A-to-Z Index

Compliance Review - Narrative





2.8 - Faculty

 

Core Requirement       2.8

        The number of full-time faculty members is adequate to support the mission of the institution and to ensure the quality and integrity of its academic programs.


Compliance

Compliant


Narrative

The number of full-time faculty (854) is suitable for a university of this size; in addition, the faculty have appropriate degrees and fitting experience in their fields. For this requirement, adequacy is defined using criteria including accreditation, student-to-faculty ratio, graduation rates, Academic Program Reviews (APR), assessment of student learning outcomes, faculty teaching loads as compared to peers, number and percentage of terminal degrees, and percentage of money committed to academics as opposed to peers.

JMU provides instruction toward degree completion across six academic colleges that collectively house 51 undergraduate majors, 28 minors and graduate programs in 26 different disciplines. The university is primarily focused on undergraduate education, although there has been some growth in new masters and doctoral-level programs. All academic programs support the institutional mission of "preparing students to be educated and enlightened citizens who lead productive and meaningful lives" [1] and formulate annual goals based upon the university's vision of being a leading comprehensive university.

All full-time faculty members are expected to contribute to the institutional mission through quality instruction and advising, and to contribute to the scholarly works of their discipline by engaging in research and service. Measures used by the university to determine adequacy and quality of full-time faculty include the following:

  •    Advising support for students
  •    Annual reports of program and faculty activities
  •   Course availability for first year students
  •    Degree attainment and tenure
  •    Diversity Recruitment
  •    Faculty retention and professional development
  •    Funding for academic programs by the General Assembly
  •    Funding for faculty compensation
  •    Increase of full-time faculty with respect to enrollment increases
  •    Percentage of total credit hours taught by full-time faculty
  •    Program accreditations, state approvals and professional association recognitions
  •    Student/faculty ratios
  •    Student satisfaction rates

Advising Support for Students

Every academic discipline strives to maintain reasonable departmental student-to-faculty advising ratios (approximately 30:1) for full-time instructional faculty. Exceptions are faculty who advise 50-60 incoming first year students (first year student advising is considered an overload for faculty, and they are paid a stipend for their summer work). Efforts are being made to reduce advising pressures on faculty in oversubscribed majors (those majors with a disproportionate number of students) where the student/faculty advising ratio exceeds 50:1. Full-time advising positions have been created in the following academic units: engineering, health sciences, interdisciplinary liberal studies (the required major for most students pursuing teacher licensure), kinesiology, nursing and political science, as well as in the College of Business. A fifth position is currently being established in psychology. These full-time advisers have a background in the discipline, teach one course, and primarily advise those students about progression into and through the major.

Annual Reports of Program and Faculty Activities

Annual reports for the Division of Academic Affairs and individual academic colleges (2003-08) provide ample evidence of significant faculty accomplishments in the areas of teaching, research and service. A summary of accomplishments for the last ten years shows this evidence [2].

Course Availability for First Year Students

One measure the university uses to assess adequate faculty resources is the ability of first year students to secure an appropriate class schedule through oversight of advising and registration by the dean of University Studies has been. During the 2008-09 academic year, approximately 3,960 new first year and 800 new transfer students matriculated to JMU with the majority of students enrolling in the fall. Through discussions with every academic unit head, the dean of University Studies maintains central override authority during summer registration for all General Education and lower division courses in the major. This has allowed 12-15 credit hour schedules to be built for every first year student with courses appropriate for General Education and their major. Careful oversight of enrollment has ensured that the university is maximizing its faculty resources efficiently and effectively. The one year return rate for freshmen entering the university in the fall has been over 90% for the past 20 years [3].

Degree Attainment and Tenure

One measure of faculty qualifications is the percentage of faculty members that have earned terminal degrees in their field. The university has a strong commitment to hiring new faculty with strong credentials and experience in their disciplines. The greatest number of new faculty hired annually with terminal degrees have been at the rank of assistant professor. Among all new faculty hired with a terminal degree in 2008, 27% (n=11) were hired at the rank of instructor; 65% (n=46) at the rank of assistant professor; 100% (n=7) at the rank of associate professor; and 100% (n=2) at the rank of full professor [4].

During this period, there was a 17% increase in the total number of tenured faculty at JMU. Ninety-four percent (94%) of all tenured or tenure-track full-time instructional faculty have terminal degrees, which illustrates the quality of faculty academic preparation. The range by academic college includes a high of 87% in science and mathematics to 67% in business.

