GPAs, PCATs, and Coupons: Wilting Quality in Pharmacy School Admissions and the Impact on Pharmacy Faculty

Introduction: The number of available seats in US pharmacy schools has reached unprecedented numbers as applications are on the decline. A combination of forces signals that admissions to pharmacy school are becoming less selective. Commentary: The conflict of balancing a need to fill the incoming class while maintaining selectivity is a growing problem in pharmacy education. Faculty may notice changes in the student quality and ultimately, program and graduate quality. Pressure from administration hinders faculty governance with negative consequences that impact faculty morale and the profession as a whole. Maintaining a firm position in the face of reduced applications is challenging but necessary if we are to protect the students we seek to support as faculty and stewards of the pharmacy profession. Implications: Faculty governance is at risk as pressure exists to admit less-prepared students into programs. Faculty must advocate for responsible leadership by initiating dialogue on admissions and selectivity. Furthermore, faculty mentorship programs need a new level of discussion that includes analysis and understanding of this paradigm in pharmacy academia. Article Type: Commentary

Revitalizing your library faculty governance: Five tips to increase involvement

If you’re an academic librarian with faculty status, you know that this status comes with an equal portion of benefit and burden. Some of the benefits are academic freedom, support for scholarship, and elevated status on campus (though not necessarily higher pay). Some library faculty are even eligible for tenure (though at my institution, Kennesaw State University, we are not). On the flipside of these benefits are a few things I would consider burdens, such as tedious annual reviews and extensive service requirements. Library faculty governance, I would argue, falls somewhere in between a benefit and a burden.

School Library Researchers in the Digital Age: Understanding Teaching, Research and Service in the Academy

This study presents the realities of teaching, research and service for 20 school library faculty members working on six continents. Teaching, research and service expectations vary between institutions, with 19/20 of the faculty members teaching four or more classes per academic year with the numbers of students taught varying from 10 to 300. The faculty members in this study are productive, with 9/20 publishing two or more peer-reviewed media per year. Another six are publishing one peer-reviewed media per year. Service is expected and participants in this study are all involved in faculty governance as well as service to the discipline and the profession. This research provides information to potential and current school library faculty that is helpful for making career decisions, e.g., entry to the profession, career progression, research productivity, and mentorship.