Athens State University (ASU) is the only upper-division university in the Alabama Community College System (ACCS). Since being accepted into the System in 1975, Athens State’s mission is “to prepare students for professional careers, graduate school, lifelong learning, and enrichment.” In support of this, the University strives to provide quality teaching and individual attention.
Athens State University employs competent faculty members who are qualified to accomplish the mission and goals of the institution. The number of full-time and part-time faculty members is adequate to provide effective teaching, advising and scholarly activities. ASU has accredited programs across the University with adequate faculty resources to support these degree offerings and serve Athens State’s approximately 3,000 students. In recognition of the superior faculty and curricula of the academic programs at Athens State University, both the College of Education and College of Business have attained accreditation by national accrediting agencies, NCATE and ACBSP.
The primary quantitative data used to measure the attainment of this portion of Athens State University’s mission include: - Credit Hour Production (CHP) – calculated as the sum of credit hours per course multiplied by the number of enrolled students per course for each course a faculty member teaches in a term.
- Full-time Equivalency (FTE) Student – calculated as 15 hours equals a Student FTE. Total credit hour production of the entire university is divided by 15 to obtain the number of Student FTEs attending Athens State University, e.g., 30,000 credit hours divided by 15 equals 2000 Student FTEs.
- Full-time faculty (FT) is defined as those individuals employed by Athens State University who teach 12 credits of instruction each semester. Some Full-time faculty perform equivalent administrative or service duties that result in course releases from the standard 12 credit teaching load.
- Part-time faculty (PT) is defined as those individuals who teach 1-9 credits of instruction for a standard stipend per course for Athens State University. They do not earn tenure. They are employed on an as needed basis.
- FTE equivalent of part-time faculty is defined as each unit of 12 credits of instruction taught by part-time faculty equals one unit of faculty FTE.
- Faculty FTE is defined as the number of full time faculty and the number of part-time faculty FTEs combined.
- Student-to-Faculty Ratios – calculated as a ratio of total number of student FTEs/total number of faculty FTEs.
- Part-time Faculty Ratios – calculated as the ratio of total number of credit hours of instruction taught by part-time faculty/total of credits of instruction taught by the entire faculty.
Adequacy in Faculty Numbers
At Athens State University, a measure of adequacy in faculty numbers is credit hour production (CHP). As documented in Section 6.9.7-8 and 12 of the Employee Handbook, a full-time faculty member should maintain an average individual productivity factor of at least 105 semester hours credit per semester (CHP). In order to meet our mission of individual student attention and high quality teaching, the maximum credit hour (CH) production of a full-time faculty member should normally not exceed 300 CH without receiving overload pay. (Employee Handbook, Section 6.9)
The data in the ASU Fact Book reflects credit hour production by college. Faculty Profile Details: Faculty by Status/Department shows that the majority of the academic programs at Athens State University meets this productivity expectation. For the academic year 2009, the average faculty CHP for all academic programs was 254, well within the range of 105 – 300 CH defined by the University as an adequate number of faculty to fulfill its mission.
Athens State University is proud of its reputation as a higher education institution that gives individual attention to each student. Faculty members strive for a personal connection with students through small class sizes. Using the minimum CHP of 105 and maximum CHP of 300, a goal student-to-faculty ratio of between 9 to 1 and 25 to 1 has been established.
The ASU Fact Book table, Faculty/Student Ratios By FTE, presents student-to-faculty ratio data for the academic year 2009 where an average of 12 to 1 was achieved. This data confirms that the University is well within its goal student-faculty-ratio necessary to provide individual student attention which is critical to its mission.