Of the 854 full-time faculty, the greatest percentage of change in faculty holding terminal degrees is among women. Between 2002 and 2008, there was a 45% increase in the number of females with terminal degrees compared with a 5% increase among males [5].

Diversity Recruitment

The percentage of full-time instructional faculty from underrepresented ethnic groups (non-Caucasian) dropped from 9% in 2003 to 8% in 2008. As a reaffirmation of the university's commitment to a diverse faculty and student body, a university diversity initiative was funded by the university president's office [6] in 2004. The diversity initiative [7] is staffed by one instructional faculty member who has been given release time to oversee this effort as well as one full-time administrative and professional faculty member. Substantial efforts by faculty in the president's office have resulted in significant improvement. The current percent of minorities among all students is 12% while the percentage of minority faculty is now 8% compared with 7% in 2006. While the overall percentage of faculty from underrepresented groups is slightly lower than that of the study body, over the past 10 years the university has experienced a 53% increase in the number of faculty overall (instructional and administrative) from underrepresented groups [8].

Faculty Retention and Professional Development

The JMU faculty is relatively young. Half of the faculty is under the age of 48, which points to the ability of the university to recruit and retain faculty who, in addition to being well qualified, have potential to contribute to a community of scholars aspiring toward tenure, promotion and career achievement. A little over 40% of faculty at JMU have been employed at the university zero to five years while 66% have been employed between zero and ten years at JMU [9].

To foster an environment of continuous learning and renewal, the university created a Center for Faculty Innovation [10] and appointed a full-time director in 2006 to support the professional development needs of all faculty. The center provides an orientation program for all new faculty and engages faculty throughout the year in a variety of programs and services to enhance faculty performance in the classroom, increase faculty engagement in sharing knowledge and information, and serve as a resource for professional development.

Funding for Academic Programs by the General Assembly

The State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV) [11] is the primary policy entity for all public institutions in Virginia. SCHEV makes higher education public policy recommendations to the governor and General Assembly in such areas as capital and operating budget planning, enrollment projections, institutional technology needs, and student financial aid.

SCHEV and the Virginia institutions appealed to the General Assembly in the late 1990s to establish funding guidelines for institutions that could be applied to institutions with various discipline mixes and missions.

The 1998 the General Assembly established the Joint Subcommittee on Higher Education Funding Policies to reestablish funding guidelines that could be used as an objective and commonly accepted yardstick for colleges and university funding. [12]

 

Among its peer institutions, JMU has the highest percentage of state appropriated educational and general funds allocated to academic programs [13]. Over the past two years, there has been a strong commitment to recruit and hire new faculty within the time frame the position is needed. To accomplish this, the university has pre-funded new faculty positions to allow a department to recruit and hire one year in advance of when the position is needed.

Funding for Faculty Compensation

In July 2007, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) negotiated with each institution to create a new faculty salary peer group that enables institutions to offer more competitive salaries for high-quality faculty. The new peer group consists of 10 private and 15 public institutions. The Commonwealth's objective is to fund faculty salaries at the 60th percentile of JMU's national peer group. The average JMU full-time faculty salary in 2007-08 was $68,192 [14]. The 60th percentile peer group salary in 2007-08 was $76,900. The 60th percentile salary is approximately $8,700 higher than JMU's faculty salary average. Additional dollars are to be allocated by the General Assembly over the next several years to bring JMU's average to the 60th percentile.

Increase of Full-Time Faculty with Respect to Enrollment Growth

JMU continues to be a popular university among high school students. In 2008-09, there were 19,245 freshmen applications for 3,960 spots in the freshman class. The university has been deliberate in its decision to increase enrollments by balancing class size with faculty resources. Over the past five years, student enrollment has grown by 15.5% from 15,965 students in 2002 to 18,454 in fall 2008 [15].

Concurrently, the number of full-time instructional faculty has grown at a higher rate (18%) than the increases in student enrollments. The total number of full-time instructional faculty[16] grew 27.4% from 704 in 2002-03 to 897 in 2008-09 - a net gain of 193 faculty positions. This growth in instructional full-time faculty has allowed the university to incrementally increase enrollment each year while maintaining program quality and integrity. The six-year graduation rate [17] for first year students who entered the university for the first time in 2002 was 82%.

