Faculty, you are not forgotten. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”— Helen Keller COVID-19 has disrupted the entire higher education community. Students and parents are navigating distance learning and establishing a new routine. Faculty have made crisis adjustments to quickly migrate the classroom to an online format. Developing […]
Resources
Adaptive Learning Products: What’s New?
In recent years, adaptive learning products have become increasingly important for college instructors. Adaptive Learning Products are educational products that involve computers with software that adapts content and assessments to the knowledge level of the student to create a more individualized learning experience. Education Growth Advisors, a strategic consultant and advisory firm serving the higher education community, produced a […]
The Birth of the Sharing Economy
From Listia, this infographic provides more information about the New Sharing Economy.
The A’s and Z’s of Higher Education
New to higher education? Read this helpful guide to learn some jargon of the higher education world! Academic adviser: a member of the college’s faculty who assists and advises students on academic topics. Academic dishonesty: the use of unauthorized assistance with the intent of deceiving a professor or evaluator, including but not limited to plagiarism, […]
Alternative Assessments
In recent years, there has been ballooning interest in developing more authentic and effective ways to measure student learning. Advocates of these alternative assessments, sometimes referred to as “authentic” or “genuine” assessment, argue that their approach focuses more on student learning rather than teaching techniques. Some common types of alternative assessments include performance-based assessments (such as creating […]
Quality Control – HLC Guidelines for Qualified Faculty
With the advent of adjunct faculty and larger numbers of students entering college, higher education institutions have become increasingly focused on ensuring the quality of their faculty. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) has developed a set of guidelines for institutions and peer reviewers for determining qualified faculty. The HLC defines qualified faculty as faculty members […]
Accreditation – Your FAQs, Answered
You may have heard of accreditation for the institution or program at which you teach. Here are answers to some of your most frequently-asked questions about accreditation. What is educational accreditation? Educational accreditation is a quality assurance measurement that is given after an external body evaluates the services and operations of educational institutions or programs. […]
A Win-Win Scenario: Providing Support to Adjunct Faculty
In a guide for the American Council on Education, Dr. Nancy Lightfoot Matte, chair of the English Department of Phoenix College, notes the importance of providing support, training, and professional development to adjunct faculty, and it seems that campuses are heeding her call with the recent growth in adjunct faculty. Colleges and universities are giving support […]
What’s In a Name: Today’s Adjunct
When I went to school, as my kids would say “back in the day,” an adjunct was someone who came from the professional world and taught a class or two in some subject that required insights into a particle skill or skill set. For example, I had an adjunct instructor for Employment Law when I […]
Who’s Really Teaching Your Courses?
A lot has been written about adjunct faculty in the last decade. The increase in the number of adjuncts teaching college courses (more than 70% according to The Chronicle of Higher Education), the plight of those with PhD’s in the humanities and social sciences, who teach off the tenure track because of reduced demand and […]
20 Questions You Should Never Ask in a Faculty Interview
Conducting faculty interviews is just one the many, many responsibilities of busy deans, chairs, and directors. Being aware of the do’s and don’t’s of effective and lawful interviewing is important for all of those involved in the faculty hiring process. A study by CareerBuilder showed that 1 in 5 hiring managers have asked an off-limits […]
Training Adjuncts to Teach = Student Success
Do you know what the most constant and most significant indicator of student success is? It is not student access to fancy adaptive learning tools or integrated learning management systems or even digitized retention programs (not that these don’t add ease and value to the student experience). What has the greatest impact on student success […]
What Adjuncts Really Want
With over three-fourths of all college courses being delivered by adjunct faculty today, it is imperative that institutions know how to engage and retain this increasingly important group of faculty. There are a few simple yet key steps institutions can take to ensure their adjuncts feel valued, engaged, and prepared for success. Communication Developing a […]
Building and Engaging a Talent Pool
Imagine this scenario: It’s one week before the semester or term begins and you have just been notified that a section or course has been added or has become sufficiently enrolled and will be offered. The faculty for the course is listed at tbd. What do you do? Some of your options include asking a full-time professor to […]
Adjunct Faculty Development Impacts Student Success
Research has shown that professional development is one of the top 3 resources adjuncts want most from their institutions. As institutions continue to rely on adjuncts to teach 75% or more of their courses each year, it is imperative to create a strategy around providing professional development to part-time faculty. Providing professional development does not […]
7 Considerations When Exploring Faculty Management Solutions
Purchasing a Faculty Management Solution is a big decision for many colleges and universities. A Faculty Management Solution (FMS) can provide your institution with a comprehensive solution to collect, store and report on faculty data. When evaluating potential FMS’s, make sure you explore the following 7 considerations: Data A good starting point is to find […]
Easing Accreditation Preparation with an FMS
The US Department of Education states “Accreditation is the recognition that an institution maintains standards requisite for its graduates to gain admission to other reputable institutions of higher learning or to achieve credentials for professional practice. The goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of […]
How to Administer an Exam
While the bulk of students’ success on examinations will come in your preparation before test day, creating a good setting for examinations can help students achieve better scores. As a professor, you should arrive early and have the test materials ready for distribution when the class arrives. If you have time, check the lighting and […]
Understanding the Importance of a Professor
The extensive role professors play in the lives of college students today diverges far from the realm of the pure academia and post-secondary education. More than ever, professors offer students a moral playground on which to build personal philosophies of life, while simultaneously honing professional skills for future success outside the classroom. Professors facilitate important […]
How to Effectively Teach Adult Students
With the recent influx of adult students, the “traditional” student body makeup has shifted; no longer are students the typical twenty-somethings, fresh out of high school, plucking away at a college degree. The “nontraditional student,” or the adult student, has much more challenging needs and considerations, starting with their variety. “They may be 25-or 75. […]
Aptitudes, Talents and Skills: Same Difference?
