Description
The rate for dropping out or failing to complete online courses is roughly twice that for college courses taught by a human being. The "winner takes all" research arena is so competitive the case of Rosalind Franklin and DNA research is becoming a model rather than a cautionary tale. Lecturers who are hired to drop in and teach a course or two have very little to say about cultural transmission, curriculum, and basic pedagogy, which may be the point of hiring them in the first place. Burgan (English emerita, Indiana U.-Bloomington) shows how competition has reduced faculty involvement in planning, curriculum, instructional technology, governance and academic freedom, with the result being a corresponding loss of quality in both research and teaching. She describes a variety of exemplary cases of the successful return of the faculty to the work of the university. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Read More
In this provocative work, Mary Burgan surveys the deterioration of faculty influence in higher education. From campus planning, curriculum, and instructional technology to governance, pedagogy, and academic freedom, she urges far greater consideration for the perspective of the faculty. Burgan evokes the pervasive atmosphere of charge and counter-charge on U.S. campuses, where competition trumps reason not only in athletics but also in research, faculty recruitment, and fund-raising. Relating this "winner-take-all" mentality to the overspecialization of faculty and to overreliance on non-tenure track instructors, Burgan suggests that improving life on campus depends on faculty members' successful engagement with their administrative colleagues as well as their students.Informed by experience, fueled by conviction, and full of practical, strategic advice for the future, What Ever Happened to the Faculty? is an excellent resource for administrators and faculty who are eager to change the tone and trajectory of contemporary higher education.
Read Less