Given the recent discussions I have been involved in concerning Universities as businesses this article is timely:
Inside Higher Ed :: The Evolving (Eroding?) Faculty Job
A week ago, new data on faculty salaries showed that professors’ pay fell behind inflation for the second year in a row. A month ago, when a federal commission studying higher education released a paper on reasons that college costs so much, it identified professors — their power and tenure — as a prime culprit.
Feeling underappreciated and under siege? Does your job feel unstable?
There’s a reason, according to two of the leading scholars of the professoriate. They have
Key points:
The pace of change has accelerated dramatically. While new models in higher education historically have taken decades to establish themselves, today’s changes are having nationwide impact very quickly after they emerge.
Government and the public have come to think of higher education as an industry with a key role in the economy, not as a separate entity that should be left to itself.
The faculties and student bodies of colleges are much more diverse than they used to be.
There has been enormous growth in the use of part-time faculty members, and far greater growth rates for those jobs than for full-time jobs. Similarly, full-time faculty positions off the tenure track have grown.
Enrollments have moved away from the liberal arts and toward the professions, with a resulting shift in faculty jobs.
(Via http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/05/01/faculty.)
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