At Athens State University, enrollment and faculty data are reviewed to determine the type and number of full-time faculty needed to support its mission. Additional faculty are considered after a review of each area or discipline has been completed and proposed faculty increases can be justified based on the number of majors and the credit hours currently scheduled. (Employee Handbook, Section 6.3; Uniform Guidelines from Alabama Community College System)
This same section of the Employee Handbook further specifies that each major area of study should be staffed by at least one full-time faculty member. At Athens State University, Department Chairs work with College Deans to direct and oversee the quality and integrity of the academic programs. Specifically, Department Chairs work in conjunction with faculty members within their department and other disciplines to design, develop, and evaluate curriculum, teach courses in the discipline, advise students, and assess learning outcomes. When multiple sections of a single course are offered each term, a lead faculty member is typically assigned to ensure consistent course content, learning objectives, and assessment of outcomes for given courses. See Athens State Fact Book, Enrollment By Major, for the number of students enrolled and number of majors for academic year Fall 2008 – Summer 2009. (Athens State University Fact Book, Enrollment By Major; Employee Handbook, Section 6.9.11)
Adequacy of Faculty Resources
While the above narrative and data demonstrate that in most areas, Athens State University has an adequate number of full-time faculty members to fulfill the mission of the University, the following section of this report will illustrate that the high caliber of its faculty members ensures the quality and integrity of its academic programs. Section 6.2 of the Employee Handbook, states that to fulfill the mission of the university, ”…full-time faculty members at Athens State University are required to carry out the traditional duties expected from a faculty member at a baccalaureate institution. These duties fall under the three broad categories of teaching, scholarship/professional development, and service. Faculty members are expected to support the mission of the university and abide by its regulations and those of the Alabama Community College System.” (Employee Handbook, Section 6.2)
Academic Preparation
During the 2009 academic year, the ASU Fact Book table, Faculty Profile By College, reflects that Athens State University employed a total of 82 full-time faculty members, 100% of whom met the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools standards for faculty qualifications (see CS 3.7.1 Faculty Competence). In terms of the academic preparation of Athens State’s faculty, Section 6.2 in the Employee Handbook states that while a terminal degree in their assigned discipline is strongly preferred, the minimum credential for a full-time faculty member at Athens State University is a Masters degree in their assigned discipline. Previous teaching experience is also highly desirable. For a thorough description of faculty positions and qualifications, refer to Section 6.2 in the Employee Handbook.
The number of full-time faculty members by rank and highest qualifications is presented in the ASU Fact Book. A table under the Administration and Faculty tab, shows that at Athens State University, 73% of full-time faculty members have earned terminal degrees while the remaining 27% have at least a Masters degree. In the table, Faculty Profile by College, the distribution of full-time faculty by rank shows the majority or 61% of the University’s faculty are Assistant Professors or Instructors while 39% are Associate or Full Professors. For further details on the academic preparation of each faculty member refer to the faculty credential rosters under Comprehensive Standard 3.7.1, Faculty Competence, and Employee Handbook, Section 6.2.
Adequacy of Part-time Faculty
The quality of instruction at Athens State University reflects the institutional goal of maintaining high academic standards. In many situations, part-time faculty members supplement the efforts of full-time faculty to enhance student experiences. For an in-depth review of the academic and special qualifications of part-time faculty members, review the faculty roster forms for each faculty member under Comprehensive Standard 3.7.1, Faculty Competence.
A detailed description of the qualifications and responsibilities of part-time faculty can be found in the Employee Handbook, Section 6.9. As stated there, part-time instructors will be expected to be on campus or at a designated alternate site for each scheduled class meeting and to maintain the class throughout the scheduled meeting time. The procedure for hiring part-time faculty members is described in Section 6.2 of the Employee Handbook.
As illustrated in data provided by the Office of Institutional Planning Research and Assessment, an average of 108 qualified part-time faculty members were hired for academic year 2009 to meet student needs and/or to bring specialized expertise into the classroom. The table, Faculty by Status/ Department shows that on average for this same time period, full-time faculty taught 66% of the credit hours offered while part-time faculty taught 34%.
To further ensure high quality instruction, Athens State University has established a goal that no more than one-third of the total full-time faculty equivalency nor twenty percent of the student credit hours may be taught by adjunct instructors. (Employee Handbook, Section 6.9.13) From the above referenced table, Faculty by Status/Department, it can be seen that the average percentage of part-time faculty to full-time FTE and student credit hours for Academic Year 2009 meets this goal in most programs each term. The Computer Science and Mathematics departments currently use a high proportion of adjunct faculty. Both of these programs have experienced significant turnover in their full-time faculty. There are ongoing searches to fill these positions and increase the portion of instruction offered by full-time faculty to bring these programs back into our desired range. The College of Education has been forced to rely heavily on adjuncts due to the necessity of assigning full-time faculty to the very labor-intensive activity of supervising students engaged in internships. This use of the faculty in the College of Education reduces the credit hour productions of this faculty and it is reflected in the ratios of full-time/part-time instruction. More full-time faculty are needed in the College of Education but the current recession and cuts in the State of Alabama’s support for higher education has severely hampered Athens State University’s ability to hire more faculty. Efforts are underway to redirect the remaining existing resources to alleviate this situation.
|