What Colleges and Universities Want in New Faculty
by Kathrynn A. Adams

5. Academic Options
Today, fewer available faculty positions are tenure track than in past decades. Many new Ph.D.s are offered part-time or temporary full-time work for their first academic appointment (Finkelstein, Seal, and Schuster 1998; Schuster1995). These positions are likely to emphasize teaching and to carry few, if any, research expectations. Furthermore, they may require that the faculty member teach only introductory courses, multiple sections of the same course, or remedial courses.

The option of temporary or part-time faculty status raises significant questions that graduate faculty may need to help their students sort through. For example, should a new Ph.D.accept an offer only if it is tenure track? Is it preferable to take a post-doctoral fellowship over a temporary faculty position? (A post-doc will build the research skills and one's resumé, but will ignore the acquisition of other skills required in a faculty role. In this sense, a post-doc continues the research focus of graduate school, thereby perpetuating the narrowness of graduate training.) Will a temporary, full-time job or even a series of temporary jobs imply that a new doctorate recipient is deficient in some way when s/he later applies for tenure-track positions? Will part-time teaching bolster an application for tenure-track positions in the future, particularly if the applicant gained little or no teaching experience in graduate school? Or, is part-time teaching the beginning of an endless cycle of part-time, temporary positions? Graduate students need to consider the long-term implications and consequences of their decisions and would benefit from the advice of those who know and understand the academy.

Approximately one-half of the enrollments in postsecondary institutions are in two-year colleges, with 20 percent of the current faculty at these institutions having earned the doctorate. Currently, numerous faculty vacancies exist at community colleges. If the job market for academic positions at four-year colleges and universities remains extremely competitive, and if attitudes toward teaching at community colleges improve, more Ph.D.s may seek employment at community colleges. Yet, the typical doctoral program does not prepare its students to teach at these institutions.

At community colleges the student body is more diverse than that at the typical four-year college or university. Compared to other types of institutions, the teaching load is heavier, but research is usually not required. Essential criteria for an academic career at a community college include evidence of effective teaching, ability to relate to students, interpersonal skills, communication skills, proficiency in the use of technology, and a degree in the discipline one is teaching (Higgins, Hawthorne, Cape, and Bell 1994; Law 1994). Except for the degree, current doctoral programs do not usually emphasize these characteristics. Often, graduate faculty view employment at a community college as a failure on the part of their students, even when a graduate student's primary interest is in teaching in this setting. Given the number of job opportunities available at community colleges, graduate programs may be limiting their students' career choices in academe if these are not considered as possibilities.

Further, opportunities are growing in alternative educational settings: for instructors in electronic universities, virtual programs, and distance learning providers, some at traditional institutions and others non-traditional. Corporate universities provide a large and growing market for education and training. Continuing education programs in both non-profit and for-profit sectors are expanding at a rapid rate. In short, the range of options that are available to graduate students interested in a career in postsecondary education is large and expanding, and many of them would appreciate knowing about these alternatives.

Recommendations to Graduate Faculty
Faculty in doctoral programs should explore the various career opportunities available for their students, and they should educate themselves about the realities of the current academic job market in their field. Recent graduates may be an excellent resource for this information.

Graduate faculty should consider multiple types of academic careers when mentoring their students, and graduate programs should provide students alternative experiences related to their long-term goals.

If programs offered more preparation in teaching, opportunities to gain expertise in the use of technology as an educational tool in their field, and education about diverse student needs and learning styles, their graduates would be better prepared to meet the faculty expectations at many institutions.

In addition, graduate faculty should be prepared to assist students in considering the pros and cons of accepting part-time or temporary positions. They might help students develop alternative career plans depending on the type of job they find immediately after graduate school.

Information about alternative educational careers in community colleges, virtual universities, corporate universities, and continuing education programs should also be available to graduate students.