Professors are often instructed to help students develop their aptitudes, talents, and skills, but the distinctions between these capabilities are critical; not all are able to be taught or learned. Read on for an explanation of the distinction between aptitudes, talents, and skills. Aptitude is the innate or acquired capacity for something. Aptitudes can range […]
Professors as a Model for Professionalism
While the hard skills students learn in college are undoubtedly important, soft skills such as professionalism are an equally important aspect of the collegiate experience. In order to prepare for their futures in the workforce, students must learn how to conduct themselves in a professional manner, however; a recent survey revealed that many professors feel […]
Post-Course Evaluations
For many adjuncts, student course evaluations may often determine their employment status or payment. As Chronicle Vitae notes, many adjunct professors report being fired for poor performance on student evaluations, and for many others, student evaluations might impact their pay. Student course evaluations often follow the end of a course and entail students rating the […]
Prep for Success: The 6 Steps to Planning a Course
The most important part of a professor’s job isn’t done during the school year – it happens in the months and weeks before a course even begins! For many professors, developing a solid course plan is the key to a successful semester. This article will walk readers through the steps necessary to develop a course […]
Ten Questions to Ask when interviewing for an Adjunct Teaching position
How many students will I have in my class? Will all the students likely be academically prepared for the course? What are the academic-help resources that the institution provides? Will I be evaluated by my students? by faculty or administration and will I have access to these evaluations? Will I be provided office space, professional […]
Adjunct Professors: The Best Option?
Adjunct professors may be better for some students’ academic growth than tenured professors, reports a recent study conducted by researchers at Northwestern University. The study, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that adjunct professors may cause higher academic growth in some students than do tenure-track professors. The growth in academic performance was […]
Non-cognitive Skills: What They Are & How to Teach Them
Non-cognitive skills refer to a set of skills that fall outside of traditional definitions of intelligence but still allow individuals to contribute meaningfully to society and to achieve success (e.g. critical thinking skills, social skills, persistence, creativity). Non-cognitive skills are critical because studies show that non-cognitive skills in students are significant predictors of positive outcomes […]
Rethinking Procedure for Plagiarism Cases
At the end of October, an undergraduate student from Suffolk University was accused of plagiarism for the use of the word “hence.” Scrawled next to the word in question was the sentence: “This is not your word.” The student, Tiffany Martinez, would later confide: “I am hurting because my professor assumed that the only way […]
Mentoring Students
With the advent of online classes and the proliferation of the Internet the responsibilities of professors, like most other professions, has shifted. Read on for the answers to your frequently asked questions about how expectations regarding a professor’s role are evolving. What is a mentor? A mentor is defined as a professor who cares about […]
Tips and Tricks for Classroom Management
For many professors, managing the time in the classroom can pose a daunting challenge. Overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of material to cover, classes become jam-packed of material, exercises, and lectures, often without intentionality or consideration of pacing. Here are four tips to lesson development and classroom management that can help you keep classes engaging […]
Honesty Is the Best Policy: Cheating and Academic Dishonesty
Recent reports indicate that academic dishonesty is on the rise at American colleges and universities. While cheating has been around since the dawn of our education system, modern-day technology can facilitate plagiarism, cheating, and general academic dishonesty, and some say that current student culture promotes such behaviors. So what is academic dishonesty? Academic dishonesty include […]
Maximizing Engagement in the Classroom
Momentum is often considered from the scientific perspective: An object in motion stays in motion. However, academic momentum is not as consistent. Instead, professors often find that student engagement has the tendency to wane near the end of the semester. This can be frustrating for both professors and students, which oftentimes leads to emotional burnout […]
What Makes a Good Assessment?
