This article presents the annual report on the economic status of the profession. This year's report covers three main issues--all perennial problems, but with new analysis based on the latest data--in addition to summarizing the current results from the annual American Association of University Professors (AAUP) survey of full-time faculty…

This article presents the annual report on the economic status of the profession. Although the results of this year's survey of full-time faculty compensation are marginally better than they have been the last two years, 2011-12 represents the continuation of a historic low period for faculty salaries. The overall average salary for full-time…

In this article, the author discusses the impact of promoting false ideas about what a degree will do for working-class students by relating the sad story of his student, Maria, who died after 30 years of joyful life, nonstop activity, and one year of cancer. Maria was a student in the author's evening English composition class at their community…

The recent strike of the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) raised an important issue for academic writers. Although their compensation and job security differ, WGA members and academics both are creators of knowledge and culture. Among academic authors, discussion about dissemination of and access to scholarly works and lamentation about…

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. With a duration of eighteen months, this recession was almost double the length of the average post-World War II economic downturn. Although the worst recession since the Great Depression is now technically over, this analysis…

As in campaigns to organize graduate student employees, the way in which postdocs are classified by their institutions is important. A postdoc is no longer a student and should not expect to be treated like one. Frequently, however, the postdoc experience is little different from that of a graduate student, with perhaps slightly higher pay.…

Having recently represented their colleagues in discussions with the administration of their institution, Saint Anselm College, about faculty compensation, the authors of this paper decided to compile a guide for other professors at similar institutions--small, private liberal arts colleges--who may be called on to negotiate salary packages…

The annual American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Faculty Compensation Survey revealed that average faculty salaries increased from 3.8 percent from 2000-01 to 2001-02, a rise of 2.2 percent after adjusting for inflation in consumer prices. Appendices include extensive data tables with individual institutional numbers. (EV)

Faculty salary data, based on information collected by the National Center for Education Statistics and the AAUP is reported. Data showed that salary increases averaged 9 percent while the purchasing power of faculty salaries declined more than 20 percent during the last decade. (Author/MLW)

Survey data on faculty in preclinical departments of medical schools include the number of faculty, average salary, and average compensation of faculty at each rank in 68 institutions. (MSE)

A survey of college faculty revealed that the Tax Reform Act of 1986, designed to make taxes simpler and more equitable, has increased the taxes of over half the respondents and decreased the tax liability of only 9%. Results also suggest that faculty bear a significant portion of the expenses associated with their profession. (MSE)

Increasingly, college administrators are trying to pass fringe benefits costs off onto employees to relieve financial pressures. The result is an accelerated but often unacknowledged drain on faculty incomes. Faculty in a contributory health insurance plan should seek to cap faculty contributions at a fixed dollar amount. (MSE)

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 made changes with negative implications for scholarships, fellowships, and grants for study or research. The Act also affects three fringe benefits available to academics: tuition remission plans, educational assistance plans, and the provision of faculty housing for no rent or a nominal rent. (MLW)

The applicability of the principle of comparable pay for comparable worth is discussed for college faculty jobs, not only for alleviation of sex discrimination but also for eliminating bias-related discrepancies between departments or specialties. (MSE)

This article explains why college faculty benefit by taking large portions of their compensation in fringe benefits, presents data showing trends in the provision of fringe benefits to college and university employees, and suggests that academic supply and demand conditions during the 1990s may lead to resumption of the upward trend in…