Swingman wrote:
On 8/13/2011 9:40 AM, Leon wrote:

Totally agree with that article you posted the link to, especially the
Honors College comments, The students get first pick at the professors
and have much smaller more personal classes.

It's hard to believe that 70% of the undergraduate classes at most
universities are now taught by outsourced, "paid-by-the-course", adjunct
professors!

Hard to believe (maybe)? Tenured faculty members having benefits
(medical, retirement, others) aren't cheap, by comparison, and hiring
one is a long term commitment. Who are you going to use to teach 20
sections of XXXX-101? It's not like most of the adjunct professors are
unqualified--a great many of them are retired high school teachers and
do an excellent job. People looking for full time teaching positions,
and who have invested a great deal to get there, are "victims" of this
system too.

Is is true that colleges are being run more and more like a business.
Their survival partially depends on doing so, no?


A sad state of affairs ... this corporate model of teaching was unheard
of in my day.

Might as well get some of that "discount knowledge from the local
community college", if it's the same folks doing the teaching!

Your reasoning makes sense, but an aspect of this that doesn't show is
that the student population and backdrop is different. Ironically, there
is less community at many community colleges I think. Traditional
colleges offer their own culture (just like the military offers a culture).
I think most (all?) traditional students would be well-served by living
on campus if they can afford it--it's a good way for them to develop
good habits. I think a mature person (not a duffus) who knows how to
handle responsibility, is organized, and who knows what they want, is
likely to be successful no matter where they go. The goal is not
necessary to help students to pass classes as it is to convert students
into people who are organized, can work well with others and with
numbers, can communicate and can handle responsibility. We want
graduates who are prepared to learn what they need to know and are
well-equipped to adapt to change. I'm sure there are plenty here who
have found their own routes to acquiring these skills. College offers a
concrete plan and certification, as would an apprenticeship (where are
those).



Hell, at this rate it won't be long before Haji's teaching physics at
Harvard ... from a call center in New Delhi.

Don't laugh--classes are already being taught through the Internet. Time
zone differences start to become significant issues!

Bill