Assessments refer to a “wide variety of methods that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document the academic readiness, learning progress, and skill acquisition of students.” Simply put, assessments are how instructors and teachers evaluate whether or not students have learned the taught material. Assessments can range from pop quizzes to final exams to midterm […]
Engaging Today’s Students
Today’s students are incredibly diverse in terms of race, socioeconomic status, and age. About 40% of all college students are above the age of 25, according the U.S. Department of Education. Over a third of students attend classes part-time, and almost 20% work a full-time job. The numbers of enrollees at community colleges and for-profit […]
Dealing with Disruption
While most students that adjunct professors encounter will be nothing but pleasant to teach, sometimes professors may receive a student who consistently disrupts the classroom. These students may ask questions incessantly, speak out of turn, veer the class off-topic, or monopolize discussions. Sometimes, these students may harass or annoy other students, disrupting their learning environment. […]
Interviewing with a Religiously Affiliated Institution
The US Department of Education has reported that nearly 1.5 million students enroll at one of the United State’s 900 religiously affiliated institutions each year (2011). The majority of religiously affiliated institutions are liberal arts colleges with the exception of a few research institutions. The mission statements of these institutions often focus on teaching and […]
Adjunct Teaching: The Ideal Encore Career
Recently, many retired people have turned to adjunct professorships as an encore career. For individuals looking to help their community, experience professional growth, and deepen their understanding of certain issues, adjunct teaching may be a good fit. Adjunct teaching is an ideal encore career because it provides great teaching opportunities, encourages professional development, and gives […]
Teaching Teamwork: A Framework for Success
Professors and students alike often approach group projects with dread and apprehension. Problems of free riders, difficulty scheduling, and lack of clear expectations can hinder the progress students make when working in teams. Follow these four tips to help teach effective teamwork in the classroom, and make sure group projects go off without a hitch. […]
Freelance Academics: Tax Treatment of Adjunct Professors
Are adjunct professors independent contractors (1099 workers) or W2 employees? Adjuncts are typically contracted to teach on a course-by-course basis but are considered W2 employees for tax purposes. The difference between 1099 and W2 status is that 1099 workers are employed as independent contractors or freelancers, while W2 workers are employees of an institution. When […]
Writing a CV for Teaching Opportunities in Higher Ed
“A curriculum vitae or CV refers to a document that describes an academic’s educational background and professional experience. A CV is similar to a resume, with the important difference that the CV is typically comprehensive and a resume is selective” (Creating and Maintaining Your CV). The purpose of a CV is to provide a holistic […]
Adjunct Teaching: Sharing your Skills, Knowledge, and Expertise or the New, New Sharing Economy
It seems that every successful new start up I read about lately has something to do with the new “sharing economy”: Uber, Airbnb and Simplist (formerly Snapgoods) are just a few examples. These companies, also called peer-to-peer companies, provide digital platforms that borrow or rent “underused assets;” things like cars, homes and gadgets. The sharing […]
Defining Your Pedagogy
The idea of selecting proper pedagogy as a professor has been stressed in academic institutions in recent years; studies have correlated higher student performance with classroom environments in which the professors are able to choose effective pedagogies based on their natural teaching styles, student ability, and teaching preferences. What, then, is pedagogy? Typically, the term […]
Game-Based Learning to Improve Non-traditional Student Learning Outcomes
For many years, educators have been using games in the classroom to create interactive experiences that motivate and actively engage students in the learning process. Game-based learning is an effective way for students to interact and engage with a course curriculum. With the recent growth of edtech, game-based learning has evolved into highly adaptive learning […]
Closing the Skills Gap: Are Adjuncts the Answer?
