By John Wilkerson. "Learning by doing" is an idea that many college students in the U.S. have become familiar with. It has long been a hallmark of U.S. higher education, and it calls on students to not only learn the theories and techniques associated with a particular field of study, but to put that knowledge to work. More...
Explainer: how Europe does academic tenure
By . The word “tenure” is usually associated in universities with job security and professional autonomy. It is a term familiar in North America, where the notion of a “job-for-life” for professors who achieve “tenure” has come under pressure in recent years, most recently in a legal case in Wisconsin. But across Europe there are a variety of different employment tracks through which academics can reach professor level.
I have had the pleasure of working as an academic in three European countries – Germany, The Netherlands, and the UK – each of which highlights some of the alternative options to the tenure-track model in the US. More...
Scott Walker erodes college professor tenure – Kimberly Hefling, Politico
Higher Ed Tech News and Research ~ Ray Schroeder, editor. Cutting tenure protections is appealing to some college and university chiefs because it gives them more control over cutting programs when academic demands shift. More...
Surprise! This Career is One of the Happiest Around
Higher Ed Tech News and Research ~ Ray Schroeder, editor. If you’re unhappy at work, don’t complain to your coder friends. Chances are they won’t be able to relate. More...
Saying Yes
By Melissa Dennihy. A common piece of advice newly hired tenure-track faculty receive is to learn to say no. Invitations to serve on committees, teach new courses, develop curricula, give talks, attend events and meet colleagues will abound in the first few years of a tenure-track position, and if you don’t learn to say no to some of these invitations, you’ll never be able to get any of your own research done. Read more...
The Season of Leaving
By Sam Minner. Summer is the season of leaving. Colleagues retire or depart for other positions, and those leaving as well as those remaining are faced with a tricky issue -- how to handle the farewell. Read more...
What I Wish I Had Known
By Kirstie Ramsey. As I look back on my employment since graduating with my Ph.D., I realize that there are numerous things that I wish I had known much earlier in my career. This list is not intended to deter you from an academic career, or portray it as being the best job option available. Read more...
Your Tenure Decision Year
By Kerry Ann Rockquemore. I understand how unsettling the tenure-track years can be, and I know that for many faculty members the year you are under review is the pinnacle of that stress. I agree that the system we currently use to evaluate faculty for tenure is unnecessarily lengthy and opaque, but I don’t imagine your campus will be changing its tenure process before you come up for review. Read more...
Academic Guilt
By Kerry Ann Rockquemore. Thanks for being so honest about how difficult it is for you to take time off from work. Many academics struggle with placing healthy boundaries around work, allowing themselves to experience non-work-related pleasure, and managing the ever-present fear of not winning tenure. Read more...
Do We Know How to Judge Teaching?
By Stephen L. Chew. Early in my career, there was an incident involving a senior professor in another department. He was a mild-mannered man but deeply embittered about his career. He began savagely berating students in feedback on assignments and writing vitriolic reviews of junior faculty members. Read more...