University follows nationwide trend of decreasing full-time/part-time numbers
Claire Higgins, News editor
January 25, 2012
Filed under Featured Story, News
Nationwide, colleges across the country are lowering their numbers of full-time faculty, while the number of part-time faculty continues to increase. Not only is the number of full-time faculty decreasing, but the number of tenured faculty is also on the decline. To compensate, many schools are increasing the number of part-time faculty to take over some classes.
Northern Kentucky University is keeping with the national trend by lowering the number of faculty across the board. The numbers, according to Institutional Research at NKU, show that part-time and full-time professor positions are being cut yearly.
Currently, there are 950 total instructional faculty employed by NKU. Compare that number to 2007, when NKU boasted 1,099 instructor positions.
In comparison with the national trend, NKU has reversed the number of full-time and part-time numbers. In 2007 there were more part-time faculty working at the university, and today, full-time faculty take the cake with the highest number.
The Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs was unable to provide information about why the faculty employment numbers have been on a steady decline.
Communication professor Jacqueline McNally said the decreases were made because of financial reasons, but she did not know if that was the only reason.
Although full-time faculty numbers stay in the same ranges, the number of tenure track faculty is in danger.
According to Institutional Research, the number of associate professors at NKU in 2011 is higher than professors, at 159 versus 90. Institutional Research has not yet compiled the data of the same numbers for previous years.
Dictionary.com differentiates between “professor” and “associate professor” based on the academic degree a teacher holds in a university. A professor holds the highest rank, while an associate professor and the remaining titles have lower degrees in their fields. Many times, professors are tenured.
McNally is worried about the decrease in tenured faculty because of the benefits that title brings to the university. Tenured faculty must have the terminal degree, such as a master’s or Ph.D. “It is better to have people who are tenure-track positions that are teaching, especially upper level classes, because they are more vested,” she said.
The NKU faculty handbook describes tenured faculty as “effective as a teacher, in scholarly and creative activity, and in institutional and public service.”
“They are more current in terms of research and pop culture and current trends and scholars and theory and kind of all of those things,” McNally said.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported in 2010 that the trend of less tenured faculty and more full-time faculty was gaining speed across the country. According to the report, “the proportion of college instructors who are tenured or on the tenure track plummeted: from 57 percent in 1975 to 31 percent in 2007.”
The number of tenured faculty in most colleges at NKU has varied very little over the past five years. The college of education of human services now holds 28 tenured positions, as compared to 21 in 2007.
Across the campus, the Haile/US Bank College of Business has moved from 20 tenured faculty in 2007 to 36 in 2011. Comparatively, the college of informatics has held a steady average of 43 tenured faculty.
The colleges continue to fill open positions yearly, but not all are tenure-track, and not all make it to the full tenure title after the six year probationary period. Across the board, the number of available tenure-track positions decreases yearly. In the college of health professions, there are 17 tenured faculty and 18 currently on the tenure track.
The number of open positions can vary from year to year based on faculty turnover or people choosing to leave the university, according to Tracy Brate, assistant to the dean of college of health professions.
The non-tenure track faculty have a different outlook on the situation, where they are not seeing a change in numbers.
Sam Lapin, a full-time faculty member on the non-tenure track in the communication department, said he has not noticed a change in the breadth of faculty in the department, but feels very lucky to have his job at NKU. In his current position, Lapin cannot and will not receive tenure. Instead, he has a renewable contract written into the university budget for each year.
This is a timely article that highlights the challenges for higher education institutions in times where state appropriations constitute an increasingly smaller proportion of higher education institutional budgets. One small correction to the Wikipedia definitions above. In most American higher education institutions, including ours, there are generally two broad classifications of faculty. Tenure/Tenure Track faculty are full time faculty who have been granted or are on their way to being granted tenure. These faculty are generally of three ranks: assistant professors who are on a track to tenure, associate professors who have been granted tenure and are proceeding to a rank of full professor and full professors. Tenure is granted based on faculty performance in teaching, research and service over a five to seven year period and affords faculty certain protections related broadly to the concept of academic freedom or the freedom to pursue their intellectual interests. Faculty who are not tenured are generally considered adjuncts or instructors. Full time instructors typically work full time, but are on limited “renewable” contracts. In other words, instructors typically have a one year contract that is at risk if funding levels can’t support the position. Part time faculty, often called adjunct faculty are paid to teach specific courses on a per course basis. While all institutions of higher education strive to increase the proportion of tenure/tenure track employees, the financial realities restrict their ability to meet those desires. The financial pressure on public institutions of higher education is increasing. State legislatures, including Kentucky continue to decrease funding allocations while institutions attempt to hold down tuition. The four primary funding sources for public comprehensive higher education institutions are state funding, tuition revenue and funding, endowments and gifts, and grant funding. Losses in state funding as a proportion of total budget makes it difficult to fund tenure track positions as these are long term financial obligations. Tuition is already a challenge for many students so institutions attempt to hold this down. What can you do to help? First, help others understand the challenges of higher education funding – be politically active in attempting to get legislators to consider the importance of adequately funding higher education. Second, vote and hold legislators accountable for funding higher education.
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