I’ve referred before to the discussions on CICDEAN-L, the e-mail list sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges primarily for chief academic officers at small, private institutions like mine.
A recent discussion on the list, which caught my eye because we just hired a new economist and a new management professor, focused on the challenges small colleges face when hiring business-faculty members: the shortage of business Ph.D.’s generally, problems posed by what is now a “competitive salary” for such people, and the strictures of specialized accreditation, particularly that offered by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
Most of the discussion concerned doctorate-holding accounting-faculty members. Depending on what figures you use, the average starting salary across institutional types for such faculty members is around $130,000 per year. The AACSB figures show that new doctorates at American AACSB-accredited institutions received an average salary of $109,700 in 2009.
AACSB accreditation is the gold standard for business schools, and the AACSB rightly sets very rigorous standards for faculty members’ academic and professional qualifications. Another business accreditor, the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, often accredits smaller programs, or programs at more teaching-oriented institutions, but the ACBSP’s salary data are much harder to find.
Many small colleges have neither of these accreditations, yet still have substantial business programs. (Disclosure: Buena Vista University is considering pursuing ACBSP accreditation, but we do not have it at the moment.) Regardless, the salary benchmarks provided by the AACSB are clearly the targets for well-informed new business doctorates pursuing academic employment.
Here’s the problem: My own institution pays very well for its category and location, but our average faculty salary, including about a dozen business faculty members, is around $65,000. None of our faculty members make over $100,000, though a few are in the ballpark. This salary picture is comparable to that at many small private colleges and universities. So how can we compete?
We are squeezed between the escalating salaries paid at leading institutions, which drive the average starting salaries to stratospheric levels, and the demands posed by industry standards for faculty credentials, even if we ourselves do not have specialized accreditation in business.
There’s also the question of how significantly those industry-standard credentials improve business education at the undergraduate level. I am not arguing for underqualified faculty members, but I wonder if, say, an attorney/certified public accountant with an undergraduate degree in accounting and certificates in specialized accounting areas isn’t well qualified to teach most if not all of the undergraduate accounting curriculum. Perhaps an M.B.A. with significant industry experience could teach most or all of the undergraduate management curriculum.
I am not proposing these credentials, but merely wondering aloud about what undergraduate business students really need to be successful in their chosen fields. We’re going to need to have this conversation because otherwise, in the not-too-distant future, there will be almost no small-college business programs left, and that would be too bad for the students who want the education and atmosphere such institutions offer.
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17 Responses to Small Colleges and Their Struggle to Recruit Business Professors
fambus2009 - September 1, 2010 at 4:36 pm
AACSB has positioned itself carefully and deserves to be commended. But their business is oriented to perhaps less than 1% of the world’s population (albeit the wealthiest 1%). We really need a whole new look at the MBA especially in how it can impact the other 99%.http://managing-turbulence.org/2010/08/31/a-mortgage-on-the-mba/
22102641 - September 1, 2010 at 4:40 pm
The fact that accrediting bodies have indeed driven business faculty salaries to “stratospheric levels” has not only created a difficult situation for small institutions in hiring, but it also creates a morale issue for many faculty groups across academia. Business faculty at smaller institutions read the data on average salaries and feel cheated because their own salaries do not match; non-business faculty who don’t have accrediting bodies to strong-arm their administrators look at the salaries of their business colleagues and feel cheated; and senior faculty in schools of business often feel cheated as they look at junior faculty who are paid “market rates” that are much more than their own compressed salaries. I haven’t seen data connecting this to a higher quality of education, but particularly given the current state of the economy, I agree that this is a tough conversation that needs to happen.
tuxthepenguin - September 1, 2010 at 4:41 pm
The salaries might be higher than you are used to paying. I wonder how much more expensive it would be to deliver a business degree than some other degree if you paid business school faculty $109,700.Shouldn’t business students pay more if they want that degree?
bolmanl - September 1, 2010 at 5:57 pm
This is a problem for big schools as well as small ones, particularly in the current fiscal environment. As tuxthepenguin notes, one response at many schools is to charge higher fees for business students. AACSB’s emphasis on faculty with doctoral qualifications is a piece of the problem, but the larger issue is market failure: in many A&S fields, there’s an oversupply of doctorates, but production of business Ph.D.’s declined from the 1990s into the current decade, while competition from the private sector for Ph.D.’s in areas like finance and accounting increased. AACSB’s Bridge Program is a modest effort to help by enabling experienced managers or academics with doctorates in other fields to make a transition into business teaching. Academics in other areas may not know that business presents plenty of very interesting and challenging intellectual questions that need good scholarship. There’s a great market for new Ph.D.’s. The big question is how to get more people on that path.
just_me1 - September 1, 2010 at 7:58 pm
“Shouldn’t business students pay more if they want that degree?”At many schools, the other units heavily subsidize the business school so business students are typically getting more (smaller classes, more staff, better technology) while paying only a small bit more. If I’m teaching 300 students $65K at a public university while my B-school colleagues are making $150K to teach 90 students…. you can do the math.
