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November 15, 2011, 09:02 PM ET

Advising's Role in Tenure

There's been a whole lot of talk lately about advising at Beloit College—and not of the "I sure wish I didn't have to do it" ilk. A task force has spent much of this year focused on how to push advising at the liberal-arts institution beyond the basics. In fact, one of the task force's goals has been to introduce a culture change at Beloit to help professors think of the advising they do in a way that doesn't boil down to how many students lined up each semester to get guidance from them on what courses to take next. "When professors talk about their teaching, they go into detail about curriculum planning, the ways they engage students, or what students go on to do," said Kathleen F. Greene, chair of the education and youth studies department and chair of the advising group. "What people do when it comes to advising isn't articulated to the same degree. We're trying to bring some of... Read More
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November 14, 2011, 12:57 PM ET

Grades: What Are They Good For?

A recent experience involving a high-school student I know has led me to re-evaluate the way I, well, evaluate. The student, an 11th grader, brought me an English essay -- excuse me, a language-arts paper -- on which she had received a failing grade. She was devastated by the grade because she had never failed a writing assignment before. In fact, in her previous 11 years of public schooling, she had never made less than an A on any test or assignment in language arts, which, she told me solemnly (and her mother affirmed), was her "best subject." I confess: as I wrote that last paragraph, I could hear the collective voices of hundreds of my own students, protesting after getting C's on their first writing assignments that they had "always made A's in language arts." I could also hear myself responding, "This isn't high school anymore." In this case, there was some objective evidence... Read More

November 11, 2011, 12:07 PM ET

A Balanced Life?

For years, academics have studied it. Plenty of faculty members want it. And many of them don’t know how to get it. Yes, I’m talking about the ever-elusive work-life balance. It’s a perennial topic of discussion among many professors, particularly women. So it wasn’t surprising that attendees at the recent Purdue University Conference for Pre-Tenure Women had some frank conversations about how to manage their role as faculty member while trying to have a satisfying family life. “Work-life balance permeated every discussion that we had," said Beverly Davenport Sypher, vice provost for faculty affairs at Purdue. "We provided a space for women to feel safe to talk about the issue." The conference was officially billed as an event that would give the 100 or so attendees a blueprint for a successful tenure bid. And sessions that helped demystify the process did take place. But ... Read More

November 10, 2011, 03:52 PM ET

Adjunct Realities

I wrote recently about missing class for a medical emergency. Several commenters replied that they build an extra day into their semester just in case such a thing happens. Great idea to make sure all the content is covered. If you'll remember, on the night I missed class, I put coursework up on Blackboard for my students to do without me. I did not need a substitute instructor in the classroom. But just this week I got a notice in the mail letting me know that my pay would be docked for the night I missed class. As an adjunct faculty member, I do not have health insurance or sick leave. If I am not in class, I don't get paid. Even though I had a contingency plan and my students had a night of coursework, albeit self-directed, I don't get paid. Yet if I'd sat in the back of the classroom doing nothing while students did the activities I'd assigned, I would have been paid. I'm a bit... Read More

November 9, 2011, 11:34 AM ET

Separating Truth From Fiction

During her fall break, my younger daughter and I hopped on a plane and took the first of what will likely be several college tours. After a couple of days, she ended up with a definite “maybe” and I ended up with a severe case of cynicism. Those of us in higher education don’t cut others too much slack, so I’ll admit to being a tough customer, but still, I found the experience more disturbing this time than I did when we went through the same drill with our older daughter a few years ago. Have things gotten more competitive? Hard to know. During our first visit, we were treated to an exceptional overview session with a top admissions official and an energetic, well-rounded, and overachieving student with a triple major. After the presentation, one of the parents asked how many students apply and how many are actually accepted, and the admissions guy actually pretended to have... Read More

November 7, 2011, 09:47 AM ET

I Live in the World

The other day before class started, a student was listening quietly to music in the room. It was the beginning of the song, before the singing started, and I recognized it as "Country Girl (Shake it for Me)," by Luke Bryan. This is a silly country song with a catchy beat. I can't say I'm crazy about it, but it's been on the radio so much that I know most of the words. So I started to sing along with the lyrics. The student stared at me in disbelief. When the shock wore off, she spoke, "How do you know that song?" I laughed. It was the only response I could think of. I mean, the answer was obvious: I've heard the song before. I was a little taken aback, though, because she didn't consider that I listened to that kind of music. The perception students have of professors is strange. I've gotten comments like this before: "Mr. Sweeney, are you listening to Metallica?" "Mr. Sweeney, you... Read More

November 4, 2011, 01:04 PM ET

Student Voices

Every institution where I’ve worked has had some means of involving students in faculty searches, from student representation on the search committee to at least some sort of meeting with students during the on-campus interview. As I rack my memory, I can only think of one or two times where the student-input portion of the process negatively impacted a particular candidate’s status. In general, students seem to be eager to support hires as long as the candidate doesn’t come across as hostile (which is a fairly low standard, I must say). This got me wondering what our readers believe to be the best use of student voices in the search process? What are the positives or negatives about student representation on the search committee? What should a candidate's on-campus meeting with students look like? Alternately, do you think students are ill-equipped to have an active role in the... Read More

November 3, 2011, 01:59 PM ET

Too Much Information

This summer, my fellow blogger, Isaac Sweeney, wrote about discussing his personal life in his English classroom. I think that is a particularly challenging issue for those of us in the humanities, where we read, write, and delve into the minds of students and society as a whole. I'm comfortable with my level of personal disclosure as a professor. I am less comfortable with my role as confidant, the person who reads the deep thoughts of dozens of undergraduates. The over-sharing seems to come in waves, some semesters more than others. I'm in the midst of one over-sharing semester right now. Some students write about their personal lives with only marginal attention to what the assignment really was supposed to be; others tastefully enhance their academic essays with personal experiences. In the latter case, it is easy to give constructive feedback including positive comments about how ... Read More

November 2, 2011, 12:20 PM ET

Insubordinate in Academe?

Can someone please tell me what "insubordination" means in a higher-education setting? It's a word I keep hearing these days in connection with faculty, usually as a potential reason for revoking tenure. But I don't really know what it means. Oh, I understand the definition well enough. To be insubordinate means to disobey a direct order. It's an offense most often associated with military and police organizations, which have strict hierarchies and in which unquestioning obedience may literally be the difference between life and death. But most colleges and universities do not have that kind of strict hierarchy. Regardless of position, we typically call each other by first names, chat in the hallway, go out to lunch together. (I believe in the military that would be known as "fraternization." Is that typically seen as a potential reason for removing administrators?) Nor are the issues ... Read More

November 2, 2011, 11:56 AM ET

Attack of the Exploding Watermelons

Last May there were reports of exploding watermelons in China. Apparently, farmers applied fertilizer that made the melons grow really big really fast and then KAPOW! They exploded. It is with a fair amount of distress that I am observing a similar phenomenon at my own institution. No, we aren’t growing fruit on campus, but we do seem to be growing some mighty big egos, and I fear the splatter of gray matter as a few heads begin to explode. I’ve been trying to understand how and why watermelon people are created and have discovered a few common variables. Variable A = Person is smart. Variable B = Person is unusual in some way. Variable C = Person was initially very likeable, due in part to Variable B. Variable D = Person is young, or at least new to the role or organization. Variable F = Organization gives person constant positive feedback about how wonderful he or she is, in part... Read More