Academic decision making: Faculty appointments and reappointments

University faculties are composed largely of individuals who are tenured, but who are not due to retire until the years 2000 to 2010. As a result, there will be few new openings in the foreseeable future to adapt to rapidly changing educational demands. In addition, as this large number of individuals rises through the salary scale, the already small number of nontenured positions will be reduced for financial reasons, further compounding the problem of lack of academic flexibility. Deans do not have sufficient remaining academic personnel decisions to meet the demands required for either the evolution of academic programs that keep pace with social change over the next 15 years or for balancing their budgets. Universities must shift from the future to the present some of the academic and financial flexibility due to begin in the year 2000 through attractive programs of career alternatives.     

Career alternatives: Providing a cafeteria of choices through career alternative dollars

Part of the crisis in higher education is due to the age and tenure distribution of the faculty and their escalating future salary costs. Universities must find ways to gain financial and academic flexibility. This will require a program ofcareer alternatives which provides inducements to leave the university for faculty who are not due to retire until the years 2000 to 2010. The money saved can be used to the mutual benefit of the individual and the university. The university's share of the savings may be used to hire new junior faculty and to reduce the total cost of the salary budget. The faculty member's share may be redeemed at a career alternatives cafeteria. This paper outlines the offering that such a cafeteria may provide and the mechanisms that may be used to establish one.     

Faculty: Thy administrator's keeper? Some evidence

Colleges and universities face a principal-agent problem. There are information asymmetries over the actions chosen by administrators. Because non-profit constraints limit the financial stake of trustees there may be insufficient monitoring of administrators and, consequentially, shirking. It is conceivable that faculty will serve as “delegated monitors” given the proper incentives. Faculty monitoring will most likely benefit a university when: (1) monitoring costs are low and (2) administrators cannot impose significant punishment costs on faculty. The practices of organized faculty participation in governance and tenure naturally achieve such ends. Empirical evidence from a sample of colleges and universities in the United States supports the hypothesis that features of a faculty's employment have significant effects on a university's financial performance.     

Tenure,retirement, and the year 2000: The issues of flexibility and dollars

The large number of middle-aged professors will soon have a significant impact on the university salary budget in comparison to the costs of an even distribution of ages. To respond to the resulting problems of decreasing academic flexibility and increasing costs, universities will have to choose between the competing strategies of retrenchment or of creating attractive career alternatives for this group.     

Hidden academics: the part-time faculty in Canada

More than one-third of all Canadian faculty are part-timers who contribute significantly to academic work while consuming only marginally universities' economic resources. Mythical images of their temporariness in the workforce obfuscate the differences of career aspiration and motivation within the group. Two factors render them invisible or hidden academics: one rooted in the economics of the university system and the second in the ideological structures of academic practices and traditions. In the political economy of universities the relentless drive to manage enrolment, finances, and teaching costs has resulted in a bureaucratic rationalization of the academic workload and a bifurcated academic labour force hierarchically split into full- and part-time faculties with radically different work processes and treatment within universities. Part-timers are now a permanent and low-cost academic workforce, producing a surplus value transferable within the university to compensate for what would otherwise be fiscal shortfall. Degradation of certain workprocesses by rationalizing and de-professionalizing certain academic functions legitimized the academic workforce split in relative pay and job characteristics, which reinforces the evident feminization of the part-time faculty.     

ON THE TENURE TRACK IN GERONTOLOGY: I WISH I HAD KNOWN THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW

With the emergence of gerontology as an academic discipline, the need for formalized training to address early career issues has increased. This paper offers personal experiences and advice regarding some of the challenges new faculty are likely to face when on the “tenure track.” Some of the challenges include whether to pursue a career in academia, the potential value of a post-doctoral research position, grant writing, academic duty, preparing for the job interview, negotiating, and achieving success in academia. In addition to offering personal perspectives on each of these challenges, a number of resources are provided to help those who seek additional insight or advice on early career management. Implications for creating formalized graduate training to assist those students struggling with early career challenges are discussed.     

学术职业视域下高校教师薪酬管理改革探析

高校教师职业是学术职业,应遵循学术职业的特点进行薪酬管理。学术职业的本质要求学术自由、环境宽松、评价多元化,而现行的高校教师薪酬管理模式继承了传统工业管理中的某些做法,不但造成了学术职业中的功利化倾向,而且不利于学术职业的发展和创新。高校薪酬管理改革必须与高校教师学术职业的独特性相一致,采用粗分线条,淡化差异;加大投入,营造宽松生活氛围;多元评价,彰显大学的多功能作用;强化人文关怀,严格选拔与长期培养相结合等策略,以促进高校教师学术职业的成长与发展。     

Career prospects for academics in Australian universities

Career prospects within Australian universities changed adversely following an abrupt end to expansion in the university system after two decades of marked growth. Few recent or future graduates can expect to gain academic positions. The present underrepresentation of women seems likely to be perpetuated. Many academics now holding tenure will not experience the same level of career advancement as their counterparts did a generation earlier. With a shift in the age distribution of academics over the next fifteen years, the Australian universities may be faced with problems of obsolescence and rigidity. Consideration is given to policy and organizational changes that could minimize some of these problems. However, there is no overall strategy that will simultaneously maintain tenure at the existing level, produce a steady-state age distribution of academics, allow even a moderate proportion of recent graduates to become academics, improve career prospects for existing academics, and increase the representation of women. One or more of these objectives can be achieved, but only at the expense of other objectives.     

