Message # 41 Consulting - Needed Prior to Tenure, Not Just After Tenure

Message #42 Further Comments on Faculty Consulting

Message #43 The Preparing Future Faculty Program at Azizona State University

Message #44 Physics Teaching Certificate Program

Message #45 Retaining Master Jugglers - AND "Keeping Our Faculties" Conference

Message #46 Grant Opportunities to Attend FIE Conference - Attention Beginning Engineering Professors

Message #47 General Principles for Responding to Academic Job Offers

Message #48 Faculty Learning and Institutional Change

Message #49 Stanford to Offer its First Complete Online Degree Program

Message #50 Number of Subscribers by Academic Institution

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Message # 41 Consulting - Needed Prior to Tenure, Not Just After Tenure

Folks:

The following message from soon to be Associate Professor, Frank Owens, raises a critical point that is at least familiar to engineering professors. What are your thoughts? It would also be interesting to hear from science faculty as to the applicability of Owen's comments in various science disciplines.

Rick Reis

reis@cdr.stanford.edu

Consulting - Needed Prior to Tenure, Not Just After Tenure

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I was glad to see the latest posting on faculty consulting, especially coming on the heels of the previous posting on faculty time savers. In that posting, faculty were advised to do no consulting until after they had received tenure.

I understand the motivation behind that advice. But it speaks volumes about the chasm that has developed between engineering academia and industry in the past 30 or 40 years. I just finished a mid-career Ph.D. and am headed for a tenure track associate professorship at an admittedly practical university (CalPoly in San Luis Obispo, California). At a particularly low point of my recent studies, I remember going home and telling my wife, "What I am studying is not engineering and the people teaching me are not engineers. I am learning applied mathematics from research scientists."

Too many engineering faculty have lost sight of the fact that engineering is an applied science and that most of their students will become engineering practitioners, not graduate students. These two facts, I believe, obligate all engineering faculty to devote at least some time to the profession as practitioners. If they don't, their knowledge of the end process, the activity for which they are training their students, becomes fuzzy.

It was disturbing to see the advice against consulting before tenure. Taking five years off from practical work in today's fast-moving technology only guarantees that the advisee's ability to understand and connect with industry will atrophy. How to inculcate new faculty who have no practical work experience in engineering with the lessons learned from the practice of engineering is a problem that engineering academia does not attach much importance to. Of course that system has created and perpetuated this problem by valuing research so highly while ignoring teaching and the practice of the art.

Frank Owen

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Message #42 Further Comments on Faculty Consulting

Folks:

Message #41 on, "Consulting - Needed Prior to Tenure, Not Just After Tenure," generated a number of interesting comments, some of which are reprinted below.

Regards,

Rick Reis
reis@cdr.stanford.edu

Further Comments on Faculty Consulting

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From:

Brent Auernheimer, Chair
Computer Science Department
California State University, Fresno, Fresno, CA.

I agree with Frank Owens' desire that professors have experience as practitioners in their field, but as a department chair at one of Cal Poly's sister institutions I recommend a slightly different approach for new faculty.

In my experience, consulting during the academic year doesn't work very well. I would much rather see a faculty member focusing on their teaching, research, publication, and service during the academic year (this also means that they will not have to defend accusations, true or not, that they neglect their students or classes). Walking by a faculty office and seeing every Friday crossed out for CONSULTING is a yellow flag for me.

My advice to new faculty is to take advantage of our nine month contracts and be a practitioner during the summer when we aren't employed by the university. The cool thing about this is that it is relatively easy (in my experience) to find companies or laboratories that actively recruit faculty for summer (or January break) projects. Even cooler, they pay :) NASA/ASEE, AWU, and "difference in pay leaves" can be great ways to connect with industry and applications. With a little care the work can be publishable/patentable.

Dr. Owens also laments:

"What I am studying is not engineering and the people teaching me are not engineers. I am learning applied mathematics from research scientists."

I also agree with this sentiment in general, but even in engineering we need to be careful that what we are doing is "education", not "training".

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From:

Jim Yao
Mechanical Engineering Department
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

I agree that it is important for faculty members to do consulting work provided that (1) it does not interfere with their teaching duties, (2) it is not a routine job and does not compete directly with practicing engineers, (3) it is an application of the particular faculty member's expertise, and (4) it does not become excessive (more than one day each week that is allowed by most universities.

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From:

John A. Weese
Mechanical Engineering Department
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

I concur with Jim's points and I understand Rick's feelings about consulting as a tenure-track, but not yet tenured faculty member. Reasonable management of consulting during the probationary period can add to the tenure portfolio, particularly if the consulting is of high caliber. Caliber, of course, is sometimes in the eye of the beholder and we have to be watchful lest fees begin to warp the calibration of our view.

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Folks:

The following note from Jennifer Trelewicz, a graduate student in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Mathematics at Arizona State University describes an interesting program on preparing graduate students of academic careers. It would be great to hear about other such programs, of which there are now a number.

