This Digest discusses issues related to full-time, nontenure track, contract college faculty, sometimes called contingent faculty. Recent data from several sources show that the opportunities for tenure are declining, while the numbers of nontenure positions are increasing. Part of the increase in full-time nontenure faculty is due to the decrease…

Although consulting has long been recognized as a legitimate faculty role in most colleges, concern has arisen about the appropriateness of "double dipping," and particularly whether consulting and other supplemental income activities result in shirking other university responsibilities. The debate centers on six basic issues: who…

The year-round calendar is an increasingly popular alternative to the traditional 9-month school calendar. This digest examines the benefits and challenges of teaching in year-round schools. Year-round schools may be on a single-track or multi-track schedule. Single-track schedules call for an instructional year of 180 days with short breaks…

The demand for child care services in the United States continues to grow, stretching the levels of program quality to the limit. In fact, the country is facing a crisis in child care. Affordable child care continues to be a major issue for many families. Solutions to the current crisis in child care must, in addition to insuring affordability,…

Recruiting and retaining qualified, competent teachers is an ongoing problem for small school administrators. The reasons for high turnover are numerous and complex, e.g., preservice preparation is presently more suitable for large, metropolitan schools than for small, rural schools; career orientations fail to recognize that experience in small…

This digest examines prekindergarten teacher licensure, which enables states to ensure a level of specialized knowledge and experience among early childhood professionals. A recent movement toward specialization has led to more states offering early childhood education licenses (which is beneficial since the best predictor of appropriate teacher…

Recent concern for the quality of education has placed pressure on school administrators to assess and upgrade the competency of their teaching staff. No simple formula exists for measuring teacher competency, however, nor are any new methods guaranteed to improve the quality of instruction. Nevertheless, through a combination of clinical…

The success of a merit pay program depends primarily on careful, cooperative planning involving all constituencies who will be affected, so that the resulting plan is affordable, acceptable to teachers, and adapted to the needs of the district. Criteria for awards should reflect the goals of the program, and should be applied fairly and…

Legislators and school districts are reviewing alternative compensation plans in an effort to attract and retain qualified teachers. Limited merit-pay based plans have been abandoned, and the single salary schedule remains in place nationwide. A tight labor pool, greater scrutiny by legislatures, and new laws create pressures to raise salaries…

Legislators and school districts are reviewing alternative compensation plans in an effort to attract and retain qualified teachers. Limited merit-pay based plans have been abandoned, and the single salary schedule remains in place nationwide. A tight labor pool, greater scrutiny by legislatures, and new laws create pressures to raise salaries…

This digest, addressed to prospective teachers, consists of questions and answers that provide information on such topics as teachers' responsibilities, how to become a teacher, teacher supply and demand, salaries, and working conditions. References are included. (JD)

A discussion of the faculty and administrator selection process looks at the function of search committees, the issue of confidentiality in records, and societal issues that need to be addressed. A number of factors in the effective use of search committees are outlined, including breadth of committee membership, quality of communication within…

This publication is a brief digest of a longer monograph on compensation policies for higher education faculty and the impact of these policies on the professoriate and the higher education enterprise. An early section describes the monograph's treatment of the current financial turbulence in higher education that has caused many institutions to…