theblondeassassin - September 2, 2010 at 4:43 am
“Faculty of the practice” can be very useful in teaching some aspects of business and management, especially training aspects and practical wisdom about “how things happen in everyday life”, but they are often unaware of the scholarly (stop sniggering, there are some) aspects of management theory, management history, etc.For example, the attorney / CPA might be good at how to conform to some set of generally accepted accounting practices and procedures, but not aware of theories about how “accounting shapes reality”, as in Ruth Hines’ well-known article. Or how accounting fits with marketing and human resource practices, to give another example.What would probably suit small undergraduate programmes is business school faculty who combine disciplinary depth and good basic general knowledge, and who could therefore offer both advanced upper-level options in their field, and teach across several cognate required courses at lower levels.These people and programmes do exist in Europe, at least, although the AACSB may keep them from flourishing in the US.
nomdeplume64 - September 2, 2010 at 11:29 am
In addition to traditional “Academically Qualified” (AQ) faculty who have PhDs and conduct research, AACSB does also recognize “Professionally Qualified” (PQ) faculty who have professional experience and certifications. At institutions that only offer business degrees at the undergraduate level, many (though not all) of the faculty can fall in this PQ category. So yes, an experienced professional with, say, an MBA and a professional certification could teach many of the required undergrad business courses. As you add more graduate programs, however, AACSB quite reasonably expects you to have an increasing proportion of doctoral (AQ) faculty.Business students often do pay more for their degrees, though admittedly the difference at the undergraduate level is often small at public universities. But take a look at the MBA programs: even at many public institutions, tuition & fees for an MBA are drastically higher than for MA or MSc programs. And MBA classrooms often have 50 or 70 students in them, far larger than any science grad program I’ve ever seen. So the cross subsidization can work in both directions.I’d agree that the larger influence on salary differences is supply and demand. An oversupply of doctorates in many fields drives down their salaries, while a shortage of doctorates in business (and a few other fields) drives those salaries up.
lamb2u2 - September 2, 2010 at 12:29 pm
$65k?? I’d like to be offered that much to start. In the past eight weeks I have turned down three assistant professor positions at small institutions–all for the same reason–low pay. The highest offer of the three schools was $48k, and the other two tied at $45k. I have a PhD in Organization and Management, an MBA, and a BBA. I am also a certified corporate compliance and ethics professional. I count myself lucky to have been recently offered a professor position at $60k. Needless to say, I will not be quitting my adjunct jobs anytime soon.
preetisharma - September 2, 2010 at 12:58 pm
This is in reference to your article in The Chronicle.Sir, considering that people like me who have a PhD from other country getting a job in the US would itself be a great opportunity. Contributing to education, and scoring in the development of the University becomes a primary motive, rather than be concerned about the salary. If the smaller Universities open up their channels and broaden their search, they are bound to get quality professors to perform the task.
dryou - September 2, 2010 at 1:25 pm
People with doctoral degrees from other countries do work in the US. Although, I doubt with the current unemployment figures in America, many will want to consider opening those doors any wider. This is a very interesting topic.
softshellcrab - September 2, 2010 at 3:07 pm
This is a topic I know something about, and many of the comments above are well made. AACSB is certainly part of the equation. Also, the dearth of Academically Qualified (AQ) business faculty. Normal salaries for new Ph.D.’s or ABD’s at AACSB schools are over $100,000 at even “average”, non-prestigious AACSB schools. For Pac-10 schools, Big-10 schools, other higher tier schools, they are a lot over it, maybe $150,000 range depending on the discipline. Accounting or Finance tend to be the highest, but Management or Marketing are not way less. Of course, this is for Ph.D.’s from AACSB accredited business programs. If the Ph.D. is from a non-AACSB school, forget it.By the way, if you’re wondering what AQ is, it’s basically this. First, they need to have a terminal degree, usually a doctorate, the highest degree offered in the discipline. There are a few exceptions to this, but this is the rule. Second, you must be actively publishing and contributing to research in your discipline. Absence of either and no AQ.I agree that small colleges for the most part won’t be able to compete with this. AACSB requires generally that at least 50% of the faculty by AQ qualified. Higher if there there is a masters degree program, and higher yet if the program offers a doctoral degree. This, along with the shortage of AQ qualified business faculty, is what drives up the salaries. Yes, most Professionally Qualified” (PQ) faculty with just a masters, along with practical experience, are very often just as good or better teachers than the AQ faculty. To my experience, they are usually better. I think there is nothing wrong with non-AACSB schools using primarily these faculty. An excellent program can be built up using PQ type faculty who are good teachers. by the way, don’t make too much out of AACSB. Yes, it’s the gold standard, but often only to other academics! Many students and employers don’t know about it and don’t care about it. And yes, there are many, many very good business programs that turn out good graduates (many of them small private colleges) that are not AACSB.
