Faculty Productivity

George Leef

In today's Pope Center piece, Duke Cheston writes about his findings regarding the UNC political science department. Not surprisingly, it turns out that some professors get paid a lot to teach very few students, while others are paid relatively little and teach a large number of students. By itself, that doesn't necessarily indicate inefficiency. I suspect you might find something similar if you looked at doctors in a medical clinic and the number of patients they see. Some highly paid specialists might see few patients. What does seem to indicate inefficiency, however, is the general downward trend in teaching requirements over time. Is it the case that faculty research has become more important compared to teaching over the last few decades, thus warranting this change, or is it that the tenured faculty has engaged in some successful "rent seeking" to reduce the amount of teaching time they have to put in?

  • Share

Most Commented

September 6, 2024

1.

Professor Alleges "Widespread" Discriminatory Hiring Coverup at University of Washington

Audio acquired by the National Association of Scholars describes allegations of coverup race-based hiring coverup at the University of Washington...

October 29, 2024

2.

The Looming Irrelevance of Middle East Study Centers

Today’s Middle Eastern Studies Centers are facing a crisis due to the winds of change in the Middle East and their own ideological echo chamber....

September 25, 2024

3.

NAS Statement on University of Pennsylvania Sanction of Amy Wax

The National Association of Scholars is outraged—but not surprised—by Penn's decision to penalize Wax for exercising her academic freedom. ...

Most Read

May 15, 2015

1.

Where Did We Get the Idea That Only White People Can Be Racist?

A look at the double standard that has arisen regarding racism, illustrated recently by the reaction to a black professor's biased comments on Twitter....

October 12, 2010

2.

Ask a Scholar: What is the True Definition of Latino?

What does it mean to be Latino? Are only Latin American people Latino, or does the term apply to anyone whose language derived from Latin?...

September 21, 2010

3.

Ask a Scholar: What Does YHWH Elohim Mean?

A reader asks, "If Elohim refers to multiple 'gods,' then Yhwh Elohim really means Lord of Gods...the one of many, right?" A Hebrew expert answers....