Comments on: PH.D. ECONOMICS, REDUX

By: Jem

Jem — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Uh, James, Invisible Adjunct is female (ref postings on motherhood and the very first of the Personal musings section).

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Ah. I don't read sections; just posts:)

By: joy

joy — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Just a question. I'm a computer instructor, but I can only teach at the community college level or lower because I only hold a BA. Of the typical $2500 one gets paid for teaching a class, what is the hourly breakdown on that? I assume the stipend is for in-class time, but for you instructors out there, how much time do you actually spend on prepping for a class?

Very likely, I get paid to teach more than someone with a Phd.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

And the other problem is one of quality. It seems to be the rare professor who will maintain the quality of their classroom time after they have achieved tenure. Tenure is not a benefit for the typical undergraduate student. At larger institutions, having a "tenured professor" means a grad student will be teaching ones class.
Tenure is a wonderful perk. However, it is one that should die on the vine over the next 50 years.
I see the trend away from the traditional university enviroment, and into a world that is much more practical featuring minimal classroom time and much more e-learning.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I would imagine adjunct pay would vary wildly by discipline, geography, and in some cases, enrollment. Certainly, prep time varies even more wildly, as it is almost completely self-determined.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Tom: I would think the correlation between teaching quality, however that's measured, and tenure would work in the opposite direction. There is very little reward for teaching well in tenuring decisions, which are based almost entirely on research.

And while I agree that the trend you cite will grow, I'm not sure it's a good one. Universities are not supposed to be technical institutes to teach job skills but rather institutions of higher learning.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I agree, however the economics of almost all universities these days are not healthy. This, in my humble opinion, will lead to a huge split in the offering of the educational experience. There will be the IVY's adn near Ivy's that will survive intact, there will be large growth in the suburban state commuter campuses, and lots of carnage in the small and underfunded liberal arts colleges. These smaller campuses got caught over the last 15 years of expanding their plants and facilities to "compete", that they have created a capital pit that only escalating tuitions can cover. And I truly feel that Mom's and Dad's are not going to look out and say, " I would rather send little Tommy to Denison at 120K for 4 Years, or University of Georgia, Georgia Southern, ect... for 50K. the data is showing that there is very little corrolation between the income potential of degrees from these schools. I went to Denison University, in Granville, Ohio. It was a tremendous experience, but for 70K in todays dollars, is it worth that much? Or should we allow little Tommy to go to UGA and buy him a new car on graduation. Troubling questions for me. Business Week ran a good article on this a couple of months ago.

Here is the link.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_17/b3830011.htm

Great thread..

Tom

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