The “Terminal Degree”
Recently here at RIT, there has been a discussion (read: controversy) about a new “requirement” (not actually policy) that professors are required to have a “Terminal Degree” to get a promotion. Several professors that are currently in the pipeline for promotion risk being passed up because of this new decision. This decision is against my interpretation of the real policy. The policy itself is fairly lengthy, but I think it is best described by this paragraph:
The view that teaching is the foremost activity of the RIT faculty is deeply rooted in the traditions of the institution, and the primacy of teaching continues to be a hallmark of RIT. Consequently, the basic consideration, both in initial appointments and matters pertaining to salary adjustments, promotion and tenure, is the extent to which high standards of teaching can be achieved and maintained.
Which mentions nothing about terminal degree. Basically, for a promotion, a professor needs to be a Good Professor. To me, a Good Professor needs expertise, the ability to do good research, must be a good educator, and must have a passion for what they do.
What is expertise?
I find that expertise is one of those “fuzzy areas” that you can’t define easily, but you can determine after knowing someone for only a little while. Expertise is the having of significant knowledge in your topic area. Unfortunately, in academia this significant knowledge can only be expressed in the form of a piece of paper that says Ph.D on it. The most recent statement by the current RIT administration says that if you have many years of industry experience, that it is enough to be qualified as an “expert” as well, but I believe that has only recently come to the current administration’s mind because of the push back from students and professors on the recent “terminal degree” decision. Personally, the expertise of someone should be measured by the people that work him or her every day. Even for students, it’s easy to find out which professors “knows their stuff” pretty quickly in their time here.
What is the ability to do good research?
In the academic world, research is kind of the “my house is bigger then your house” debate. Professors with the most published papers and articles are highly regarded. Ok, fair enough. I am not one to change the way the academic world works. So, when evaluating professors for promotion and tenure, look at their research. It is very clear that this was not considered for the pipeline of the current professors (as some have many published articles, in several prestigious journals), but it should be a consideration overall. With the drive here at RIT to become an innovation university, of course research needs to be done… We just need to remember that academic research is only so good, and that applied research is what will actually cause innovation.
What makes a good educator?
The age old question of every student: Is Professor X any good? Students care about this… a lot. Here at RIT, it’s not that hard to figure out which professors are the good ones: look at the course evaluations. A professor that has good evaluations usually ends up being pretty good. It’s possible to see the signs of a good educator just by sitting in the classroom for a few classes: Look for professors that are actively trying to incorporate different teaching methods to reach more students. Look for professors that encourage questions, and answer them well. Look for professors that have their class fill up immediately. Look for professors that can connect with students to solidify concepts and ideas.
What is passion?
Passion is the most important thing that a professor can have. Passion is the drive and the emotion that gives a professor credibility in the eyes of the students. The professor cares about what he or she teaches, and can show that passion to spark student interest and allow them to develop that passion themselves. Passion is hard to quantify, but it can be found easily. A person that has a passion for what they are doing or teaching has a certain presence and charisma about them that can be picked up by everyone in the room. They truly care about the material and the ideas that they are involved with. I challenge anyone to think of someone who they consider their “best professor” or “best teacher” that didn’t have passion.
What will happen here at RIT? I’m not sure. The professors in the pipeline may or may not get passed up for promotion. Currently, the administration is “reevaluating” the situation, while waiting on input from the various deans. The administration seems to be hard lining to make RIT a “World Renowned” university by increasing the amount of research that happens here. While I would love to see RIT become even more famous, I would hate to see RIT lose what it already is, one of the best teaching institutions in the nation. When I came here, it wasn’t the number of Ph.D’s that attracted me, it was that I was going to learn how to do what I wanted to do… and do it well.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Well said, Dave. The reason I went to RIT was for the teaching atmosphere that used to be the primary focus. Let’s think about technology for a second… how much do you REALLY learn in the classroom or by reading a book when it comes to bleeding edge technology? My entire curriculum at RIT revolved around workshops and “learning by doing” kinds of classes - and it worked very well for me.
I’m not saying that Ph.D’s are terrible professors by any means, but there’s a different level of “expertise” (as you put it) that defines the movers and shakers out there today… the ones who roll with the punches, have BEEN in start-ups and had to wear all sorts of hats. THOSE are the folks i want to hear from (if they’re willing) - the folks who can impart life lessons along with the compromises that they had to make in the real world to achieve their goals. I don’t need any more textbooks and theory - I can read that on my own time.
Academic research is all well and good because it gets your name out there, but don’t do it at the cost of the professors who kick ass for their students, and don’t do it at the expense of the students who want to apply the research to a revolutionary project - that’s what’s going to keep you from world renown.
April 28th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
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