Rick Reis
Reis@cdr.stanford.edu

The Preparing Future Faculty Program at Arizona State University

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I am in the Preparing Future Faculty program at Arizona State University. Although I am not an official spokesperson for the program, I thought that you and your subscribers would find the following comments of interest.

>From the PFF brochure:

"Preparing Future Faculty is a national program designed to develop new approaches to preparing doctoral students who are seeking careers in the professoriate. The national program is directed by the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the Council of Graduate Schools under funding through the Pew Charitable Trusts. The project is designed to encourage fresh thinking and planning in the comprehensive preparation of future faculty, put in place new support programs, and identify strategies to improve the quality of teaching and learning."

My additional comments:

The program has two phases:

I. An exploratory phase, during which we are exposed to seminars and workshops on effective teaching, working within the academy, professional service, and other related topics.

II. A participatory phase, during which we engage in projects with the local partner campuses, which include ASU West, Grand Canyon University, and Maricopa County Community Colleges. The projects in this phase can include teaching and laboratory direction, undergraduate project design, and other activities. At the end of Phase II, the PFF "students" participants in a Capstone Fair, which is open to the university at large. At the fair, the Phase II projects are summarized in poster and notebook format, so that they can be discussed with the attendees.

I am currently beginning the second phase of the program, although I can already appreciate some of the benefits from Phase I such as:

1. I have learned the importance of service, which has led me to participate in both university and community service activities related to my field. These activities have added another dimension of learning to my program of study.

2. I have learned more about the different Carnegie classification of institutions of higher education. Since I have only attended Research I institutions, I was largely ignorant of the unique characteristics of liberal arts, comprehensive, and two-year schools.

3. I have had the opportunity to interface with people whom I would normally not encounter, including deans from ASU and other schools, faculty in many disciplines from other institutions, and ASU doctoral students from other disciplines.

Phase II activities that I currently have planned include assisting in a laboratory project at the community college and attending the Engineering Education Scholars Program at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in July. I'll be glad to drop you a further note at the end of my Phase II activities.

If you are interested, I can write more at the end of Phase II.

Jennifer Trelewicz,
jentre@asu.edu
Arizona State University
Departments of Electrical Engineering and Mathematics

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Message #44 Physics Teaching Certificate Program

Folks:

Adam Wax, professor of physics at Duke University, and his colleagues have put together a proposal for a physics teaching certificate program. Here is a brief summary of what they have put together. The complete proposal can be found at:

http:// www.phy.duke.edu/~awax/teach.html.

Professor Wax (awax@phy.duke.edu) says, "I would be very interested in hearing feedback about our program, similar programs at other departments and universities and how participation in such a program by an applicant might be received by search committees."

Regards,

Rick Reis
reis@cdr.stanford.edu

---------------- 668 words -----------------

Adam Wax
Department of Physics, Duke University

I would like to share with you the program we have been developing at the Physics dept. at Duke University. As a fellow in the Preparing Future Faculty, I became aware of other department's efforts to better prepare their graduate students for careers in teaching. After discussing the prospects of a career teaching science with others in my department, I began to realize that their were few avenues available for students in our department to prepare themselves for such a career.

To meet this need we are currently considering a proposal for a Teaching Physics Certificate program. This program is designed to aid physics graduate students in their preparation for academic careers. The program participants would meet a series of requirements that would include mentored teaching assignments, attending teaching workshops, seminars and discussions, and preparation of a teaching portfolio.

Highlights taken from Web posting (R. Reis). Please see URL above for complete proposal.

Goals: To introduce Physics graduate students to the skills required for effective teaching at the college and university level.

To help introduce teaching assistants to their new roles as well as allowing students interested in teaching careers to further develop their skills.

To provide Physics graduate students with a detailed record of teaching skills and experiences for inclusion in a job application.

To expose Physics graduate students to issues particular to teaching Physics.

Participation: The PTC is intended for graduate students in Physics who are interested in teaching careers.

Fulfillment of the PTC Program requirements will be extra-curricular.

Requirements: Students wishing to receive a PTC must meet requirements in two phases of participation:

1. Initial development - these requirements are intended to help new graduate students fulfill their roles as teaching assistants and help them develop as teachers.

2. Senior participation - after completing phase one requirements, graduate students will gain experience in more advanced teaching issues such as mentoring and syllabus development. In the second phase of participation, senior PTC program members will also help organize and monitor program activities.

Phase One requirements are as follows:

1. Mentored Teaching - This requirement is the core of the first phase. During a term while the student is working as a teaching assistant, the student will be mentored by a faculty member or a senior PTC program member. The mentor will serve as a provider of advice, constructive critic and supporter. Mentoring will entail bi-weekly meetings to discuss the student's T.A. responsibilities and other issues of the teaching experience. As the mentor need not be the faculty member to whom the T.A. is assigned, his or her input will of course be welcomed at these meetings but will not be a requirement...........

