Author : Kevin Warren Cook
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 174 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (843 download)
Book Synopsis Faculty Composition and Graduation Rates at Four-year Institutions of Higher Education by : Kevin Warren Cook
Download or read book Faculty Composition and Graduation Rates at Four-year Institutions of Higher Education written by Kevin Warren Cook and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Funding reductions, increased demand for higher education, and poor economic conditions have forced universities across the United States to drastically cut costs and liabilities. This reality coupled with increasing pressure from political parties and business groups to "corporatize" higher education has led many universities to cut labor costs by replacing pricier full-time, tenure track professors with part-time, non-tenured "contingent faculty." I employ a mixed methods approach, using both quantitative and qualitative analysis, to address the question: How has the continued trend of increased in hiring contingent faculty at non-profit, four year, universities and colleges in the United States affected graduation rates? The data used to conduct the regression analysis in this thesis come from the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Data from the 2010 United States Census was also used. In order to better understand the problem and make useful policy recommendations higher education experts and stakeholders were interviewed as well. Multiple regression analysis showed, controlling for institutional characteristics, student characteristics, and state demographic characteristics, a 1% increase in the percentage of contingent faculty at a university predicts a 0.21% increase in that school's graduation rate with 95% confidence. Although the effect is relatively small, this result counters much of the previous literature on this subject (Jacoby, 2006). One possible reason is that by hiring contingent faculty, universities are able to preserve their student to faculty ratio even in the face of budget cuts and this in turn allows them to maintain their relative graduation rates while increasing managerial flexibility and control. Interviews with four higher education experts and stakeholders supported my quantitative analysis noting that since contingent faculty are only required to teach and do not have to conduct research, advise students, or participate in faculty governance, they are able to focus solely on teaching which may lead to increased graduation rates. However, as the interviewees also note, without increased funding from the state and federal government along with increased institutional support for contingent faculty these benefits may not be fully realized.
