Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 7, 1993 TAG: 9403170017
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A15 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT I. ALOTTA
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Recent headlines indicate that the commonwealth of Virginia will be forced again to cut back on education. The expected cut to the Old Dominion's beleaguered institutions of higher learning is 15 percent. The academies think they have cut enough. They want to raise tuition, but the state says no way!
Sadly, the administrators are not in tune with what's going on at their institutions. They have forgotten the primary role of education. The answer to the question is not more money, not increased taxes. The answer is a better use of available funds.
There are ways to increase the number of classes - without increasing the number of teaching faculty. These administrators have to look at their campuses and see how badly their resources are wasted.
My wife's principal put it all in perspective. "Our job," he said, "is to teach the children." Those are words of wisdom, and should be carved into the doorways of every higher-learning institution in this state and elsewhere. In fact, the words should be carved into the brows of academic administrators.
Colleges and universities expect their faculties to teach, conduct research and provide service. Research is important; so is service. But, the most important element of that educational triangle is teaching.
Before someone gets upset, as I am sure some will, let me announce that most nonscientific "research" conducted at any college or university in this country is not breaking new ground. It is not curing the world of its ills. It is merely an attempt by some faculty member to gain a promotion or tenure. There are faculty members - both current and past - who have conducted research and gotten that research published ... on their time and at their expense, without university funding.
Service, on the other hand, involves serving on university, college and department committees. It can include "service" to the profession, such as serving on national or regional committees, the community or the nation. In the business community, this is considered a normal thing. Businessmen devote much time working with the United Way, the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and many other groups.
People in business who ignore their primary job to provide time for service usually find themselves chewed apart by a supervisor. In many colleges and universities, the service function is clouded and some faculty members use paid consulting as part of their service component. In other words, the university is paying them to make outside money on university time. How long would it take a business to stop that practice?
Teaching is what it's all about in education, but it's the facet of education that is most ignored. Teaching four three-credit courses a semester is not onerous for anyone. That course load, contrary to what has appeared in print, equates to 36 hours a week. Twelve of those hours are taken up in class; 12 in preparation (another form of research); and 12 in meeting with students and advisees.
Teaching is allegedly the reason people entered this profession. But why is it of such low value on the totem pole?
Too often faculty get time off to do their research. A faculty member at one Virginia college was given course-release time to "read" - something she should have done in her free time. Another teacher got time off to coordinate internships, direct projects and independent studies - though the last two were supervised by other faculty members. Still another taught two sections of the same class, scheduled simultaneously in the same classroom. It can get so out of hand that one faculty member received enough release time one semester that he had no teaching chores during that period.
This lack of teaching results in fewer classes. With fewer classes offered, the students are forced to take courses that do nothing more than fill in their schedule with "free" electives. The fewer the classes, the increased stress on the student. The fewer the classes, the increased financial burden on those paying the tuition.
The solution to the problem is found in the words of that principal: "Our job is to teach the children." Let our faculty members continue to research in their disciplines; let them serve on committees; let them present papers and write books - but on their time. While on the campus, let them do their job: Teach the children.
Robert I. Alotta is an educational consultant who lives in Harrisonburg.
by CNB