2008 Woodie Awards
State schools give better total value
Issue date: 12/9/05 Section: Rocket Letters
To the Editor:
In Rachel Seeman's article, "Faculty Salaries vary with other PA schools," she makes the common error of confusing faculty rank with workload. She refers to "Full-time professors" and then "associate professors," and "assistant professors."
All of the positions listed by The Chronicle of Higher Education are full-time jobs. Academic positions are listed by rank:
Instructors are usually at the beginning level, with the lowest pay.
Assistant professors are a step up, usually gained through academic degrees and experience.
Associate professors represent the midlevel for fully qualified and experienced professors
The full professor title represents a senior rank earned through advanced education, years of experience and service, and academic achievements.
Actual workload varies widely with institutions as well as salaries. I can speak of English departments, as that is where I have the most experience.
Faculty members at "name brand" research universities usually teach two classes per semester with an enrollment of 16 to 22 per class. Graduate teaching assistants and lower ranking faculty teach first year composition and lower division courses.
At Slippery Rock, professors at all ranks teach first year courses and the typical English professor has an enrollment of about 110 to 150 or more students per semester in four classes. The average English professor puts in 60 hours per week, according to department chair Neil Cosgrove.
Students at PASSHE universities are promised that fully qualified regular faculty will teach their courses. At many of the "name brand" universities, students may graduate without ever taking a class from a full-time faculty member, much less from professors at the Associate or Full rank.
William Boggs
Professor of English
SRU
In Rachel Seeman's article, "Faculty Salaries vary with other PA schools," she makes the common error of confusing faculty rank with workload. She refers to "Full-time professors" and then "associate professors," and "assistant professors."
All of the positions listed by The Chronicle of Higher Education are full-time jobs. Academic positions are listed by rank:
Instructors are usually at the beginning level, with the lowest pay.
Assistant professors are a step up, usually gained through academic degrees and experience.
Associate professors represent the midlevel for fully qualified and experienced professors
The full professor title represents a senior rank earned through advanced education, years of experience and service, and academic achievements.
Actual workload varies widely with institutions as well as salaries. I can speak of English departments, as that is where I have the most experience.
Faculty members at "name brand" research universities usually teach two classes per semester with an enrollment of 16 to 22 per class. Graduate teaching assistants and lower ranking faculty teach first year composition and lower division courses.
At Slippery Rock, professors at all ranks teach first year courses and the typical English professor has an enrollment of about 110 to 150 or more students per semester in four classes. The average English professor puts in 60 hours per week, according to department chair Neil Cosgrove.
Students at PASSHE universities are promised that fully qualified regular faculty will teach their courses. At many of the "name brand" universities, students may graduate without ever taking a class from a full-time faculty member, much less from professors at the Associate or Full rank.
William Boggs
Professor of English
SRU
