Page 307 - Crisis in Higher Education

Reshaping Faculty’s Role • 277

12.8 IMPACT OF RESHAPING FACULTY’S ROLE
ON HIGHER EDUCATION OUTCOMES

Reshaping the faculty’s role focuses on improving learning outcomes
while lowering the cost of instruction. It requires universities to
rethink their investment plans and faculty to adjust teaching methods
and assessment practices. The following list examines how this ele-
ment of the solution impacts the root causes, which are discussed in
Chapter 4:

1. Lack of understanding—Who is the customer? (root cause 1): Faculty
must reach out to potential employers, graduate programs that
accept their students, and certification and licensure agencies to
ensure that curriculum meets their needs.
2. Rise of the ruling class: Administration (root cause 3): The board,
senior leadership, and tenured and professional faculty must work
together to make the university more innovative, more responsive,
and less expensive.
3. Limited productivity improvements for universities (root cause 4):
Changing the role of faculty should improve their productivity and
reduce operating costs.
4. Rapidly growing costs for books and supplies (root cause 5): As the
delivery of curriculum changes, the learning materials should change
and become less expensive. The costs for these materials should be
included in tuition payments.
5. Eroding standards (root cause 8): As faculty reach out to potential
employers and others, standards should be set at appropriate levels.
As the roles of different faculty types are clarified, the erosion of
standards should be reversed.

12.9 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

Following is a list of the key recommendations that comprise this element
of the solution.