Outlines the predicaments facing the academic profession and focuses on four major propositions: (1) the decline of the faculty condition; (2) low faculty morale; (3) declining career competitiveness; and (4) the teaching/research dilemma. Concludes that the academic profession in the United States stands at a crossroads. (IW)

Results of a Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching national survey concerning the extent and reasons for college faculty's dissatisfaction with the teaching profession, working conditions, institutional climate and governance, and prospects for the future of the profession are reported. (MSE)

When faculty and department heads rated alternative responses to retrenchment pressures in a fictitious but realistic situation, few differences were found among department heads' and tenured and nontenured faculty's preferences. Most preferred protecting instructional programs even at the cost of research and service activities. Implications for…

This paper argues that community colleges can contain costs by reducing faculty reassigned time, defined as a conscious or deliberate management action, either discretionary or mandated, that releases full-time faculty from teaching duties in order to perform other tasks. According to the paper, standard financial accounting systems have a…

This report from the Study of Personnel Needs in Special Education (SPeNSE) focuses on working conditions that affect special education teachers and how teachers acquire needed professional skills. The report found: (1) 80% of special education teachers serve students with two or more primary disabilities; (2) almost one-fourth of students served…

The purpose of the study was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the experiences of graduate students and faculty members at on-campus and remote sites in courses delivered using Web-based course management courseware and video conference-based (TTVN) delivery methods. The study examined the differences among distance learning and traditional…

This annual report contains six essays on current issues in higher education and a faculty salary report for 1996-97. The essays include: (1) "Faculty Salaries, 1996-97" (Suzanne B. Clery and John B. Lee), which notes that faculty salaries increased 3.1 percent for the year although the gap between the best- and lowest-paid faculty…

This report describes the findings of the New Zealand Council for Educational Research's 1999 national survey, in its series looking at the impact of educational reform on primary and intermediate schools. In 1989 reforms were enacted that abolished the Department of Education and began elections for boards of trustees who took responsibility for…

This paper examines the issues associated with educational policy and distance education. New forms of distance education portend a change for student populations, while encouraging faculty to develop new modalities of teaching and administrators to provide a new infrastructure of support. As a result, the advent of distance education is forcing…

A model postulating a relationship between faculty research activity, instructor behaviors, and student achievement is advanced, based on two causal models, one linking research activity and instructional effectiveness and another validating student evaluations as good indicators of instructional effectiveness, as measured by student achievement.…

A qualitative study investigated the evolving university liaison role in developing and implementing a professional development school partnership. Partnership governance is outlined, and issues and obstacles to collaboration are examined. An important obstacle is the university faculty promotion and reward system. Steps taken to promote faculty…

Outlines the benefits and limitations of automated assessment and offers practical advice for individuals and departments considering a move in that direction. Maintains that using optical mark readers (OMRs) in conjunction with objective tests can result in significant time savings. Briefly discusses using OMRs for student evaluations. (MJP)

Makes an analogy between the stories told by teachers of large classes in South African universities and the storytelling of tribes. Suggests their identity is defined by the act of teaching and complaining about large groups with limited resources. Examines implications for content and organization of a teacher education course on classroom…

Results of a national survey by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching on the role and status of women faculty on college campuses are reported. Data, presented in graphic form with narrative analysis, concern women's salary, rank, job security, and teaching loads relative to those of men faculty, and their contributions to the…

This article argues that conflict has been a part of higher education since its inception, and that many problems faced by academics today have centuries-old prototypes. Conflict types include those between academics and community, religion and secularism, research and teaching, administration and the teaching profession, students and institution,…