2. Teaching Workshops - The student will attend at least six workshops offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The CTL offers workshops on a variety of topics such as classroom authority, grading, leading discussions, etc. These workshops are currently offered monthly..........

3. Teaching Roundtables - Students will be required to attend the monthly teaching roundtables during any two consecutive semesters. These roundtables currently provide a forum for discussion of teaching issues but in the future, they will be more tailored to help in T.A. development..........

Phase Two requirements are as follows:

In addition to helping administer the PTC program, senior members will attend a faculty taught seminar and in the course of study complete each of the following three projects:

1. Teaching Portfolio - A teaching portfolio will be prepared by the PTC program member.........

2 Laboratory Demonstration - A laboratory demonstration will be prepared by the PTC program member for intended presentation to a class of undergraduates.........

3. Syllabus Development - The student will prepare a syllabus with an accompanying rationale for a course in his or her primary field or subfield.........

Seminar - The program member will attend a seminar on teaching issues in physics..........

Senior PTC Members as Mentors - Senior PTC program participants may be called upon to serve as mentors for junior program members..........

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Message #45 Retaining Master Jugglers - AND "Keeping Our Faculties" Conference

Folks:

On July 15-17, 1998 I attended the first Faculty Bridge Seminar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida sponsored by the National Science Foundation through the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc. (GEM). Approximately 30 minority Ph.D. students interested in academic careers from various science and engineering fields attended.

In addition to the many interesting presentations and workshops, we examined a provocative article by Dr. Julianne Malveaus, titled, Retaining Master Jugglers, appearing in the March 5, 1998 issues of Black Issues in Higher Education. While the article deals mainly with work-load and retention issues of African American faculty, its message is important for, and relevant to, all faculty. Below are brief excerpts from the article. Let me know if you want a complete copy.

Following the excerpt is an announcement about a conference on KEEPING OUR FACULTIES, Addressing the Recruitment and Retention of Faculty of Color in Higher Education to be held October 18-20, 1998 at the Radisson Hotel Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Regards,

Rick Reis
reis@cdr.stanford.edu

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Dr. Julianne Malveaus
Black Issues in Higher Education
March 5, 1998, page 40

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"Too many of the 26,000 African Americans who teach at our nation's college campuses are masterful jugglers who are often required to meet the many expectations of their various constituencies. Their first allegiance, of course, is to the students they teach each semester, and to their past students who tug with requests for recommendations and advice. After that, though, how is one to prioritize requests from departments, campus, and community? How responsible is one to be a role model for every African American on campus? How much help can a burnt-out faculty member offer anyone? And if one doesn't publish at the expected level, how much help can an out-of-work faculty member offer?

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"What can junior faculty do? The main thing is to keep an eye on the prize, which is tenure. It sounds cold to suggest that the struggle for tenure must supersede human interaction, and many find it difficult to so strictly prioritize that research takes precedence over everything. At the same time, if survival is a goal, then the wise faculty member makes it a priority to survive.

"The second thing junior faculty must do is to identify a faculty mentor to help them through the tenure maze. That's often more easily said than done.; Some departments see tenure as a competitive process, not a cooperative process. Some professors would rather ignore than assist their colleagues. But mentors come in all sizes, shapes, races, and departments. Often a mentor will be outside one's department, even outside the university. He or she may play the role of ear, or sounding board-someone to help navigate the subtly nuanced language of academe.

"The third thing junior faculty should do it network, network, network. Academic conferences and meetings reinforce the notion that you are not alone. Seek out African American professional organizations, as well as majority ones. Through these organizations, you may pick up survival tips from other African American faulty members.

"The matter of master jugglers ought to be of concern for departments and universities who say they are interested in faculty retention. Interest needs to be translated into assistance - research funds, travel grants, and the opportunity to network. Interest also needs to be translated into understanding that minority faculty are neither novelties nor pets to be trotted out at every occasion. University presidents and department chairs who make a commitment not to overburden minority faculty by putting them on several committees make a major contribution to keeping those faculty members around.

"African American faculty members are used to being all things to all people - master jugglers who are both bilingual and multicultural. They are juggling expectations, identities, and responsibilities in communities that have little tolerance for folks who drop the ball. Yet, this juggling is a retention issue that needs to be explored - both by the faculty members who are keeping the balls in the air, and by their colleagues who add to their burden."

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KEEPING OUR FACULTIES: Addressing the Recruitment and Retention of Faculty of Color in Higher Education:

A Symposium for: Academic Administration, Affirmative Action Officers, Faculty, Faculty Development Professionals, Human Resources Professionals, Policy Makers, Researchers, and Students

October 18-20, 1998
Radisson Hotel Metrodome
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Faculty of color are underrepresented in American colleges and universities. Barriers to the recruitment and retention of faculty of color include problems of failed pipelines, inadequate faculty development resources, lack of opportunities for collaborative research, and unwelcoming work environments.

Precisely at a time when race-based scholarships are under scrutiny, when affirmative action in hiring and admissions is losing support, and when efforts to achieve diversity and equity in higher education are contested, there is a need to frankly address issues of recruitment, retention, and development of American Indian, Latino, African American and Asian Pacific American faculty.

