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| This article was originally published as the Executive Summary of the Statistical Analysis Report of the same name. The sample survey data are from the NCES National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF). | |||
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As college costs have escalated in recent years, concern about the quality of undergraduate education has intensified. Some concerns focus on what is being taught (e.g., Bloom 1987), while others emphasize who is doing the teaching (e.g., Huber 1992). The latter concern, which is the focus of this report, has become prominent because of the widespread perception that undergraduate students are increasingly taught by part-time, junior, or nontenure-track faculty and that senior and experienced professors care little about undergraduate education (Boyer Commission 1998). Despite the considerable attention that both the higher education community and the media have recently paid to this concern, little information at the national level has been obtained regarding who teaches undergraduates in U.S. higher education institutions and what their teaching loads are. Using data from the 1993 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:1993), the purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which instructional faculty and staff of higher education institutions are involved in undergraduate teaching.1 Specifically, it addressed the following two questions: (1) Who teaches undergraduates in the classroom? and (2) How much do they teach? The findings are based on a nationally representative sample of instructional faculty and staff who provided classroom instruction for credit to undergraduates in the fall of 1992.2
In the fall of 1992, a vast majority (86 percent) of instructional faculty and staff employed in higher education institutions provided classroom instruction to undergraduates for credit (figure A). Their high involvement in undergraduate teaching not only was evident in 2-year institutions, where all instructional faculty and staff reported teaching classes for credit to undergraduates, but also was apparent in 4-year institutions. For example, 89 percent of instructional faculty and staff at 4-year nondoctoral institutions and 67 percent at 4-year doctoral institutions reported teaching at least one class for credit to undergraduates in fall 1992. Because there was no variation among instructional faculty and staff at 2-year institutions regarding who taught undergraduate classes, the analysis in this section excluded these faculty members and focused on only those at 4-year institutions. While nearly four in five (79 percent) instructional faculty and staff at 4-year institutions reported teaching undergraduates in the classroom in 1992, relatively fewer taught only these students, especially only lower division students (i.e., freshmen and sophomores) (table A). For example, 66 percent of instructional faculty and staff at 4-year institutions reported teaching only undergraduate classes. Of those who reported teaching at least one undergraduate class, one in four (25 percent) reported that all of the classes they taught were at the lower division level.3 Thus, while most instructional faculty and staff at 4-year institutions who had teaching responsibilities were involved in undergraduate teaching, relatively fewer of them devoted their teaching entirely to undergraduates, particularly at the lower division level. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:1993). 1A maximum of five classes could be reported by respondents. 2Part-time instructional faculty and staff were excluded. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:1993). Who taught undergraduates varied considerably among instructional faculty and staff at 4-year institutions. In general, faculty who were employed part time, were female, held a lower academic rank such as instructor or lecturer, worked in a nontenure-track position, had a highest degree below a doctoral or professional degree, and earned a lower salary from their institution were more likely than their counterparts to teach undergraduates, particularly only undergraduates or only lower division students (table A). The multivariate analysis on who was likely to teach only undergraduate classes further revealed that although the differences between part-time and full-time faculty and between male and female faculty were no longer found when other factors were taken into consideration,4 academic rank and highest degree earned remained significant factors in determining who teaches undergraduates exclusively (table B). Regardless of the type of 4-year institution, the faculty members' gender, race/ethnicity, age, teaching field, or employment status, those faculty or staff who were instructors, lecturers, and assistant professors were more likely than full professors to teach only undergraduate classes. Faculty who had a highest degree below a doctoral or professional degree were also more likely to teach undergraduates only than those with a doctoral or professional degree. While senior faculty (i.e., full or associate professors, or tenured faculty) were less likely to provide classroom instruction to undergraduates than were junior faculty (i.e., instructors, lecturers, assistant professors, or faculty working in a nontenure-track position), a majority of senior faculty were, in fact, involved in undergraduate teaching. For example, at 4-year doctoral institutions, 64 percent of full-time associate professors reported teaching at least one class for credit to undergraduates, as did 61 percent of full-time full professors and 65 percent of full-time tenured faculty (figure B). Moreover, between 38 and 41 percent of these faculty members said that all of the classes they taught were targeted at the undergraduate level. These results seem inconsistent with the perception that at research and doctoral universities, few senior faculty members are involved in undergraduate teaching. *p<.05. 1The italicized group is the comparison group. 2In addition to adjusting for the variables listed in the table, the percentages were also adjusted for type of institution, faculty's age, race/ethnicity, and principal field of teaching. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:1993). SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:1993).
In the fall of 1992, instructional faculty and staff5 in all types of higher education institutions (including 2-year institutions) taught about 2.3 undergraduate classes with a total of 8 credit hours (table C). In each undergraduate class taught, they had about 30 students. Overall, they spent 10 hours per week in the classroom teaching undergraduates and had a total of 272 undergraduate student contact hours per week. Undergraduate teaching loads were not uniformly distributed across institutions. For example, full-time instructional faculty and staff at 4-year doctoral institutions had lighter undergraduate teaching loads than their full-time colleagues at 4-year nondoctoral institutions, who, in turn, had lighter undergraduate teaching loads than those who taught full time at 2-year institutions (table C). In addition, with a few exceptions, full-time senior faculty (i.e., full or associate professors, or tenured faculty) tended to teach larger but fewer undergraduate classes, whereas full-time junior faculty (i.e., instructors, lecturers, or assistant professors, or those working in a nontenure-track position) taught smaller but more undergraduate classes. Full-time senior faculty also spent fewer hours each week teaching undergraduates in class than their junior counterparts. The combination of smaller class sizes with more classroom hours (or vice versa) resulted in full-time senior and junior faculty members having similar undergraduate student contact hours.
Footnotes
1 Using graduate teaching assistants for undergraduate instruction has become increasingly common at U.S. higher education institutions and has recently received much attention from the media (Wilson 1999). Unfortunately, the data used in this report from NSOPF:1993, which excludes teaching assistants, cannot address this issue. 2 NSOPF:1993 is a study of faculty and instructional staff. In the fall of 1992, there were approximately 1,034,000 faculty and instructional staff employed in U.S. higher education institutions. Of these, about 817,000 reported teaching one or more classes for credit during the fall. These individuals became the base sample of this report, from which those who taught undergraduate classes for credit were identified. Excluded from the sample were faculty and staff who did not teach any classes during the fall (i.e., those engaged exclusively in research, administration, or public service); those who taught only independent study or one-on-one classes; or those who supervised undergraduate or graduate thesis or dissertation work without teaching any class for credit. 3 Or about 20 percent of instructional faculty and staff who had undergraduate classroom teaching duties reported teaching only lower division classes (25 x 79/100 = 20 percent).
4 Tenure status was excluded from the multivariate regression model because of its high correlation with academic rank. 5 This analysis was restricted to instructional faculty and staff who reported teaching one or more classes for credit to undergraduates. Thus, those who taught classes for credit to graduate students only were excluded.
Bloom, A. (1987). The Closing of the American Mind. New York: Simon and Schuster. Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University. (1998). Reinventing Undergraduate Education. New York: State University of New York at Stony Brook. Huber, T. (1992). How Professors Play the Cat Guarding the Cream. Fairfax, VA: George Mason University Press.
Wilson, R. (1999, April 9). Yale Relies on TA's and Adjuncts for Teaching. Chronicle of Higher Education.
1This measure was constructed as follows. For each undergraduate class taught by faculty for credit, the number of hours per week taught in the class was multiplied by the number of students in the class. The products were then added together to obtain the total undergraduate student contact hours. 2The total includes both full-time and part-time instructional faculty and staff. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:1993).
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