The skills gap is an issue that has been much debated in recent years. The skills gap refers to the discrepancy between the skill set needed to succeed in the professional world and the skill set with which students graduate. In the past, a bachelor’s degree has served as a reliable indicator that a young […]
Preparing Lessons to Achieve Course Objectives
The class plan and the lesson plan, while distinct, are not mutually exclusive; a well-structured class plan creates the structure for your lesson plans for the semester. The class plan should consist of: (1) a class description, (2) goals for the course, (3) assessable goals for each general goal, (4) learning activities for each class, […]
Tenure-Track or Not? Academic Hierarchies at Universities
Tenure is the right of a professor not to be subjected to summary dismissal without just cause; this right is typically awarded contractually after a probationary period. Some positions in academic institutions are considered “tenure-track,” which means that the holder of the position is guaranteed eventual consideration for tenure. Non-tenure-track positions will generally not be […]
Turning Education on its Head: The Positives and Pitfalls of the Flipped Classroom
A recent trend in college classrooms is what administrators call “the flipped classroom,” which refers to class structures that provide prerecorded lecture materials for students to watch on their own time and in-class exercises to check students’ understanding of the material. As flipped classrooms have become more and more popular in colleges, it’s important to […]
Preparing Students for Final Exams
Final exams can often be stressful for professors and students alike. Most students have multiple exams to prepare for and can become overwhelmed and frustrated with their studies. As a professor, there are a number of ways you can help alleviate stress and prepare your students for success. The following suggestions can help you to […]
Getting Off on the Right Foot: Syllabus Development
Even before the first day of class, professors have the ability to make a good impression on their students. How? Through the development of a well-designed, effective syllabus. The syllabus should contain a few items, including an outline of the subjects and topics that will be covered, and overall it should give students a feel […]
Teaching Online Courses: Tips and Tricks
If you’ve been assigned to teach an online course, you may have some trepidation about teaching in a nontraditional environment. Follow these tips and tricks to improve your instructional practices, connect with students, and promote maximum learning. How to engage students: there are three primary strategies to engage students in an online course. First, responding […]
Large Lectures – Helpful Tips and Tricks
Learning that they will be teaching a 100+ person lecture is often a frightening moment for many first-time professors. Large lectures have unique benefits and detriments, and effective andragogy is critical to ensuring student learning in lecture-sized courses. Overall, professors should try to ensure active participation of students, which can help them retain and understand […]
Classroom Policies and Procedures
When developing a course or syllabus, professors often encounter a few questions they need to answer that may influence the classroom environment. These classroom policies and procedures are critical to identify before a course begins so that students can be assured of the expectations of them in the upcoming course. A major course policy that […]
How to Find your Perfect Adjunct Job
If you are an experienced adjunct professor or you are an expert who has knowledge and skills you would like to share with students, how do you get connected with the colleges and universities who need you to teach? In my experience, most of us check job boards, classified ads or school websites or try […]
Show-Offs and Shyness: Facilitating Good Classroom Discussions
Often in humanities or social sciences courses, professors use classroom discussions to give students a way to engage with the material in a constructive manner conducive to learning. Classroom discussions can allow students to think critically about theories or facts they are learning and share their thoughts about the subject matter; however, good classroom discussions […]
Combining IQ with EQ: Professors as Models of Emotional Intelligence
Of all soft skills, emotional intelligence is perhaps the newest in the realm of study and has been largely disregarded in academia. Emotional intelligence is comprised of self-awareness, management of emotion, and self-motivation that requires the active ability to intrinsically monitor oneself in times of difficulty (Myers & Tucker, 2005). The overall perhaps due to […]
Writing the Right Rubric: Tips and Tricks
As an adjunct professor you may be confused about how to assess your students’ work. You want a process that ensures fairness, objectivity, and clarity and results in students’ learning from the assignment and your assessment. One tool that you may want to use to achieve these goals is a rubric. What are rubrics? Rubrics […]
Colleges and Corporations: Collaborating to Close the Skills Gap
Although the commonalities between higher education and the corporate world may be far and few, there is one issue that is affecting both immensely – the skills gap. The skills gap refers to the expanding gap between the skills and knowledge of recent graduates entering the workforce and the skills and knowledge corporations believe their […]
Essay-Based Assignments: Do’s and Don’t’s
For many professors within the humanities, essays or research papers will be a necessary component of assessment. Out-of-class writing assignments can provide students the chance to carefully examine a topic and produce writing on it in a fashion similar to that of academic research. The first step to measuring students on these characteristics is developing […]
Mid-Semester Mindfulness for Professors: Tips for Avoiding Burnout
As many colleges approach the middle of their semesters, it is quite likely that you have come to face some level of burnout- the physical and mental exhaustion that comes from a snowballing of stress, overworking yourself, overexertion, and so on.In this state, you may find yourself eagerly glancing, bleary-eyed, at your academic calendars, wondering: […]
Considerations for Your International Students