This two-day national symposium will provide an arena for dialogue among scholars, practitioners and policy makers with the goal of "doing something that works" to promote a more attractive, welcoming and nurturing workplace for faculty of color. The primary objective for this interactive symposium is for participants to leave with implementable and creative strategies to address issues described in the literature and in research and practice experiences.

Concurrent sessions will be presented at the conference. Presenters represent a range of institutions across the country and abroad.

PRESENTATION TOPICS

Race and Ethnicity in the Professorate

Systemic Models and Strategies to Address Underrepresentation and Subtle Discrimination in the Academic Workplace

Barriers to Problem Solving

Exemplary Faculty Development Programs and Practices

Faculty of Color and the Dismantling of Affirmative Action

Faculty Diversity and the Curriculum

Hiring Faculty of Color: Legal Implications

FURTHER INFORMATION INCLUDING REGISTRATION AND COMPLETE SCHEDULE CAN BE FOUND AT: http://www.aamd.umn.edu/symposium/sympos.htm

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Message #46 Grant Opportunities to Attend FIE Conference - Attention Beginning Engineering Professors

Folks:

The following announcement is provided by Susan Mengel mengel@ttu.edu of the "Education, Research & Methods" division of the American Society of Engineering Education. My experience with these awards is that far fewer people apply for them than you might think and so I urge all eligible beginning engineering professors to consider doing so. Also, any statement you go to the trouble to put together should be of use to you in your teaching portfolio and in applications for additional grants. Finally, the Frontiers in Education Conference is an excellent experience where you can meet many like-minded professionals.

Regards,

Rick Reis
Reis@cdr.stanford.edu

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Grant Opportunities to Attend FIE Conference - Attention Beginning Engineering Professors

Grant Program for NSF/ERM New Faculty Fellows to attend the 1998 Frontiers In Education Conference (FIE '98)

The 1998 Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE'98) will provide grants of $1,000 each for up to 10 "FIE'98 New Faculty Fellows" to attend FIE'98. These new engineering educators should have a strong interest in engineering education, including computer science/computer engineering education. FIE'98 will be held November 4-7, 1998 in Tempe, Arizona (more information can be found on the conference web page at www.eas.asu.edu/~asufc/fie98).

Who is Eligible: Applicants must be new to the fields of engineering education, including computer science/computer engineering education. Faculty with up to three years of employment at the assistant professor Fellows will be expected to attend the entire conference, including two of the workshops, and participate in a panel discussion on the concerns of young engineering educators.

Required in the Application: Applicants must submit a short essay (no more than three pages) on a relevant topic facing engineering education; e.g., changing pedagogies and classroom management styles, teaching and research (as opposed to teaching vs. research), educational innovations, and, of course, the theme of the conference: moving from teacher-centered to learner-centered education. The first page of the essay should contain the Applicant's name, mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and email address.

A nominating letter from the applicant's chair or dean, or advisor, in the case of a Ph.D. student, must accompany the applicant's essay. This letter must confirm the applicant's eligibility for the award and should address the applicant's commitment to engineering education. It should also confirm that the balance of the applicant's expenses will be funded.

When to Apply: Applications are solicited now; all applications must be received by September 14, 1998, and should be sent (i.e., snail mailed or, preferably, faxed) to:

D. L. Evans (email: fie98@asu.edu) Voice: 602-965-5350 Fax: 602-965-2557
General Chair, FIE'98
Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, Mail Code 6106
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85281

The winning Fellows' essays may be included in a special section of the Conference Proceedings. These fellowships are made available through a grant from the National Science Foundation and the Educational Research Methods Division of ASEE to FIE.

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Message # 47 General Principles for Responding to Academic Job Offers

Folks:

Martin Ford, associate dean of the Graduate School of Education, at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Virginia, has formulated eleven general principles for responding to academic job offers. Ford's advice, which applies to a wide range of disciplines, not just education, are posted here with his permission.

Rick Reis
reis@cdr.stanford.edu

GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR RESPONDING TO ACADEMIC JOB OFFERS

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(1) MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN OFFER

If it's not from someone authorized to make an offer (e.g., a dean or department head), it's not an offer. If it's not in writing, it is not an offer. Therefore, the appropriate response to an oral "offer" of a job, salary or fringe benefit (e.g., moving expenses, research space, etc.) is to "put it in writing."

(2) KNOW WHAT YOU WANT - AND WHAT YOU DON'T WANT

Find out as much as you can about what academic jobs are like - salary, working conditions, work activities, work expectations, and lifestyle considerations. Also find out as much as you can about alternative jobs you may consider. Use this information to determine the boundary conditions of what is possible on these dimensions.

