October, 2006

Academic Leader - October, 2006 - Full Issue PDF
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10 Things You Can Do to Retain Your Best Adjuncts
Approximately 75 percent of the courses at Baker College are taught by adjunct instructors, which means that the college needs to recruit and retain the best part-time instructors in order to maintain continuity and quality in its academic programs. Here are 10 things that Baker College does to support its adjuncts.

Team Approach Boosts Research-Based Learning at UC Berkeley
The University of California—Berkeley is in the third year of a four-year project to incorporate research-based learning in undergraduate courses. Academic Leader recently spoke with Elisabeth Dupuis, project director, about the project and lessons learned thus far.

Creating a Sustainable, Faculty-Driven Assessment Initiative
Meaningful program assessment requires faculty participation. The challenge of getting faculty involved and staying involved lies in convincing them that the benefits of assessment are worth any additional work it generates.

Make Informed Decisions by Using a Balanced Scorecard
Higher education institutions have access to a wealth of data that can be used to assess and improve institutional performance. But often this information is gathered after the fact, resulting in reports that can illustrate correlation among various measures but not causation, and basing major decisions on correlation rather than causation can be risky. One approach that can indicate cause and effect and point to improvement strategies is the balanced scorecard, a performance measurement system from the business world that is finding its way into higher education.

Mentoring Future Higher Administration Leaders: Necessity and Value of Mentoring
By Henry W. Smorynski, PhD
Effective human capital management is critical to creating distinctiveness and competitive advantage in higher education. Unfortunately, on the typical campus human capital replacement has centered on faculty retirements. An even larger problem is now developing concerning administration leadership. There is a special need to rapidly develop new leadership, particularly diverse leadership. Developing this leadership will be difficult.

When Does a Professor Cross the Academic Freedom Line?
By Thomas R. McDaniel, PhD
Have you been following the academic freedom controversy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison? It is an interesting one, raising many issues about the limits of academic freedom, the responsibility for college course content, and the roles of legislatures and administrators in regulating expression in the college classroom. Bloggers have had a field day with this campus brouhaha, and talk show pundits have fanned the flames to the listening public. Opinion movers and shakers in the press, on the blogs, at the state house, and from academe are weighing in on both sides of the debate—so why not a “Parting Shot” in Academic Leader?