Percentage of Total Credit Hours Taught by Full-Time Faculty

JMU uses a high percentage of full-time faculty for the delivery of course instruction. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of instructional faculty are full time. The Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures and the General Education program have the largest dependence on part-time faculty. Faculty who teach in General Education, the university's core curriculum required of all students, reside in the academic unit of their academic discipline. All first year students must complete a portion of the General Education program during their first year at JMU. Only 0.6 percent (N=22) of all sections have a graduate teaching assistant as the primary instructor. In 2008, the percentage of total fall credit hours taught by full-time faculty was 79.4% [18].

Table 3.2.8-1

 

Fall

Student-to-Faculty Ratio

Total Student Credit Hours per Full-Time Equivalent Faculty

Percentage of Total Fall Credit Hours Taught by Full-Time Faculty

Regular Session
(Fall + Spring)
FTE Students

1991

18.9 : 1

281.2

78.5%

10,620

1992

18.3 : 1

271.6

79.5%

10,720

1993

18.2 : 1

270.2

77.7%

10,711

1994

18.3 : 1

271.5

77.1%

10,869

1995

18.8 : 1

279.0

79.6%

11,087

1996

19.1 : 1

283.7

79.5%

12,119

1997

19.2 : 1

284.8

78.2%

12,877

1998

18.8 : 1

279.8

79.6%

13,539

1999

18.3 : 1

272.0

79.8%

13,697

2000

17.5 : 1

260.3

78.6%

13,823

2001

17.5 : 1

263.3

80.1%

14,094

2002

17.4 : 1

257.7

80.7%

14,496

2003

17.3 : 1

258.3

79.9%

14,732

2004

16.8 : 1

250.6

80.9%

 14,857

2005

16.6 : 1

247.1

80.0%

15,462

2006

16.2 : 1

240.8

80.2%

15,869

2007

16.4 : 1

242.7

79.8%

16,115

2008

16.0 : 1

237.1

79.4%

117,077

Change since 1991

(2.9 : 1)

(44.1)

1.1%

6,457

Program Accreditations, State Approvals and Professional Association Recognitions

The many academic programs that have achieved national accreditation, state approvals and professional association recognitions is made possible by the adequacy and competence of JMU faculty in achieving program quality as reviewed by its national peers [19].

Student/Faculty Ratios

The university has carefully balanced enrollment growth with adequate resources to provide students with a quality education. The full-time equivalent students to full-time faculty ratio have dropped from 17.4:1 in 2002 to 16.0:1 in 2008 [20]. The "student-to-faculty ratio" is calculated by dividing the full-time equivalent students (15 credits per undergraduate and 12 per graduate student) by the full-time equivalent faculty (FTEF). This is not a measure of average class size but a measure of the typical number of students a faculty member will work with in an instructional activity.

Faculty members maintain a 12-hour teaching/administrative load with advising responsibilities, high service and rigorous scholarly activity expectations. Due to AACSB accreditation standards, faculty in the College of Business teach a maximum of nine credit hours per semester.

JMU's student-to-faculty ratio is comparable to its faculty salary peer group [21]. The ratio ranges from 11:1 at Gonzaga University to 24:1 at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. That puts JMU at about the mid-point of its 25 peers. Nine of the 13 with lower ratios are private institutions.

Student Satisfaction Rates

According to the Fall 2008 Continuing Student Survey [22] "Three-fourths (75%) or more of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the following statements: Faculty are knowledgeable in their field; Methods of instruction and course content are related to course objectives; There is a clear understanding of course aims and requirements; The respondent knows what to do to get an "A," "B," "C," "D" or "F" in class; and Methods of instruction are challenging and understandable.

 

On the annual survey of graduates within two years of their graduation, 98% would recommend JMU to a colleague, friend or relative. An analysis of comments on a recent alumni survey shows a very high regard for JMU's faculty.

 

 

Supporting Documents

1

Mission Vision Values

2

Faculty Accomplishments

3

Return Rates for Freshmen

4

New Terminal Degreed Instructional Faculty

5

Terminal Degree-Gender

6

President's web site-diversity

7

Diversity Initiative web site

8

Faculty Ethnicity

9

Years Employed at JMU and Average Age by College, Fall 2008

10

Center for Faculty Innovation

11

SCHEV

12

SCHEV SF presentation

13

Peers-Instruction Academic Support FY07

14

Faculty Salary Data

15

On-Off Campus Headcount

16

Full-Time Instructional Faculty by Tenure Status and Per Student

17

Graduation Rates

18

Percent of Credit Hours Taught

19

Accreditations

20

Student:Faculty Ratio

21

Faculty Salary Peer Group-S/F ratio

22

Continuing Student Survey

23

Faculty Accomplishments