(3) CLEARLY COMMUNICATE WHAT YOU WANT - BUT ONLY TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Discussions with potential colleagues and students should be focused primarily on intellectual concerns. Do not discuss salary, or fringe benefits, unless you are talking to the person who will be making the offer (e.g., the dean or department head). One possible exception - often it is appropriate to communicate some of your non-monetary objectives and concerns to your "host" (typically a member of the Search Committee), especially if they involve getting your work done (e.g., space, equipment, research and teaching assistants - but not salary, moving expenses, or housing assistance).

(4) ALWAYS TRY TO USE WORK QUALITY OR PRODUCTIVITY AS THE RATIONALE IN YOU NEGOTIATIONS - ALIGN YOU GOALS WITH THOSE OF YOUR EMPLOYER

Employers will respect you even if your requests seem excessive if the underlying goal is to do a better job (e.g., seed grants, RA, computer, and a more manageable initial teaching commitment could significantly enhance productivity; a higher salary, moving expenses, or housing assistance could enable you to focus on your job rather than seek extraneous summer or consulting income).

(5) MAKE REQUESTS IN AN INFORMATIONAL MANNER RATHER THAN CONTROLLING MANNER

Psychological research clearly indicates that people are much more likely to respond positively to feedback (such as a response to a job offer) if they perceive it to be an honest attempt to inform rather than a manipulative attempt to control behavior or to gain personal resources. This principle is especially applicable to situations involving the negotiation of multiple offers.

(6) NEGOTIATE HARD ON THINGS THAT ARE "OUT OF BOUNDS," NEGOTIATE MORE GENTLY ON THINGS THAT ARE "IN BOUNDS."

Since a job offer is worthless if there are "fatal flaws" in it that put it "out of bounds," you should stand firm on requests designed to fix these flaws. On the other hand, you can probably afford to compromise (or even give in) on things that are "in bounds" (i.e., satisfactory but not ideal). Some satisfactory elements of a job offer may become "fatal flaws," however, if you are negotiating multiple offers.

(7) LEARN ABOUT THE TENURE PROFESS, BUT DON'T GET HUNG UP ON IT

Tenure decisions are too individualized to enable you to use this as a major criterion except in extreme cases. However, make sure you know whether the job being offered is tenure-track, and GET IT IN WRITING. A verbal assurance that a non-tenure-track job will eventually become tenure-track should not be trusted, so get it in writing as well.

(8) START AS HIGH AS YOU CAN IN INSTITUTIONAL PRESTIGE

You can probably move down the institutional ladder, but it's almost impossible to move up any significant distance. However, keep in mind that at some schools the ratings of one department may exceed, by a considerable degree, the ratings for the school as a whole.

In addition to knowing where a school or department is on the prestige scale, you also want to know which way it is heading. Some schools are clearly making the effort to move up and they are often willing to hire the very best young faculty by making available the necessary resources.

(9) GET AS HIGH A STARTING SALARY AS YOU CAN, BUT BE REALISTIC

A higher starting salary means that future percentage increases will be based on a higher number, thus accelerating your salary at a somewhat faster pace (all else being equal). On the other hand, assistant professor salaries fluctuate only within a very narrow range, so that there's usually not much point in pushing too hard on this component of the job offer.

You don't want to lose a lot of points with the dean by bargaining for an extra $2,000 to $3,000 in salary. Remember, what you are really negotiating is the start-up compensation package. Academic year salary is only one part of this. Summer income opportunities, consulting time, support for travel, and housing assistance, all have an impact on your standard of living.

(10) CREATE OPTIONS AND KEEP AS MAY OPEN AS YOU CAN AS LONG AS YOU CAN

Be an active, engaged job seeker - make sure all of the options you would like to have are explored. Be patient and planful - don't make any decisions you don't have to make unless you are certain that other options are closed or less attractive.

(11) IN MAKING A DECISION, COMBINE LOGIC AND EMOTION

A thorough evaluation of a job offer should combine thoughtful analysis of the degree to which it affords the attainment of desired outcomes AND an appreciation of the fact that emotions are also designed to provide this same kind of evaluative information. If these two kinds of evaluations conflict, you should work hard to try to resolve the discrepancy. In the end you have to trust your gut. If you FEEL really negative about a job, don't take it unless you can resolve why you feel this way.

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Message #48 Faculty Learning and Institutional Change

Folks:

Michael Fried, professor of mathematics at the University of California, Irvine, offers a very interesting and important perspective on linking student learning with something we hear very little about - faculty learning- and how the two approaches can be drivers for institutional change. As always, your comments are most welcome.

Rick Reis
reis@stanford.edu

------------------- 823 words -----------------

FACULTY LEARNING AND INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE

Michael Fried UC Irvine
mfried@math.uci.edu

I'd like to follow-up on your summary of the comments by Richard M. Felder and Rebecca Brent in Message #40, "Faculty Development: Getting the Sermon Beyond the Choir." I'm interested in the larger issue of what would drive institutional change, or why anybody would want it. That is, is there a clear reason for doing something about the pressures in academia for ALL faculty through institutional change?