象牙塔里的压力——中国高校教师职业压力与学术产出的实证研究

高校教师是教学运作和学术研究的第一线实践专业人员,如何强化其职业发展和学术产出成为影响高等教育质量的关键因素之一;但与此同时,新管理主义和学术资本主义在高校组织管理体制中的渗透、社会环境与科学技术的急速变迁,高校规模扩大以及由此带来的院校组织内部的一系列变化,导致高校教师处于高度压力之下。本研究利用2007北京市高校教师调查数据,尝试从组织环境与个体特质两个层面,揭示高校教师职业压力的内涵与影响因素,探讨过度压力对高校教师职业发展所形成的冲击效应。研究发现:(1)高校教师面临不同层次的教学、科研和经济压力。在教师职业生涯轨迹中,40岁以下为高压期,41～55岁为缓压期,56岁以后为低压期。(2)高校扩招、高校内部绩效评估机制的实施和教师的婚姻状态、薪酬水平、工作负荷、发展定位、职称等成为引发高校教师压力的重要因素。(3)压力的膨胀不仅不能有效促进教师的学术产出,相反会导致教师的职业倦怠。     

美国高校大规模使用兼职教师之状况分析

兼职教师在美国高校里已经是一个具有相当规模的群体。财政危机是美国高校大量使用兼职教师的首要原因，管理灵活性的需要以及一些课程实践经验的需要是使用兼职教师的另外两个原因。随着兼职教师的大量使用，一些问题也浮出水面：兼职教师待遇的公平性、兼职教师的教学质量以及兼职教师的大量使用对高校教师职业的影响。     

关于大学社会责任的一种结构化分析思路初探

大学社会责任可以按照多种方式进行结构化分析,但最基本的是学术责任和非学术责任的区分。社会责任以及大学社会表现的主要后果之一是形成大学成本。大学社会责任的结构决定了大学成本的基本结构,如果大学的非学术性社会责任过多,就很难将有限的资源用于学术性社会责任,教育资源的配置就会出现基本的失衡,但是对于这种失衡或效率低下而言,逐步改变社会责任结构才是改变大学成本结构以至于改变高校资源配置的主要途径,其次才是通过管理措施,来提高资源的配置效率。     

Gender and doctoral studies: the perceptions of Ph.D. students in an American university

Twenty students enrolled in Ph.D. programmes were interviewed to examine the role of gender in their academic experiences. Gender was examined in three ways: gender of the student, gender of the student’s faculty supervisor and gender make‐up of the faculty within the student’s department or academic unit. All students reported the importance of supportive faculty mentors and that financial worries, time pressure and the uncertainty of future employment were sources of stress. Family formation and striving toward personal as well as professional goals were particularly of concern for women, as were perceptions of differential treatment. Women students valued women faculty mentors, although female faculty were perceived as less supportive than male faculty of family concerns when these women had themselves sacrificed family formation for the sake of their careers. Both men and women experienced less stress and reported greater career commitment when faculty in their departments exhibited less traditional values regarding the balancing of personal and professional goals. The implications of these findings for reducing doctoral student attrition rates and for creating a more supportive environment for Ph.D. students are discussed.     

Three pathways to support the professional and career development of casual academics

Almost half of current academic staff will need to be replaced within three years in the Australian academic workforce. Literature suggests that casual academics are a potential solution, yet they are frequently excluded from the career development opportunities that would allow them to fulfil an ongoing academic role. Most academic development programmes designed for and delivered to casual academics are constructed by academic developers with little or no input from casual academics themselves. This paper documents what casual academics determine to be their academic development needs and how they could be addressed using three pathways of professional and career development.     

Engaging Faculty for Innovative STEM Bridge Programs

Bridge programs, in which underprepared students gain the academic and technical skills necessary for college level courses and entry-level employment, are a promising initiative for expanding access to, and success in, community college education. For career pathways related to science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM), bridge programs are critical for enlarging the pool of students who are exposed to, and can aspire to, STEM preparation. This study, conducted with support from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education program, followed four community colleges for a year to understand local factors that facilitated or impeded implementation of a bridge program in which basic skills were contextualized in biotechnology. The findings are that implementation of a contextualized curriculum requires substantial faculty learning. Implementation of these bridge programs was facilitated by instructional leadership by both administration and faculty. Administration assisted in creating the conditions that supported learning by coordinating faculty schedules and funding faculty time for initial and ongoing program development. Faculty benefitted by the support of experienced team members who could guide interdisciplinary learning. Implementation was facilitated when team members met frequently and when faculty worked collaboratively to implement the curriculum. Recommendations include planning for faculty development, both for faculty collaboration and contextualizing curriculum.     

