It’s no secret that a lot of students are coming to campus unfamiliar with skills, habits, and behaviors that are necessary to succeed at college-level work,” writes Emily Isaacs in a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Isaacs, executive director of the Office for Faculty Excellence at Montclair State University, says those skills include “basic things like the importance of meeting deadlines, paying attention, and being respectful in the classroom and more-complicated skills like knowing how to annotate readings (to retain meaning) and cope with time-management problems.”
Many of the faculty with whom she consults, she notes, are uninterested in this kind of instruction because it “departs sharply from the role many instructors prefer: that of a knowledge expert who leads learners through the course content, sparks thoughtful class discussion, and inspires academic achievement.” That is no doubt part of the problem. But the other part is that teaching such skills is time-intensive and requires considerable face-to-face interaction. At some schools, perhaps like Montclair State, this comes with the program. But at more elite schools—where these issues are also evident—faculty devote less and less time to teaching, leaving students to fend for themselves.
A recent student-authored article in Harvard Magazine described how the author and his friends spend their time starting businesses or volunteering or doing just about anything besides classwork. Thanks to grade inflation, there’s not much difference in the results between studying a lot and studying a little. Students adjust their schedules accordingly.
But as one faculty member recently quipped to us, “It takes two to tango.” Faculty, especially at elite schools, have arranged it so that they don’t spend a lot of time with students. Look at the calendar. In the 1960s, classes began in mid-September. Schools took a two-week Christmas break, then went from January to mid-June before final exams were done. Classes were even offered on Saturdays.
By the 1970s, the school year had shortened, starting in mid-September and finishing just before Memorial Day. Now many schools conclude around May 1, with a month off around Christmas, plus spring break, and even a week off for Columbus Day—now called “fall break.” Friday classes are rare. Even Thursdays can be iffy. The school year has effectively shrunk by about three weeks since the 1960s.
A three-course load over the span of a year (meaning two courses in one semester and one course in the other) is the maximum required for faculty members at these institutions. With a total of 28 weeks of classes (including vacations) and each class requiring two hours of classroom instruction—the third hour is often conducted by a teaching assistant—that amounts to about 125 hours of classroom time, or about 15–16 eight-hour days.
Let’s add to that the three hours a week that professors spend in office hours. And let’s add another full day per week that they spend preparing for classes (even though many teach the same class year after year). Let’s also add some time spent grading—though teaching assistants do much of that. You still wind up with just over 40 full-time days per year.
Even many faculty administrative duties seem to have disappeared. Professors were once responsible not only for chairing a department and advising students but also for running entire programs. They would advise students about studying abroad, combining majors, or enrolling in other interdisciplinary initiatives. Now, because of ballooning college administrations, faculty have been relieved of many of these roles. This has the effect not only of separating many student programs from intellectual pursuits but also of fostering fewer interactions between students and professors.
The decline in faculty’s classroom and student time has coincided with an explosion in academic publishing. No matter what the discipline, faculty are expected to publish their research. Is it more worthwhile to impart knowledge to undergraduates or to write articles for sociology and literature journals? Most universities—and particularly the elite ones—have made their priorities clear.
Today’s college students have already missed out on a lot when they were in high school. They studied remotely or didn’t study at all. They went to schools that lowered standards for academic excellence—or even competence. These students need the guidance of adults who are knowledgeable about their subjects and the world. Too bad their professors are MIA.
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