I propose that there is such a reason, centered around the topic of analyzing the RELATIONSHIP between RESEARCH, TEACHING, and LEARNING, and by recognizing that some of the best researchers aren't particularly good learners. Indeed, it would probably be embarrassing for most researchers to admit how hard it is for them to pick up new ideas, and how many old ideas they are still in need of assimilating. The above situation is certainly the case in mathematics, physics, and engineering, and thus both groups (teachers-researchers, and students) have an interest in improved learning.

Institutional change requires some kind of driver. With the right analysis, one possibility would be hooking up research learning with student learning, through the role of extant time-consuming seminars is relevant. IT IS TIME TO LINK EFFECTIVE LEARNING FOR FACULTY AS A NEED - AS A DRIVER FOR ATTITUDINAL CHANGE ABOUT TEACHING.

Mathematics cultural life and its seminars are especially good at revealing this driver. The Academy understands labs as effective places to produce research. This is partly because laboratories appear to produce a hands-on product. The Academy, however, has less understanding of the benefits of seminars. Why? Because they look more like classrooms, something educational and extra, though less necessary. For a mathematician, anyway, they are CRUCIAL. I suspect that others would find many places where seminars are also crucial to them.

Further, an analysis and investment of energy in seminar learning would put research faculty closer to having the same needs as students. Students who participate in seminars come closer to research at an earlier time in their careers. Faculty who participate in seminars are more likely to stay active in their careers, and far more likely to branch appropriately from their initial research studies.

My impression is that, in mathematics, most faculty would not effectively pick up the hardest tools (even when they are in papers) without these seminars. This is crucial, and so it requires some documentation; though I'm absolutely certain of it if we limit it to materials in papers and not in textbooks. As evidence for this: Seminars run all day long in such famous institutes as the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and the Mathematical-Sciences Research Institute at Berkeley. Further, most active research mathematics departments use a considerable amount of their discretionary money to have visitors come and explain things to them.

The question for analysis, is whether these seminar activities have any relation to the learning of typical students. Archetypal questions might include these:

1. How would improving accessibility of such seminar activities to students improve the value of such seminars to research faculty?

2. Is there a model of classroom teaching that introduces some sense of seminar activity to lower division classes, and a larger dose of it to all upper division classes?

3. What models allow evaluating students involved in seminar activities that would more dynamically assess the efficiency of student learning?

4. Isn't seminar activity a more shared activity, making everyone responsible for overall learning, without demanding everyone be expert on all aspects? (I mention that, because in even our sophomore classes like vector calculus, the material is too hard to expect expertise. Still, getting a standard for expertise through some part of the material would be vast improvement on present classroom performance.)

It is possible to develop answers to these questions based on desired research faculty seminar activity. This requires only a belief that the desired outcomes for seminar activity and typical classroom activity have some practical relation, of benefit to both students and researchers. In particular, if researchers could integrate their present seminar activities with teaching, that would give incentive for such change.

For example, students in present mathematics classes are very poor at developing independent problem solving ability. This is a skill necessary to do any mathematics at all, as seminar activity demonstrates. So, one test of the worth of seminar activity would be to test if researchers were able to train students to independent problem solving skills more efficiently (at all) through seminar activities.

SUMMARY: Institutional attitudes that treat research and teaching as disparate activities lead only to the conclusion that we are given two nearly impossible jobs to do. To change institutional attitudes requires people who do research to analyze their own learning needs. Then, they need to translate them into activities with an appropriate worth

o the Academy. The most likely way for this to happen is to see efficient learning for students on a spectrum with efficient learning for a research faculty member.

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Message #49 Stanford to Offer its First Complete Online Degree Program

Folks:

Offering courses online, i.e., an internet based interactive form of distance education, is catching on at a number of colleges and universities. The approach raises a number of interesting issues around owenership of intellectual property, impact on on-campus students, and learning quality. Stanford University has taken the effort one step further and by announcing the availability of a complete online master's degree program in electrical engineering. Here is an edited version of the University press release. Is this approach the wave of the future?

Rick Reis
Reis@cdr.stanford.edu

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July 24, 1998

STANFORD OFFERING ITS FIRST COMPLETE ONLINE DEGREE PROGRAM

This fall Stanford University will offer its first completely online degree program: a master's in electrical engineering.

The students accepted into the degree program will compete for graduate admission directly with electrical engineering students who intend to complete their graduate work on campus.

"To the best of our knowledge, we will be the first major research university in the U.S. to offer a master's degree totally online," said Joseph Goodman, professor of electrical engineering and senior associate dean of the School of Engineering.

For nearly 30 years, Stanford's School of Engineering has offered graduate engineering degree programs, non-credit courses, certificate programs, seminars and short courses to distance learners at some 300 companies using a combination of microwave, videotape, satellite and two-way digital video technology. Since 1994, the Stanford Center for Professional Development (SCPD) has been experimenting with delivery of courses via the Internet.

