Research on liberal arts colleges (LACs) has yet to consider possible effects of using Non-Tenure Track Faculty (NTTF) on the character of LACs. LACs are characterized by their strong academic ethos, collegial faculty-student relationships, all at a sanctuary-like setting. Tenure Track Faculty (TTF) and administrators at three LACs were…

The article interrogates the 'mobility imperative' and its impact on precarious academics. Drawing on 40 biographic interviews with academics with experience of long-term precarity in Irish higher education, and using a Bourdieusian framework, we identify the specific conditions, uses and impacts of international mobility for these workers. This…

In this brief, the authors argue that creating avenues to support VITAL faculty is an essential role for leaders within academic affairs, and particularly those in faculty affairs. While the authors review a host of supports needed, they argue for the importance of sustained professional development opportunities like faculty learning communities…

Institutional reliance on tenure-line faculty reached a historic low after the Great Recession in 2009, remaining at approximately a third of all faculty through 2022. Postsecondary institutions have steadily increased their reliance on full-time adjunct faculty over the last two decades. Part-time adjuncts, meanwhile, were hired in great numbers…

We describe the development and implementation of a holistic annual review process for nontenure-line faculty in the management department at a large, research university. We also discuss the department's evolution from solely utilizing Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET) to a broader array of review criteria, developed by the department's…

Expectations for and rates of scholarly productivity have increased substantively across academic fields, including physical education and sport pedagogy. Concurrent with higher scholarly output has been an increase in collaborative, team approaches to science and fewer sole authored publications. This has led to the development and propagation of…

The authors of this article introduce a database of scholarship among liberal arts college (LAC) economists. Capturing publications across the life cycle, the data speak to questions unexplored in existing work and point to answers often contrary to popular wisdom. First, limited evidence of a rising tenure bar is found. Moreover, while some claim…

This qualitative study is an examination of how 20 tenure-seeking Women of Color and White women academics at a public research-intensive university define collegiality and its perceived role in rank advancement. By engaging culture of hegemonic collegiality, we identified two salient themes: (a) collegiality is defined through weapon and survival…

Research on first-year college students (FYCS) indicate that faculty, including part-time, non-tenure track faculty (PTNTTF), play a vital role in meeting the academic needs of FYCS to facilitate their academic success. However, the literature on PTNTTF suggests that the departmental culture they experience may impact their ability to meet…

VITAL faculty, also known as non-tenure-track instructors at colleges and universities in the United States, play critical roles in educating students but are often excluded from professional development and community-building opportunities that support their growth and development as instructors. In this article, we describe how we addressed…

We use CUPA-HR data to analyze representation and pay equity for women and racial/ethnic minorities in higher education full-time faculty from 2016-17 to 2022-23, across tenure status, rank, discipline, and total operating expenses of institutions. Results indicate that, despite some growth in the representation of women and faculty of color in…

Plenty of research tells us that culture is the most essential ingredient in a healthy organization, yet there are many colleagues who wonder whether research has a healthy place in their campus cultures. The reflections here - originally offered during a discussion at the CCCU's International Forum in 2022 - offer some suggestions for nurturing…

This article delves into student course feedback using publicly available data from the University of North Texas. It examines factors influencing elevated student course evaluation ratings in the Information Technology and Decision Sciences department. The study reveals a positive relationship between higher response rates and better evaluation…