Introduction
The purpose of this research project was to compare the highest level of degree completion amongst the full time faculty of Rockford College and several of our peer institutions. The institutions included in this research project were Augustana College, Aurora University, Beloit College, Benedictine University, Carroll College, Carthage College, Concordia University, Elmhurst College, Eureka College, Judson College, Loras College, Ripon College, Rockford College, Saint Francis University, and Saint Xavier University.
Research Methods
The primary source for the information included in this research project was obtained from the websites of the previously mentioned institutions. One method of collecting the information was by accessing an institution’s electronic version of their most recent academic catalog and then copying their faculty list from that resource. Another method was by locating information from specific departments and copying that department’s faculty list. This process would be repeated until I had found a list of the faculty for all departments that could be compared to a department at Rockford College.
Inclusions/Exclusions
This research is inclusive of only full-time faculty members. Because of the various designations used by these institutions, and their meanings, I did not include any faculty that had the title of adjunct, part-time, visiting professor, pro-rata, emeritus, lecturer, or instructor. I did include full-time faculty that held the title of assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. The major exception to this rule was Benedictine University. The information that I found on Benedictine’s website listed the full-time faulty and their highest degree attained bu...
... middle of paper ...
...31% of the Performing Arts) and only 20 full-time Theater professors (or 24.69% of the Performing Arts). So the overall average of 67.90% of Performing Arts professors with a doctoral in the sample group is heavily skewed because of the impact of its Music faculty. In contrast only 25% of the Performing Arts department at Rockford College teaches Music.
Conclusion
The information that was gathered for this research project appears to indicate that the expected level of education for full-time professors in most departments is a doctorate. There are a few notable exceptions including Art, Physical Education, Nursing, and Theater if it is looked at separately from Music. Also, the comparatively lower percentage of Rockford College professors with a doctoral degree is heavily influenced by its percentage of professors teaching in Business, Nursing, and Education.
A Race to the Bottom is a highly informative article detailing a study conducted by Arthur Levine. It relates to the quality of educational administration programs across various college and university campuses. This analysis will discuss the core concepts, logic, contexts, arguments and justifications, major points, and state my personal evaluation of the article.
Instead, Sanford J. Ungar presents the arguments that all higher education is expensive and needs to be reevaluated for Americans. He attempts to divert the argument of a liberal arts education tuition by stating “ The cost of American higher education is spiraling out id control, and liberal-arts colleges are becoming irrelevant because they are unable to register gains i productivity or to find innovative ways of doing things” (Ungar 661). The author completely ignores the aspects of paying for a liberal arts degree or even the cost comparison to a public university. Rather, Ungar leads the reader down a “slippery slope” of how public universities attain more funding and grants from the government, while liberal arts colleges are seemingly left behind. The author increasingly becomes tangent to the initial arguments he presented by explaining that students have a more interactive and personal relationship with their professors and other students. Sanford J. Ungar did not address one aspect of the cost to attend a liberal arts college or how it could be affordable for students who are not in the upper class.
Hoeft, Mary. "Professors in the Crosshairs | Inside Higher Ed." Professors in the Crosshairs Inside Higher Ed. Inside Higher Ed, 24 Feb. 2011. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
N. p. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2011. Print. The. Moran, Darcie.
The University of the Ozarks considers students as something more than a number. Even though the college has done several changes to improve the students’ experience and learning, there are still areas that can be improved. However, by using Hacker and Dreifus’ factors as a guide, the University of the Ozarks is doing a great job giving a good level of education. Ultimately, the support given through professors, new learning tools, and economic aid make worth the price of attending this
Perkin, Harold. "History of Universities," The History of Higher Education, Eds. Harold Wechsler, Lester F. Goodchild, and Linda Eisenmann, 2007 (87)
In 2012, the rate of graduation stays low as the rate of attendance goes up at community colleges. People say that they go to college to get a better education and to have more opportunities, but we all know in the long run it’s so they can make more money. In order to learn you must be willing to work hard, Confucius once said, “You cannot open a book without learning.” I believe that this is true because at some point you have to read something about what you are working on. In 2014 of 2.9 million high school students who graduated, 2.0 million of them went on to college to get a higher level of education. In addition to the promise of a higher salary, college offers a myriad of benefits to students who participate in the academia experience.
For those who wish to have children in the future, imagine putting ten dollars a week aside from now until they turned eighteen. That money would hardly accumulate up to even a portion of the costs for just a single year of higher education. In the article, “America’s Most Overrated Product: The Bachelor’s Degree”, an essay from the Chronicle of Higher Education in 2008, author Marty Nemko discusses all aspects that should be considered before pursuing a serious interest in educational institutions. Being a current student at a four-year institution it concerns me for not only myself but also fellow peers if we are making the right decision. The costs of higher education are increasing drastically along with the amount of Americans in debt from student loans. The value of a bachelor degree is declining and students are faced with the question, do the benefits of a collegiate education out weigh the costs?
Roebuck, Julian B., and Komanduri S. Murty. Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Their Place in American Higher Education. Westport: Praeger, 1993. Print.
The employment of contingent faculty in education has sparked intense debate regarding fiscal responsibility, shared governance, program development and scalability, and the ethics of faculty hiring. Contingent faculty members include part-time adjunct faculty, graduate assistants, and full-time, non-tenure track lecturers. Adjunct faculty members are those hired for part-time assignments on a course-by-course or term basis. They do not participate as members of the full faculty.
Inside Higher Ed. -. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/04/20/access Lehigh University. Challenges in College -.. http://www.lehigh.edu/incso/challenges.shtml Leonhardt, David (2009). The 'Standard'. Colleges Are Failing Graduation Rates.
Salary schedules for public school teachers are almost a common feature in public school districts. These schedules largely determine the salaries for the teachers. A single district schedule sets the pay for hundreds of thousands of teachers in thousands of schools (Besharov 1). The key factor that influences the pay for the teachers in the salary schedules include experience in terms of years and the total number of graduate course works that a teacher has completed. This paper will look at the cons and pros of the salary schedules in terms of an economic point of view.
Interestingly, increased spending has not been going into the pockets of the typical professor. In fact, salaries of full-time faculty members are barely higher than they were in 1970. In such matter, full time faculty members are very rare to come across in a college or university. Today, half of post-secondary faculty members are lower paid part-time employees, meaning that the average salaries of those who teach in American higher education are actually quite a bit lower than they were in 1970. The real major factor driving increasing costs is the increased amount of university
Adams, Caralee. “Colleges Try to Unlock Secrets to Students Retention.” Education Week 21 September 2011: 16-17. Print.
Most people see teachers and professors in the same light. They perform similar tasks. They teach. However, they are separated by a fine line of distinction. High school teachers help a student build a foundation of knowledge, and train the student to focus on learning. College professors help to shape and define a student’s foundation of knowledge, and challenge the student to cultivate the mind. High school teachers and college professors have similar goals and guidelines, but they take a differing approach to achieving the end result. The way the class is conducted, academic expectations, and view of student responsibility are a few of the contrasts between high school teachers and college professors.