Motivating Individuals: Growing research from a “fragile base”

Faculty around the world are experiencing changes in their academic work. While “traditional” universities are responding to demands for greater accountability and increased and timely outputs from research, faculty within new higher education institutions (HEIs) are undergoing a paradigm shift within three concentric circles of change. Not only do they have to alter their own academic practice, but their HEI is also undergoing a revolution at a time when higher education is itself being transformed. The article documents these changes, challenging the assumption that there is a homogeneous or “single academic profession” with a common experience of academic change, and suggests a more complex picture for faculty in new HEIs. There are three sections: (1) overview of the literature on academic work, (2) how faculty in new HEIs are learning to play the research game, and (3) strategies and policies being introduced to encourage and facilitate research.     

The Relationship Between Institutional Expenditures and Degree Attainment at Baccalaureate Colleges

Enhancing student persistence and effectively managing financial resources present important challenges to higher education. Surprisingly, existing student persistence and attrition models offer little insight into the potential links between institutional expenditures and student persistence. This study examines the impact of institutional expenditures on 6-year cohort graduation rates at 363 Carnegie-classified Baccalaureate I and II institutions. The results suggest a positive and significant relationship between instructional and academic support expenditures and cohort graduation rates. As a result, researchers might consider ways to integrate expenditure variables into student persistence models. Institutions also might seek out ways to shift financial resources to areas that enhance student persistence and degree attainment. Additional research may serve to strengthen student persistence frameworks and improve links between persistence research and financial decisionmaking in colleges and universities.     

OER perspectives: emerging issues for universities

This reflection examines some of the continuing and emerging issues in the open educational resources (OER) field. These include blending OER with university management structures; formal and non-formal OER; the need for sustainable OER business models; and expanding awareness, adoption, and use of OER. In the future, research will need to examine the concept of open educational practices (OEP) and OER issues relevant to faculty incentives and career advancement in the university. The author suggests there is no silver bullet solution to the “open” road ahead. Proprietary and open content will coexist in the education sector. OER are not a panacea for resolving all the range of global education issues and divides. OER are, however, a valuable resource that must be developed and sustained. OER may ultimately be the genuine equalizer for education and for empowering social inclusion in a pluralistic, multicultural, and imperfect world.     

激情背后的“理性”：高校青年教师缘何参与大学国际化

青年教师是我国高校师资队伍的主力军,也是确保高校国际化战略有效落实的核心力量。研究以上海地区一所高水平研究型大学中的青年教师为调查对象,通过质性访谈的方法,重点分析了青年教师在职期间参与大学国际化实践的动机,并在此基础上对推动其参与行为的影响因素及其作用机制进行了深入探讨。研究结果显示,青年教师参与国际化的主要动机在于加强科研产出、获取学术资源、建立一种广义的学术声誉,其核心诉求是积累推动学术工作发展的各类学术资本。多种主要源自高校和教师个体的因素在其中发挥了不同程度的重要作用。研究通过进一步对这些“理性”参与动机背后信息的分析,探索了青年教师面对不同国际化活动所采取的“主动参与”“被动参与”和“综合参与”3种策略。     

中国式“教授治校”和“教授治学”的理论分歧与制度耦合

大学内部治理模式中,“教授治校”和“教授治学”在历史渊源、内涵界定、权力侧重以及价值诉求等方面都存在差异,既呈现理论上的分野,也有着制度上的耦合。实现“教授治校”与“教授治学”的制度耦合,是当代中国大学内部治理改革的基本逻辑和必然发展,也是立足国情、化繁为简、平复争议的有效路径和可行方案。在“治校”和“治学”制度耦合的整体设计上,不但要保持两种模式灵活转化的张力,也要在维护教授权力的基础上避免行政化管理惯性,促进学术的民主与自由。在“治校”和“治学”制度耦合的路径策略上,可以从完善行政管理体制和改革学术管理组织出发,整合学校教授群体的资源,构筑教授权力的实现平台,建立教授主体参与的保障机制,以增强教授治校和教授治学制度耦合的可行性与有效性。     

角色认同与职业操守——我国大学教师文化的反思与建构

教师的核心价值体系和职业行为方式的形成,是其角色认同与职业操守共同作用的结果,角色认同和职业操守构成了教师文化的灵魂。大学教师角色的背离以及职业操守的沉沦是当前我国大学教师文化颓丧的集中反映。角色的迷惘导致了目标与行动的错位与错误,其结果是操守的沦丧和事业的受阻。我国大学教师文化建构的根本路径是回到大学教师的本分上,并捍卫学术尊严和推动学术发展,而营造和呵护自由之境,是我国大学教师文化建构的有效保障。