How expensive is a college degree? Usually, the answer is based on what students pay in tuition and fees compared to what they earn after graduation. Very little is known about the economic cost of running an electrical engineering program compared to, say, a history department, or the resource consequences of steering more students into these…

Career development is an important issue, and there are aspects of finding the right position that are particular to science faculty. This article offers a checklist of questions to ask in an academic job interview. Some queries are more appropriate for the chairperson and other administrators; others are better asked of faculty or students. With…

Female faculty members and graduate students at Rutgers University in New Brunswick's political-science department feel unfairly compensated and shut out of leadership positions by their male counterparts, says an internal university report obtained by "The Chronicle." In at least one case, a woman has been afraid to complain about…

Describes a three-tier merit-pay system that rewards excellence, reinforces competence, and yet motivates professional growth among the lowest performers. Also discusses drawbacks. (PD)

It was the purpose of a practicum to develop a policy for distribution of salary increases in the industrial engineering technology department, using modern wage and salary administration techniques and the management expertise of the faculty. The dean of the Southern Technical Institute and the department head jointly identified seven criteria…

Between years 1990-91 and 1991-92 the average college faculty salary rose 3.5 percent, the smallest nominal increase in over 20 years. Data for academic field, institution type, and faculty rank are presented along with an appendix presenting data from the 1991-92 American Association of University Professors' national salary survey. (MSE)

Provides a single formula for merit-raise salary schemes based on either a fixed cash amount, a percentage of base salary, or any combination of the two. Explains that the formula makes explicit how merit scores, together with prior salaries and the money available for raises, determine individual salaries. (CMK)

Reports results of a survey of departments of physiology in private and public medical and nonmedical schools (N=98). Includes information on faculty, positions, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, funding, and salaries. (DC)

A cost-effectiveness model is presented for academic administrators to use in making evaluation and planning decisions related directly to the instructional activities of academic departments. The advantages seen in the model are that it is simple and flexible, concentrates on balancing income generated by the department to expenses incurred, and…

This contribution to "The Visible College" column considers the question of expanding the Master's in Library Science (MLS) program to better prepare students for future participation in the library profession. Benefits include exposure to core curriculum, opportunities for specialization, forming alliances with and taking classes in…

Results of the 1983-84 Faculty Salary Survey of Institutions belonging to the National Association of Universities and Land Grant Colleges are presented. The objective of the survey is to provide factual information to help higher education administrators with salary and budget decisions. Of 94 institutions with at least 5 different Ph.D. programs…

Negotiation experiences of Western Michigan University (WMU) with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) as bargaining agent are described. The important issues, sequence of major events and issues, and the changing governance role of the departmental chairperson and heads are discussed. The goal of the paper is to improve…

The average salaries for full professors and new assistant professors in 21 disciplines for 1976-77 and 1984-85 are ranked and the percentage increases in the intervening period are listed and analyzed. (MSE)

Compares the similarities of education and library schools in regard to status. Topics include image problems of education and library schools; and reasons they are held in low esteem in higher education, including gender bias, low pay, social bias, practical versus theoretical orientation, and a lack of research. (LRW)

This report presents the results of a survey of senior-level physics majors at U.S. colleges and universities who received a Bachelor's degree between September 1995 and August 1996. Completed questionnaires were received from 1,956 students. It was found that the number of undergraduates receiving Bachelor's degrees in physics continued to…