Title: Understanding the productivity of faculty members in higher education

Authors: Julie A. Delello; Rochell R. McWhorter; Shelly L. Marmion

Addresses: College of Education and Psychology, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75799, USA ' College of Business and Technology, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75799, USA ' College of Education and Psychology, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75799, USA

Abstract: With the price of rising tuition and mounting student debts in the USA, there continues to be much debate as to whether faculty members at universities work hard enough and whether that work benefits students. This article discusses key findings of a mixed-methods case study reflecting the breadth of work-related activities engaged in by university faculty at one regional university in Texas transitioning towards a greater focus on research. Contrary to popular press, it was found that full-time faculty members at all ranks worked more hours per week than the national average and two-thirds of those were spent in teaching related activities. The authors caution those entities pushing for large overhauls in higher education to abandon misinformation regarding faculty work roles and urge administrators to include very knowledgeable and concerned faculties in such discussions.

Keywords: faculty performance; faculty accountability; higher education; faculty scholarship; work-life balance; faculty workload.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2018.090738

International Journal of Management in Education, 2018 Vol.12 No.2, pp.154 - 178

Received: 21 Mar 2017
Accepted: 17 Jul 2017
Published online: 27 Mar 2018 *

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