Fwd: Chronicle article: Not a Bad
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>From: pgyrokit@xxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: Chronicle article: Not a Bad Gig [HAPP-L]
>Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 11:33:58 -0500 (EST)
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>This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education
>(http://chronicle.com) was forwarded to you from:
>
> pgyrokit@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Mary Anne
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>
>This article is available online at this address:
>
>http://chronicle.com/jobs/2003/11/2003111001c.htm
>
> - The text of the article is below -
>_________________________________________________________________
>
>_______________________________________________________________
> Monday, November 10, 2003
>
> Not a Bad Gig
> By ROB JENKINS
>
> Teaching at a two-year college actually has a lot of
> advantages over teaching at a four-year institution -- and
> certainly over being unemployed.
>
> In my first column about teaching careers at community
> colleges, I focused mostly on the bad news: heavy teaching
> loads, little time for research, underprepared students, lower
> salaries, lack of prestige. If my frankness made some think
> twice about applying for openings at two-year colleges, well,
> good. I've sat across the table from too many candidates who
> had no idea what a community college was all about, and who
> probably wouldn't have been there if they had.
>
> But bad news, of course, is hardly the whole story. First and
> foremost among the advantages is job security. I know you can
> have job security at a four-year institution, too -- provided
> you get tenure, which can be more or less difficult depending
> on the institution. It's also true that not all two-year
> colleges offer tenure, or, as some call it, a "continuing
> contract."
>
> But most community colleges do offer some version of tenure --
> and it's often relatively easy to get. Unlike their
> counterparts at four-year institutions, who may be required to
> publish numerous articles and perhaps even a book to be
> considered for tenure, community-college faculty members have
> no such mandate. The truth is, at most two-year colleges, you
> don't have to publish anything to get tenure.
>
> You will probably be expected to participate in some sort of
> professional development, but that could mean something as
> simple as attending technology-training sessions on the campus
> and going to the occasional academic conference. While those
> are useful and worthwhile activities, they're clearly not as
> demanding as writing a book.
>
> More importantly, you will certainly have to show evidence of
> good teaching and also, in most cases, of service to the
> institution, because those are the primary activities of
> community-college faculty members. But if you're able to do
> that -- if you can document that you've consistently been a
> good teacher, that you've served on committees and performed
> other important functions for the college, and that you've
> undergone at least some professional development -- you can
> probably get tenure at most two-year colleges in three to five
> years, seven at the outside.
>
> Another potential advantage of the "teaching track" is that
> you don't have to have a terminal degree. Read the ads for
> faculty positions at community colleges, and you'll see that
> nearly all list the same minimum requirements: master's degree
> with 18 graduate semester hours in your particular field.
>
> Don't assume that the term "minimum requirement" implies that
> those with a master's degree don't stand a chance. Two-year
> colleges actually hire lots of people with "just a master's"
> -- two-thirds or more of the faculty at many two-year
> institutions hold only a master's. True, some of those faculty
> members are A.B.D., and many others have hours beyond the
> master's. Quite a few go on to earn additional graduate hours
> -- in many cases, at the college's expense -- and some even
> complete their terminal degrees. But they were hired with
> "just a master's."
>
> Does that mean Ph.D.'s need not apply? Certainly not. In fact,
> in recent years, the trend at community colleges has been to
> hire more Ph.D.'s, partly because the market is glutted with
> them and partly, perhaps, because word has gotten out that a
> community college can be a pretty nice place to work. My
> college, this past year, hired 16 new tenure-track faculty
> members, six of whom hold terminal degrees. Ten years ago,
> only two or three of the new hires would have had them.
>
> That said, I don't believe that a terminal degree will
> necessarily give you an advantage in applying or interviewing.
> The faculty search committees I've served on -- at least a
> dozen in the past decade -- were looking for the best teachers
> we could find. Sometimes they were people with Ph.D.'s,
> sometimes not. Our hiring committees tend to be "degree
> blind," especially in the final stages of the search process.
>
> Another advantage has to do with quality-of-life issues. In
> addition to less stress, since faculty members probably won't
> perish if they don't publish, community-college teaching
> offers other lifestyle benefits, some quite tangible.
>
> It's true that, on average, faculty salaries at two-year
> colleges tend to be lower than those at four-year institutions
> -- in some cases, much lower. On the other hand, two-year
> colleges are often located in areas where the cost of living
> is significantly lower than the national (or at least the
> state) average. Many community-college professors are able to
> live quite comfortably, despite the lower salaries.
>
> In addition, most state systems offer excellent insurance
> coverage, including health, dental, vision, and life, along
> with a generous retirement plan. Many also allow faculty
> members to take graduate courses within the state system at no
> cost, and some even provide tuition benefits for their spouses
> and children.
>
> Prestige? That -- what there is of it -- is part of the
> package, too. Over the years, I've known many colleagues who
> were highly regarded in their local communities as experts. A
> friend of mine, a history professor, published a popular
> history of the area where he lives. A political-science
> professor I know is frequently quoted in the local news media.
> Others sponsor book clubs, give lectures to community art and
> literary groups, or write columns for the newspaper.
>
> Ultimately, though, the best thing about teaching at a
> two-year school is just that: teaching. That's our primary
> mission, and we know it. We embrace it. Our students know it,
> too, and they expect us to be good at it.
>
> By and large, we are very good at it -- especially given the
> fact that so many of our students are less than ready for
> college when they arrive. If there's anything more rewarding
> in this profession than introducing a bright yet poorly
> prepared (and perhaps unmotivated) student to the joy of
> learning, perhaps for the first time, I haven't encountered
> it. All teachers get to experience that occasionally.
> Community-college teachers do it every day.
>
> So, yes, my colleagues at four-year institutions are
> publishing a lot more than I am. Some of them are even
> becoming famous, or at least well known in their fields. Their
> paychecks certainly have bigger numbers before the decimal
> point.
>
> But I seriously doubt that their careers -- or their lives,
> for that matter -- are any more fulfilling than mine.
>
>
>
>
>
> Rob Jenkins is an associate professor of English and chairman
> of the humanities department at the Lawrenceville campus of
> Georgia Perimeter College.
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>
>You may visit The Chronicle as follows:
>
> http://chronicle.com
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Copyright by The Chronicle of Higher Education
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