Page 238 - Crisis in Higher Education

Redesigning Curriculum and Pedagogy • 209

Bureau of Labor Statistics project an increase in demand for nurses, univer-
sities may respond by putting more resources in that program and taking
resources from programs that have declining demand. Often the response
is that this is not possible because universities have tenured faculty who
cannot be terminated. Recall from Table 1.3 in Chapter 1 that only 30%
or so of faculty members are tenured. This provides substantial flexibility
for decreasing or increasing teaching capacity through contractual faculty
and graduate teaching assistants. If universities feel uncomfortable about
expanding capacity, they should admit the number of students that they
can educate rather than taking all who apply and are qualified. This type
of long-term planning yields a meaningful and useful faculty hiring plan.
On an operating basis, universities can do the following. As they pre-
pare for each semester, which should take place several months prior to
any semester, they can load plans of study for all students onto their tenta-
tive class schedule to determine where they have surpluses and shortages
of courses. Universities can use this approach to plan for a year or even
more, and they can adjust capacity in the short term by hiring additional
contractual faculty to meet demand or releasing contractual faculty when
they have excess capacity. If they have an effective long-term planning
process and have created a faculty hiring plan, as described in the prior
paragraph, this operational plan should allow universities to fine-tune
course offerings, ensuring that students are not closed out of classes.

10.1.4 Career Development
Students who come directly from high school often lack the knowledge
and experience to pick the right major, search for jobs, and create profes-
sional relationships. These students often do not get the job they want or
deserve because they lack skills in these areas. Short courses on profes-
sional development that are two credit hours in total would help students:

1. Perform self-assessment to understand their strengths, weaknesses,
and interests.
2. Explore career options with help from faculty, who can explain
the various majors, and industry executives, who can describe job
opportunities and the work environment.
3. Understand the value of improving communication, listening, and
organizational skills.
4. Develop a resume and cover letter.