Accountability Report
Appendices
No issue created as great a difficulty as the challenge to find ways to measure faculty performance. The "Transfer of Knowledge," a phrase suggested by State Senator Dan MacDonald, is poorly represented by current measures, These include degrees/faculty FTEs, student FTEs/faculty FTEs, and, the most limited of all, contact hours which measures neither the quality of the educational experience nor the numbers and/or levels of students served in a formal classroom setting.
In a recent review of faculty workload and productivity, Daniel
Layzell
reports that no algorithm is available to provide a reliable
estimate of how faculty allocate time to the various components that go
into the "Transfer of Knowledge." To compound the problem,
critics outside higher education tend to be skeptical of self-reported data.
The Committee had extensive discussions focusing on issues such as the type of classes taught, preparation time, one-on-one instruction (which most faculty considered the most rewarding educational experience), grading, communicating with students by e-mail, etc. Two underlying themes emerged by the end of our conversations: 1) all proposals focused on inputs and 2) methods for collecting these data all relied on self reports. None of the input factors included quality. The problems with such a system are obvious. The Committee's conclusion is that this is the wrong approach since it deals exclusively with inputs. Outcomes offer a better approach, but there is no measure presently capable of capturing "Transfer of Knowledge."
We urge the proposed Advisory Board on Accountability to consider many outcome factors which combined could create a "Transfer of Knowledge" measure. Components for such a general measure for undergraduates could include proportion of students who report a meaningful learning experience through research, proportion of students in creative/artistic fields who report a presentation/performance, and other measures specific to discipline or field. A parallel “Transfer of Knowledge” measure for graduate and professional students could include factors such as proportion who have published or who report they have secured "first choice" employment.
Layzell, Daniel T. "Faculty Workload and Productivity:
Recurrent Issues with New Imperatives." The Review of Higher
Education 19:3, pp267-281 / Spring 1996
Accountability Report
Appendices
