Time Faculty

A key concern in the way of improving knowledge sharing practices is knowledge hiding behaviour. Literature shows that knowledge hiding is a prevalent phenomenon in organisations including higher education institutions (HEIs) and is largely determined by the personality of the knowledge holders. Thus, the present study attempts to examine the effect of dark personalities (undesirable personality traits comprising of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) on knowledge hiding behaviour of faculty members at HEIs. Based on 139 valid responses from the full-time faculty members serving in various private universities in Bangladesh, the study revealed that both Machiavellianism and psychopathy have significant positive association with knowledge hiding behaviour of the academics, whereas narcissism is insignificantly related with knowledge hiding behaviour. This study indicated that dark personalities play a key role in academics’ inclination to hide knowledge.

scholarly journals Role of higher education in the sustainability of water resources: an assessment of institutions in India

Water Policy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 276-292
Author(s):  
Arun Kansal ◽  
G. Venkatesh
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
The Social ◽  
Educational Programmes ◽  
The Status ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Good Number

Abstract The motivation behind this paper is to understand the status of water resources management education provided in higher education institutions (HEIs) in India and decipher gaps between what is taught and what is needed in the field. The assessment has been carried out based on the information available on the respective websites of the HEIs using keywords. The authors have also reached out to faculty members and final-year students in universities/HEIs in India. There are a good number of HEIs in India, which offer educational programmes in water-related subjects, though their distribution is skewed and there seems to be a clear bias in favour of the technological aspects of water. Relatively fewer HEIs engage themselves in social, economic and gender-related issues. It is imperative to popularise research in the social, economic and regulatory aspects of water management. Not all HEIs have provided information about the areas of research they engage in, on their websites. Further, a limited number of faculty members and students have responded to the questionnaires. The preparedness of any country in addressing its current challenges can be gauged from the incorporation and subsequent entrenchment of these roles into the fabric of HEIs. This article can be looked upon as reference documents which will go a long way to enabling the identification of synergies, interlinkages and collaboration opportunities to find solutions for a plethora of challenges.

scholarly journals Evaluating the English Proficiency of Faculty Members of a Higher Education Institution: Using Results to Develop Responsive Professional Development Program

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Joel C. Meniado
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Higher Education Institution

Current literatures reveal that English proficiency of Filipino workforce has declined through the years. The untrained and non-proficient teachers are heavily blamed on this pressing concern. With the aim of addressing the leading cause of the problem, this study investigated the level of English proficiency of faculty members of a higher education institution in the Philippines and proposed a program that could reverse the alarming trend. Utilizing mixed methods research design with 41 full-time faculty members as samples, this study found that majority of the teachers are in B1 and B2 levels (Intermediate and Upper Intermediate). In terms of specific language skill, writing is the lowest with majority of the teachers placed in A1 and A2 levels (Basic Users). Results of the study suggest that faculty members need to undergo several language enhancement courses such as Effective Communication, Academic and Professional Communication, Academic Writing with Research, and Effective Business and Report Writing, while the higher education institution involved in this study needs to support teachers in their formal higher studies, participation in workshops and trainings, publishing in scholarly journals, and serving as speakers or presenters in various academic forums. Discussion points that arise include implications of the findings and required actions from stakeholders. The study concludes with its limitations and important recommendations.

scholarly journals The influence of developing a web-based course on university professor classroom instructional techniques as measured by the MTQ

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Douglas Dean Hawley
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Instructional Methods ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Course Development ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Instructional Techniques ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
College Or University

The purpose of this study was to update the teacher questionnaire used in a national survey of educators for use on the World Wide Web (Weiss, 1978) and investigate how the web-based course development process influenced full-time Computer Science (CS) and Information Systems (IS) instructors' classroom instructional methods. The 12 independent variables included demographics; tenure status, faculty rank, total years teaching, gender, teaching within a private or public institution, teaching within a college or university and teaching within a two year or four year institution. Additionally, independent variables included experience with web-based courses. These variables were "currently developing", "have developed", "number of developed", "time since developed first web-based course" and "willing to develop a web-based course." The study consisted of 17 dependent variables that described instructional techniques; lecture, discussion, student reports, library work, students at chalkboard, individual assignments, manipulatives, televised instruction, computer assisted instruction, tests, simulations, field trips, guest speakers, teacher demonstrations, amount of time teacher spent with entire class, amount of time teacher spent with small groups and amount of time teacher spent supervising individuals. The population in this study included all full-time CS and IS instructors, regardless of rank, at all 2 year and 4 year, public and independent, higher education degree granting institutions in Missouri. The entire population (N=413) was surveyed yielding a self-selected sample of 244 subjects, for a 59% rate of return. The findings confirmed that the Modified Teacher Questionnaire (MTQ) was a reliable instrument for collecting all instructional techniques, excluding lecture and televised instruction. Additionally, MANOVA tests, ANOVA tests, and discriminant analyses were used to determine that the following variables significantly affected instructional techniques; gender, teaching within a college or university, teaching within a two year or four year institution and currently developing a web-based course. The findings led to the formulation of several conclusions. First, this study substantiated research done by Freiberg and Driscoll (2000) indicating that when looking at CS and IS faculty members, "one to many" instructional paradigms continued to prevail at higher education institutions. Furthermore, faculty members who were male and faculty members who taught at universities were more dependent on these traditional teaching techniques than their female and collegiate faculty member counterparts. Second, even though a large percentage of faculty members had some experience developing web-based courses, few faculty members have a great deal of experience. Third, past web-based course design experience had little influence on classroom instructional methods. Only current web-based course development had any significant effect on instructional techniques. This study illustrated a "return to center" affect on instructional techniques for faculty who develop web-based courses.

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