After a research project with the Stanford Center for Telecommunications demonstrated the demand for online access among working professionals, SCPD established Stanford Online to deliver Stanford courses to the desktop of the distance learner. The service already offers Stanford credit for a variety of online courses, but, until now, there have not been enough online offerings to allow a student to obtain an advanced degree in this fashion.

The start-up costs of putting the 30 courses being offered in the new program online are being supported by a $450,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The grant will cover incremental costs for the first two years of the program. By the third year, participants expect it to be self-supporting. The new web-based offerings will be priced similarly to existing remotely delivered courses, which are considerably more expensive than normal tuition.

The technologies involved in offering the online program include audio/video streaming with synchronized slide shows. Other technologies allow the electronic distribution of class handouts and notes, synchronous and asynchronous interaction among the students and between the students and their instructors, and in some cases the electronic posting of homework and exams. Stanford has joined with Microsoft and Compaq to provide its online students with state-of-the-art communications technology.

"We are going to give the people in industry the same courses as if they were here on campus," said John Hennessy, dean of the School of Engineering. "They will experience the same intellectual rigor and the same up-to-date treatment of material. This is what makes Stanford's continuing education programs so successful."

Stanford studies have found that there is no difference between distance learners and on-campus students when judged by test scores, according to the program's overseers: Goodman; Dale Harris, executive director of the Center for Telecommunications; and Andy DiPaolo, director of the Stanford Center for Professional Development and senior associate dean. Under certain conditions, distance learners actually score higher.

"In the industrial age we went to school. In the communication age the school comes to us," DiPaolo said. "Through Stanford Online we intend to prove this concept by making a portion of the graduate engineering curriculum available to qualified students anywhere, anytime and on demand."

On the other hand, there is little doubt that "virtual" students miss out on a number of very valuable intellectual experiences available on campus. To compensate at least partially for this lack, the Center for Telecommunications will provide online students with a variety of interactive seminars, regular online discussions of relevant topics, and non-credit short courses on practical telecommunications topics.

"Our primary goal is education," Harris said. "We will consider our online degree to be successful only if it's the highest quality available, and if the education of its graduates compares favorably in all respects with that received by their on-campus counterparts."

The Department of Electrical Engineering is one of 10 academic departments in the School of Engineering at Stanford. Its graduate program was ranked first among those at American universities by the National Research Council in 1995. The department awards approximately 285 master's degrees annually. Participants expect about 50 students to sign up for the online degree. By studying full time, a student can obtain the degree in a single year. But most distance learners are expected to take three to four years to complete the program, producing a graduation rate of 10 to 15 online master's students per year.

Related material:

Stanford Center for Professional Development
http://scpd.stanford.edu

Stanford Online
http://stanford-online.stanford.edu

Stanford Center for Telecommunications
http:// corporate.stanford.edu/research/telecom.html

Electrical Engineering Department
http://www-ee.stanford.edu/

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Message #50 Number of Subscribers by Academic Institution

>Folks:

>

>In recognition of the 50th posting on Tomorrow's Professor Listserve, I thought you might be interested in a breakdown of the number of subscribers by academic institution. There are 911 subscribers as of August 10, 1998 representing 160 U.S. and Canadian academic institutions, plus an additional 212 subscribers from industry, government, professional organizations, and foreign universities.

>

>The subscriber institutions are widely distributed across North America by size and type. About half the subscribers are in the sciences, and half in engineering.

>

>Here are some other statistics:

>

>Number of institutions with 10 or more subscribers 24

>

>Top six institutions by number of subscribers:
> Arizona State University 35
> Purdue University 34
> Massachusetts Institute of Technology 31
> University of Michigan 31
> University of Missouri 30
> University of California - Irvine 29

>Number of institutions with 2-9 subscribers 65

>Number of institutions with one subscriber 71

>

>Approximately 35 subscribers join the Listserve each week. Please continue to send your comments and contributions to me for possible posting, as you can see it can be an effective way to reach a large - and growing - community of people interested in preparing for, finding, and succeeding at academic careers in science and engineering.

>

>Regards,

>

>Rick Reis
>reis@cdr.stanford.edu

>

>NOTE: If I've missed your institution or made an error in its designation, please let me know.