A report from the Institute of International Education indicated an impressive increase in the amount of international students studying in the U.S. From 2014 to 2015 there was a 10 percent increase and an overall increase of 975,000 international students. According to the Migration Policy Institute, “Although the U.S. share of the worldwide international student […]
Negotiating Your Contract: Do’s and Don’ts
So you’ve gotten an offer from an institution to become an adjunct professor: now what? For many professors, the answer is negotiating your contract. Negotiating your contract is critical for ensuring you are compensated fairly, and many professors find great success in negotiating their contracts. Here are some do’s and don’t’s for negotiating your adjunct […]
Aspiring Academics: Breaking Into the World of Higher Education
Have you ever had the desire to teach at the collegiate level but weren’t sure how to get started? You’re not alone! Higher education can seem foreign and even somewhat intimidating to some. Many working professionals have a desire to help educate students by sharing their industry or field knowledge, their skills, and their expertise, […]
All Jokes Aside, Use Humor to Engage Your Students
In the context of the classroom, humor has been frequently disparaged, reduced to a “distraction” that detracts from the lessons at hand. However, as Bob Hope once said about the power of comedy: “I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.” Particularly for difficult […]
Finding Your Teaching Style
If you are new to teaching you may wonder what your teaching style will be. Each professor develops their own method of communicating and engaging with their students. Teaching styles are comprised of a number of characteristics such as educational philosophy, management strategy, school mission statement, the course being taught, and students’ learning style. Being […]
Focus and Repetition in Learning
Aristotle once commented on the importance of repetition in education by noting, “It is frequent repetition that produces a natural tendency.” Many professors strive to help their students acquire new skills, and repetition can be a highly effective way to do so – for, as Aristotle mentions, it is how tasks and knowledge can become […]
Incorporating Career Center Resources Into Your Syllabus
Many higher education institutions offer students professional development tools through their career center. A career center may provide resources such as resume review, networking opportunities, mock interviews, career fairs, or internship or full-time employment listings. Many students are unaware or do not take advantage of the resources career centers provide. Professors can help remedy this […]
New Beginnings: First Day of Class Activities
The first day of class is one of the most critical days in the semester, as it sets the tone and expectations for the course. Some professors will jam the first day of class full of information, leaving students feeling overwhelmed and fearful of the course, while other professors briefly review the syllabus and then […]
Rubrics: A Tool to Assess Students’ Work
As an adjunct professor you may be confused about how to assess your students’ work. You want a process that ensures fairness, objectivity, and clarity and results in students’ learning from the assignment and your assessment. One tool that you may want to use to achieve these goals is a rubric. What are rubrics? Rubrics […]
Active Learning: Maximizing Learning Outcomes
Professors, whether they be adjunct or tenured, know that student learning is paramount to a productive academic experience. In recent years, active learning techniques have become increasingly popular, as more and more classrooms are using student-driven learning methods to instruct students. According to the book Success Strategies for Adjunct Faculty, active learning can be defined […]
Reducing Interview Anxiety
As the fall semester nears its end, it comes time to start thinking about the application process for the next term. Perhaps you are a new professor looking for a position at a new institution, or maybe you are changing colleges at the end of the semester. Regardless, the interview and application process tend to […]
Shifting to a Hard Focus on Soft Skills
“There’s not one specific thing or skill people have to have to work for us. But I can tell you why we fire people: soft skills. We hire for hard skills. We fire for soft skills. The ability to interact and communicate with others or behave ethically and take responsibility for things tends to be […]
Tips for Creating Effective Exams
One of the biggest tasks of an adjunct professor is creating effective examinations to administer in courses. Examinations should follow the rules of reliability, validity, and fairness (for more on these qualities of effective assessments, check out our blog post here). In the jargon of assessment experts, what we frequently refer to as “questions” are […]
Using Social Media Inside and Out of the Classroom
The proliferation of social media channels in just a few short decades has led to a new generation of tech-savvy students with an unprecedented functional level of computer skills coming into college. As a way to improve teaching methods, professors have begun trying to find ways to incorporate these social media outlets into their lesson […]
The Future of Hiring in Higher Ed
The concept of academic freedom is one of the hallmarks of American higher education. A substantial component of academic freedom rests in the understanding that academic leaders (deans, chairs, and directors) decide who will be hired as faculty and which courses they will teach. Deans, chairs and directors understand their accreditors’ hiring requirements, their departments’ […]
Accessibility Outside of Class
Today, professors are expected not only to give students their time and attention inside the classroom, but they are also expected to spend longer hours outside of class catering to students’ needs and giving individual feedback. However, methods of engaging students outside the classroom come with positives and pitfalls, so follow these tips to make […]
Marketing Faculty Accomplishments with an FMS
Faculty data is crucial to the success of your institution on numerous levels. This data is, of course, essential for compliance purposes, but can also serve as an important tool in your institution’s marketing efforts. This data can equip your marketing department with the information they need to create compelling messages centered around the accomplishments […]
