In this brief, the authors argue that creating avenues to support VITAL faculty is an essential role for leaders within academic affairs, and particularly those in faculty affairs. While the authors review a host of supports needed, they argue for the importance of sustained professional development opportunities like faculty learning communities…

Neoliberalism has pervaded almost everywhere in the world, bringing about major changes in institutional frameworks and social relations. Science and university research have not escaped the effects of the neoliberal conception of university knowledge as a commodity and of Higher Education as a factor of economic growth. This research offers a…

Since 2021, California has invested over $1 billion in recruiting, training, developing, and retaining an ethnoracially diverse educator workforce that reflects its student population. However, recruitment rates have not kept pace with the increasing ethnoracial diversity of the student population, nor have these efforts curbed rising teacher…

Universities are expected to strive for excellence but also for gender balance. Narrow interpretations of excellence in universities hinder women's advancement in academia. In this paper, we ask if there are ways that these policies may be reconciled. Excellence is an "empty signifier" that must be filled with meaning. We have…

Considering the lack of data from Iraq on the challenges faced by academics regarding academic advancement, we aimed to explore the main challenges faced by academic faculty members in Iraq in achieving academic advancement and promotion. A cross sectional 24-item Google form survey was shared via social media; 130 Iraqi academics responded. Lack…

Academics in Higher Education are often expected both to teach and to research; this is a particular challenge for women both structurally and individually. Initiatives to address structural issues include AdvanceHE. Here, we focus on individual issues and report on the Programme for Women Achieving Excellence in Research, a theory-based…

We approach productivity in science in a longitudinal fashion: We track scientists' careers over time, up to 40 years. We first allocate scientists to decile-based publishing productivity classes, from the bottom 10% to the top 10%. Then, we seek patterns of mobility between the classes in two career stages: assistant professorship and associate…

The study examines the link between job satisfaction and organizational commitment among academic staff at the north Shewa Zone Polytechnic Colleges, Ethiopia. The study employed a quantitative methodology and utilized a correlational research design. Researchers selected a total of 264 academic staff members. Two questionnaires, namely the Job…

Institutional reliance on tenure-line faculty reached a historic low after the Great Recession in 2009, remaining at approximately a third of all faculty through 2022. Postsecondary institutions have steadily increased their reliance on full-time adjunct faculty over the last two decades. Part-time adjuncts, meanwhile, were hired in great numbers…

Peer observation of teaching (PoT) is a recognized evaluation tool. However, faculty concerns persist regarding bias, beneficial feedback, and lack of peer observer training. While faculty desire to provide quality and equitable reviews, many higher education faculty peers have little expertise in conducting observations and evaluations. This…

Workload management for academics within higher education settings has been and continues to be heavily contested and cited by some as a challenge that has proved impossible to satisfactorily decipher. This is especially problematic within postgraduate contexts where academics have multilayered roles and responsibilities that include teaching,…

This statement was drafted by a subcommittee of the Association's Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure and approved by Committee A at its June 2024 meeting. The Association views the use of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) criteria in faculty recruitment, promotion, and retention as within the broader vision of higher education for the…

The promotion and tenure process is complicated and fraught with complicated criteria and guidance, secrecy in evaluations, and at times questionable outcomes. Moreover, higher education is experiencing a reduction and elimination of tenure tracks. Faculty members have numerous competing demands and struggle to find time to organize daunting…

Recognition of teaching excellence has become a global trend in higher education as various schemes and awards are established as a way to assure stakeholders of the quality of teaching in universities. At present, there is a lack of research into what teaching excellence means from an institutional perspective. This study explores the…

This report provides insights into VITAL faculty members' engagement in sustained professional development (SPD) programs, such as faculty learning communities. Throughout the report, we examine how differences in VITAL faculty's career characteristics (e.g., full-time or part-time, promotion opportunities and contract length, career role,…