Page 77 - Crisis in Higher Education

Underlying Problems • 51

teaching is not an innate skill, but a learned activity that requires con-
siderable thought to understand the problems and effort to improve con-
tinuously. On top of this, many universities fall short in providing the
training, support, and feedback that new faculty members need. It is not
uncommon for new faculty to receive a teaching contract, a copy of the
textbook and the course outline, and an offer to stop by and talk to the
department chair if they have any questions.
When most university faculty members were tenured, these complaints
often focused on newly hired assistant professors with limited teaching expe-
rience. These faculty members were motivated to enhance their teaching
ability because earning tenure required a strong teaching performance, so
they sought help from senior faculty and others in order to improve. As they
became better teachers, their problems dissipated. Today, less than 30% of
the faculty holds tenure, whereas the others fall in three groups: full-time
contractual faculty, part-time faculty, and graduate teaching assistants.
According to Table 1.3 in Chapter 1, the percentages for these three groups in
2007, across all types of institutions, were 14.9%, 36.9%, and 20.9%, respec-
tively. This total is 72.7%, and it is most likely higher today. 9–11
8
Today, most institutions have high faculty turnover because these groups
are transient. Full-time contractual faculty members are the most stable
because their contracts are for a year and are likely to be renewed if they
teach well. Even so, it is unlikely they will stay for more than a few years.
The more transient groups, part-time faculty (36.9%) and graduate assis-
tants (20.9%), made up 57.8% of teaching capacity for all institutions in
8
2007. Again, see Table 1.3 in Chapter 1. Part-time faculty members have
one-semester contracts and a very high turnover rate. Although it is true
that some may teach the same course for several semesters or even a few
years, they are the exceptions. Graduate teaching assistants likely teach for
one, two, or three years before graduating. Colleges and universities con-
stantly recruit these faculty and graduate students to fill these positions.
Universities must institutionalize a process to train and support teachers
because dependence on these transient faculty is unlikely to change.

3.2 LIMITED ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION

Although it may be difficult to get hard data to support a direct link
between the runaway cost of higher education and limited access, making