bookworm12 - September 2, 2010 at 3:18 pm
I have a great solution. Disperse with the “18 hours” Master’s level requirement if they’re that desperate. I have 30 years as a business professional with a subsidiary of Citigroup, but I can’t get a job teaching in the business school — even as an adjunct — at a community college. I teach English, because that’s what my degree is in, but would be happy to teach business. Because I don’t have an MBA, my 30 years as a business leader counts for nothing.
frankcasagrande - September 2, 2010 at 5:23 pm
As a faculty compensation consultant this issue is often at the center of much of the work I am involved in. Institutions of Higher Education must be able to articulate a faculty compensation philosophy and structure that embraces a careful balance between internal equity and external equity. This is best accomplished through shared governance and a committee composed of both faculty and academic leadership that examine the issues. No easy answers here just a warning that answers should be owned by all stakeholders.
kdckulp - September 3, 2010 at 2:15 pm
As an executive search consultant and founder of KULPER & COMPANY http://www.kulpercompany.com ,I work closely with search committee chairs as well as VPAA/Provosts, HR Directors and Presidents responsible for crafting the offers to key faculty and Dean & VP hires at universities who engage our services.We are often asked the following question at the beginning of a higher ed search assignment.” Is our school’s salary structure competitive enough to attract the right candidates to our institution when other schools are paying more”?Everything is of course relative. Independent schools that are particularly well funded and have long established legacies of scholarship, distinguished faculty, loyal alums and engaged trustees will always be in a strong to position to aggressively use compensation as a way to attract the right people for their institution. Compensation is a touchy area for every university. Top schools like Harvard have very definite ideas about what “reasonable” compensation means for them—less well known schools, likewise, have salary guidelines that they must observe unless they wish to push their own boundaries in response trustee demand to seize competitive advantage or parry a competitor’s strategy. In order to intelligently address the ongoing faculty or leadership challenge the president and trustees need to provide clear guidelines to the VPAA/Provost and HR Director as to how flexible salary offers can be –or there will be a great deal of “wheel spinning” and perhaps consternation as well, among loyal and well respected faculty members who could feel slighted by an above average salary offer to an outsider the University wishes to attract. Here are what we believe are the “top considerations” for first rate candidates (solid track record of progressive career accomplishment in the areas most important to the hiring institution)when they review a new job opportunity. The below ranking of “Qualified Candidate/Top Considerations” can vary for each candidate –but, based upon our experience this is how we rank them:1) Career Development Opportunity2) Job location3) Institution viability, track record and strategic vision4) Clarity of hired candidate “Key Performance Indicators/by when”5) CompensationSo, what is right for Harvard—is right for Harvard. What is right for Buena Vista will be right for Buena Vista. The key is to “know thyself” –think through the issues ahead of time—and then go into the recruiting effort with confidence that the story will be right for your institution because if it is, the right candidates will be attracted and the university will move closer to fulfillment of its key strategic goals and objectives.Keith D KulperPresidentKULPER & COMPANY, LLC
gloriawalker - September 4, 2010 at 4:27 am
Well founded! The ASCBP placed focus on teaching and learning first as well as practical learning. I have taught for more than 20 years and experienced sucess with student learning but very limited in research for publication. My pay in the US has only been as high as $72,000. Working in small schools causes the teachers to cover 3 and 4 preparations each term, tutoring and one on one is vital as well. There are many other duties as well. Since I love teaching it never bothered me to work in these schools. These schools very often have administrators working out of their area of expertise or no terminal degree, one or two faculty members with terminal degree that are not treated with respect and worked too hard until they burnout.
rpgdolfan - September 4, 2010 at 12:02 pm
The problem with the AACSB accreditation standards runs much deeper than you think. I once lost an accounting associate professorship, because my competiton had a Doctorate in Romance Languages, which meant that the courses he taught would qualify for accreditation, but the classes that I taught, being a practicing CPA for 15 years and my MS in Taxation would NOT! Additionally our fellow acadamecians automatically assume that having a PHD automatically qualifes you to teach, when in reality more than half the PhD’s we are turning out, barely understand English!
marshakfox - September 7, 2010 at 7:57 am
I don’t know if anyone is still reading these comments now, but this is a very illuminating discussion to me, a humanities professor who was shocked to read the salaries of his business school counterparts. I teach at an urban public university with a highly regarded business school. I will admit to great anger at this salary inequity. What I do is not worth 1/3 or 1/4 or 1/5 of what a business professor does. I don’t care about the shortage of business Ph.D.’s or any “external equity.” If you want to be a college professor, be willing to see yourself as a colleague with all other professors and work on a level paying field. Otherwise, I can tell you that the feelings many of us have toward degrees in business will only worsen. I’d like to know how many successful business owners and innovators have an undergraduate degree in business? I know that many have degrees in arts and sciences. The AACSB should be well loved by those professors who have benefited from this boondoggle. The business of American clearly remains business.