Given the demand for anatomy instruction, it is imperative to understand the current cohort of anatomy teachers. This study aimed to delineate the demographic characteristics, academic backgrounds, and professional responsibilities of United States (U.S.) anatomy teachers. A survey was sent to teachers who were identified by their professional…

When part-time or adjunct faculty have been on the same campus for 10 years or when they teach several sections per semester, they are not rendering partial service. All institutions of higher education owe much of their success to these adjunct instructors who can provide students with experience that links education to the workplace and make up…

The role of part-time faculty in the community college is discussed in this paper along with ways of improving their performance and morale. Introductory material outlines the advantages of employing part-time teachers (e.g., low cost, high motivation, and fewer commitments), and specifies some of their particular needs (e.g., stability, provision…

For the new two-year college instructor, gaining information that specifically addresses his/her problems and concerns, and establishing the network to generate the flow of quality information can be a problem. How the instructor deals with this problem is a function of his/her stage of growth. In the neophyte stage, the new faculty member is…

The Beginning Department Chair Study used qualitative methodology to examine the developing identities of 13 new department chairs at 10 public and private colleges and universities in eight states. Data were gathered during on-site semistructured interviews (approximately two per month) during the chair's first year and periodic telephone…

A description is presented of Vista College's faculty development system, which attempts to provide an atmosphere of support for the part-time faculty who carry over 85% of the teaching assignments. First, the paper provides background on the characteristics of Vista College, a non-campus community college which offers over 400 courses in general…

Almost from its inception, Sheffield City Polytechnic has operated a system whereby each academic department allocates to every student a "personal tutor," who provides academic, professional, and personal assistance throughout the student's course of study. In 1988-89, in response to fiscal constraints, a number of departments made no…

While tenure-track faculty begin their careers with some sense of what they will teach, what they will earn, and how they will be promoted, lecturers are not allowed such assurances. In the early days, lecturers in the English Department at the University of Nevada Reno (UNR) taught basic composition courses, four per semester unless they were…

Peer observation is discussed as an aid in instructional development, rather than a method for teacher evaluation. A team effort, consisting of from three to four peers who observe each other from four to seven times during the span of one term offers the greatest likelihood that instruction will be improved. Whether these groups are elective or…

Responding to the crisis in leadership at community colleges, scholars and practitioners alike have called for a new style of leadership capable of adapting and responding easily to an uncertain political and social climate. Although community colleges are rooted historically in a hierarchical leadership mode, there seems to be broad consensus…

Interest in the relationship of entrepreneurship to organizational performance and validity is widely and increasingly discussed in educational contexts. An examination of academic entrepreneurship is presented in this paper. Five types of entrepreneurship are described, and many questions more directly related to organizational theory are…

The professional development program at Golden West College has successfully maximized instructional change and innvovation for several years. The success of the program is due to factors such as support from the president; the appointment of a dean of educational development whose sole responsibility is to work with faculty on new developmental…

A study on teacher communication concerns explored the following questions: (1) to what extent is communication concern expressed after the first quarter of college teaching, and (2) does the type of communication concern expressed vary by quarter? The experiences of two new faculty members at a western university provided the data source for the…

Just as medical practitioners have professional associations to safeguard the public from poor doctoring, so too should the community college teaching profession be guided by a national association to oversee teachers' performance, especially given the tremendous role teachers play in an individual's development. Achieving the degree of…

This paper examines the problems encountered by part-time English instructors at Cuyahoga Community College (CCC) and describes an effort undertaken to address them. An informal survey in the spring of 1988 of 36 part-time instructors as well as administrators and program coordinators found general agreement that, despite the provision of sample…