The base sample of this report consisted of faculty and staff who reported that they had had some instructional duties for credit during the 1998 fall term at the sampled institutions⁵. Among an estimated total of 1,074,000 faculty members employed nationwide in colleges and universities, about 976,000 (91 percent) were identified as instructional faculty and staff. These individuals became the population represented in the first section of the report. Of the 976,000 instructional faculty and staff, and 751,000 reported teaching one or more undergraduate classes for credit. This subgroup of instructional faculty and staff became the population represented in the second and third sections of the report that examined the undergraduate teaching loads of faculty who taught undergraduates in fall 1998 and various teaching practices they used for their undergraduate teaching.

This report focuses one of the most common forms of instruction for undergraduate faculty and staff—classroom instruction. Although relatively less common, faculty members also used other forms to deliver instruction to undergraduates, such as providing individual instruction or serving on academic committees.