>

>INSTITUTION NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS

>

>American World University 1

>Arizona State University 35

>Auburn University 4

>Boston University 4

>Bradley University 1

>Brigham Young University 1

>Brown University 11

>Calif. Polytechnic Univ. - Pomona. 4

>Calif. Polytechnic Univ. - SLO 13

>Calif. State U. - Bakersfield 6

>Calif. State U. - Domingez Hills 2

>Calif. State U. - Fresno 5

>Calif. State U. - Fullerton 3

>Calif. State U. - Hayward 1

>Calif. State U. - Humbolt 1

>Calif. State U. - Long Beach 4

>Calif. State U. - Los Angeles 1

>Calif. State U. - Northridge 5

>Calif. State U. - Sacramento 4

>Calif. State U. - San Bernadino 2

>Calif. State U. - Sonoma 1

>Calif. State U. - Stanislaus 3

>California Institute of Technology 10

>Carnegie Mellon University 3

>Case Western Reserve University 3

>Catholic University of America 1

>Chapman College 1

>Clemson University 1

>Colorado State University 1

>Columbia University 13

>Corneal University 14

>DALHOUSE 1

>Delaware State University 1

>DeVry Institute 1

>Duke University. 23

>Ecole de Technologie Superieure 1

>Emory University 12

>Florida Institute of Technology 1

>Florida State University 2

>Georgetown University 9

>Georgia Institute of Technology 21

>Harrisburg Area Community College 1

>Harvard University 5

>Idaho Boise State University 1

>Indiana University - Purdue University Indiana 5

>Iowa State University 1

>Johns Hopkins University. 17

>Le Tourneau University 1

>Lehigh University 1

>Louisberg College 1

>Louisiana State University 3

>Massachusetts Institute of Technology 31

>Michigan Technological University 6

>Mississippi State University 2

>Missouri Western State College 2

>Morgan State University 1

>North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State U. 1

>North Carolina State University 2

>North Dakota State University 6

>North Seattle Community College 2

>Northern Arizona University 1

>Northern Kentucky Universit 1

>Northern Michigan State University 3

>Northwestern University 23

>Oklahoma State University 2

>Old Dominion University 1

>Oregon Institute of Technology 1

>Oregon State University 1

>Pittsburgh State University 4

>Princeton University 1

>Purdue University 34

>Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 2

>Rice University 7

>Rochester Institute of Technology 1

>Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 1

>San Diego State University 1

>San Francisco State University 1

>San Jose State University 7

>Santa Clara University 1

>Seattle Pacific University 1

>Seattle University 1

>Simon Fraser University 1

>Sonoma State University 1

>South Carolina State College 1

>South Dakota State University 2

>Space Telescope Science Institute 1

>St. Cloud University 1

>Stanford. University 27

>Syracuse University 1

>Texas A&M University 6

>The Cooper Union 2

>Tri-State University 3

>Tufts University 23

>Tulane University 2

>United State Naval Academy 2

>United States Military Academy 1

>University of Alabama 3

>University of Arizona 22

>University of Arkansas 1

>University of Calgary 1

>University of Calif. - Berkeley 22

>University of Calif. - Davis 4

>University of Calif. - Irvine 29

>University of Calif. - Los Angeles 23

>University of Calif. - San Diego 4

>University of Calif. - Santa Barbara 1

>University of Calif. - Santa Cruz 1

>University of Central Florida 1

>University of Central Oklahoma 1

>University of Cincinnati 3

>University of Colorado 2

>University of Connecticut 2

>University of Connecticut Health Center 1

>University of Dayton 1

>University of Delaware 4

>University of Florida 4

>University of Georgia 2

>University of Illinois - Chicago 2

>University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 6

>University of Kansas 2

>University of Kentucky 3

>University of Manitoba 1

>University of Maryland 1

>University of Massachusetts 1

>University of Miami 2

>University of Michigan 31

>University of Minnesota 2

>University of Mississippi 1

>University of Missouri 30

>University of Montreal 1

>University of Nebraska - Lincoln 13

>University of Nevada - Reno 3

>University of New Mexico 4

>University of New Orleans 1

>University of North Carolina 6

>University of North Florida 1

>University of North Texas 2

>University of Oregon 1

>University of Pennsylvania 4

>University of Rhode Island 5

>University of Saskatchewan 1

>University of Southern California 1

>University of Tennessee 2

>University of Texas 21

>University of Toronto 2

>University of Vermont 11

>University of Virginia 1

>University of Washington 2

>University of Wisconsin 8

>University of Wyoming 1

>Utah State University 4

>Valparaiso University 1

>Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ. 6

>Washington University 2

>Weber State University 2

>Western Kentucky University 1

>Western Michigan University 8

>Worchester Polytechnic Institute 2

>Yale University 1

>

>OTHER (personal, industry, government, professional organizations) 212

>

>TOTAL as of 8/10/98 1,123

>

>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

>NOTE: Postings 1-50 can now be found at:
>http:// cis.stanford.edu/structure/tomprof/listserver.html

>

>Anyone can SUBSCRIBE to Tomorrows-Professor Listserver by sending the

>following e-mail message to: Majordomo@lists.stanford.edu

>

> subscribe tomorrows-professor

>

>To UNSUBSCRIBE to the Tomorrows-Professor send the following e-mail message to: Majordomo@lists.stanford.edu

>

> unsubscribe tomorrows-professor

>

>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Richard M. Reis, Ph.D.
Executive Director - Stanford Integrated Manufacturing Association
Associate Director for Global Learning Partnerships - Stanford Learning
Laboratory
Building 02-530, Room 225
440 Escondido Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-3036
(650) 725-0919
Fax (650) 723-5034
Reis@cdr.stanford.edu
Interested in an academic career in science and engineering? Check out TOMORROW'S PROFESSOR at:
http://cis.stanford.edu/structure/tomorrowprof.html