. . . December 1995
WHAT DO FACULTY DO?
By Lucy E. Drotning
Many members of the public have the impression that faculty in major research universities do little teaching and devote many hours to spare time or to research projects that may not be related to university responsibilities. Mike Sweet, a newspaper columnist in Burlington, Iowa, sums up the sentiments when he writes:,
[Research universities hire] bright people to work on projects that bring themselves and the university fame and fortune. With so many geniuses tied up doing pet projects, the teaching is left to teaching assistants, who work for a lot less money while hoping to become full professors so they can get someone else to do their teaching for them.
Classroom teaching is a major component of a faculty member's duties, but a professor's responsibilities extend beyond the classroom. Faculty also invest time working with students outside of class, preparing, or doing research and keeping up with developments in their field.
Three activities---teaching, research and service---form the core of a public college or universtity's mission. In 1988, the National Center for Research to Improve Post Secondary Teaching and Learning published a study called Faculty at Work. The study included the chart below, which provides some general information about the average number of hours faculty devote to these areas of activity, depending on the type of college or university where they teach, as defined by the Carnegie Classification System.
| How Faculty Spend Their Time: Average Hours per Week |
Public Institution Type
|
Faculty Activity |
Large Research
Small Research
Doctoral-Granting
Large Masters-Granting
Small Masters-Granting
Liberal Arts
2-year
|
Research
18
16
12
7
4
5
2
|
Teaching
20
23
26
31
36
37
34
|
Scholarship
8
7
7
7
6
7
5
|
Service
10
9
9
8
7
5
6
|
Total
56
55
54
53
53
54
47
|
| Faculty at major research universities average 20 hours a week teaching, 18 in research, 8 in scholarship and 10 in public service. ( Source: Faculty at Work, National Center for Research to Improve Post Secondary Teaching and Learning, 1988.) |
While building a strong record of research and scholarship is an important part of the tenure process, a faculty member's commitment to teaching and service also is considered carefully in awarding tenure.
As Prof. Robert Weisbuch, former chair of the Department of English and head of a 1990 committee on undergraduate education, explains, "You still can't get tenure by being a great teacher who doesn't publish, but you are not going to get tenure unless you are a success in the classroom."
Tenured and tenure-track faculty do most of the teaching at Michigan. These faculty are responsible for 64 percent of the teaching load, and lecturers, hired for their teaching expertise, are responsible for 14 percent of the teaching load. For some larger classes, professors employ graduate Teaching Assistants, who can be thought of as professors-in-training, to teach smaller class sections that complement the lectures. The sections led by TAs account for the remainder of the teaching load.
This article is excerpted from a pamphlet of the same name by Drotning, a senior researcher in the Office of Academic Planning and Analysis. The pamphlet, published by the Office of University Relations, details faculty responsibilites at the University. To obtain a copy, readers may, write, call, fax or e-mail Michigan Today.
This Issue's Index | Michigan Today Home Page