Different Paths to Full Professor at Ohio State University

At Ohio State University, president E. Gordon Gee, and many faculty, want to rewrite the rules for tenure to essentially allow a dual track: Those who excel at research and those who excel at teaching. Scott Jaschik outlines the concept in Inside Higher Ed (lots of interesting comments):

[T]he key missing element to giving teaching and service a fair shot at equal consideration in promotions to full professor is measurement of impact, which is easier for research. He said that if good criteria could be developed, not only would teaching-related activities be rewarded, but so would research that has practical use.

"Measuring impact is always difficult, particularly when it comes to teaching and service," he said. "But it can be done if we focus on the significance of these activities as it extends beyond our own institution -- just as we expect such broad effects with traditional scholarship. Thus, indicators of impact on other institutions, recognition by professional associations, broad adoption of teaching materials (textbooks, software, etc.) by other institutions, evidence of effects on policy formulation and so on -- all these are appropriate independent indicators of effectiveness."

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 14–16: Baltimore, MD
• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA

Faculty 'Productivity': Charging for Quality

In the "Confessions of a Community College Dean" blog at Inside Higher Ed, Dean Dad notes, with links, an ongoing online discussion in a number of blogs about full-time faculty workload. Dean Dad's focus is on whether or not non-elite institutions can really charge for quality, or not: "A thrilled student doesn't pay any more than does a barely-contented student." He ends up asking: "Is there a sustainable way for colleges to charge by quality rather than quantity?"

A couple of his related thoughts that we thought were interesting:

• What looks like a static workload over time has actually become more due to faculty "mission creep" and
• There's really a minimum limit to class size, below which quality can actually drop.

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 14–16: Baltimore, MD
• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA

(Support) Staffing Up, Productivity Down?

Doug Lederman reports, in Inside Higher Ed, on a new report from the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. Click here to read his brief report. Click here (PDF) to read the entire report, which is titled "Trends in the Higher Education Labor Force: Identifying Changes in Worker Composition and Productivity." A longer report from The Chronicle of Higher Education is available here, but is likely password protected.

Colleges' enrollments have risen dramatically in the past 20 years, so it's not surprising -- and arguably is even appropriate -- that the size of their staffs has grown, too. But the rate of growth has come among support staff employees rather than instructors and has outstripped the enrollment growth, resulting in a decline in productivity over that time, a new report asserts.
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The center's report acknowledges what critics are likely to cite as a bias in its report -- the fact that many support stuff employees do play important roles in the educational experience for students, in many student service areas. But the report's overall finding, writes Daniel Bennett, its author and administrative director at the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, is that the way that the higher ed work force has grown has "increasingly resulted in unproductive use of labor resources."

Canadian University and College Quality and Productivity Awards From CAUBO

Another way to get current with what's going on in Canada might be to review the 2008 Quality and Productivity Awards of the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO). This 16-page PDF is part of the current issue of CAUBO's University Manager magazine. At its 2008 conference, CAUBO went "greener" and published many of its session's paper on line instead of as printed handouts on site. We have a link to those, as well!

Tech Tip: Using Jott to Dictate Email and Text Messages

Wow. Once every couple of years something comes along and demonstrates that a technical hurdle has been overcome and, as a result, the very latest in information technology has something pragmatically useful to offer, even to aging Boomers. Jott allows you to easily set up a Web-based account that then lets you dial a phone number and dictate a message into your land line or cell phone. Its voice transcription technology then translates what you said into text and sends either an email message or a text message, or both, to whoever you have designated—and it also sends a copy to you. Just the ability to send such messages to yourself can transform the way you take mental notes or set reminders for yourself. At the moment, at least, it's free.

Workforce Development and Higher Education Productivity - Reports From NCHEMS

The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) regularly publishes useful reports in this area. Several from 2007 are available on its website. They include: Emerging Policy Triangle: Economic Development, Workforce Development and Education; Good Policy, Good Practice. Improving Outcomes and Productivity in Higher Education: A Guide for Policymakers; Increasing Productivity: The Imperative Facing Higher Education (As Seen from Outside) (Presentation); and Mounting Pressures Facing the U.S. Workforce and the Increasing Need for Adult Education and Literacy (Presentation.)