Faculty Time Allocation

Abstract

A Study of Change Over Twenty Years Previous research suggests that research productivity at the level has been steadily increasing over time and that an institution's place in the hierarchy influences the nature of that change (Bentley & Blackburn, 1990; Dey, Milem, & Berger, 1997). The findings from these studies indicate that faculty at all types of postsecondary educational institutions are spending increasingly more time engaged in activities associated with publication and research, but the extent of these increases is partially dependent upon the setting in which faculty work. At the same time, many observers of American higher education, inside and outside of the postsecondary enterprise, have become increasingly concerned about how faculty spend their time (Bok, 1992; Boyer, 1990; Cage, 1991; Massy & Zemsky, 1994). Studies also demonstrate that type, among other factors, influences the ways in which faculty allocate their time and effort among the various facets of the academic role (Fairweath er, 1993a; Jacobson, 1992; Tierney & Rhoads, 1993). Indeed, Jacobson (1992) suggests that institutional drift, or the attempts by professors employed at institutions located in the middle and lower levels of the hierarchy of American postsecondary institutions to emulate the work characteristics of their peers at research universities, is the primary cause behind the increase of faculty activities in the area of research and writing. Given the previous findings by Dey et al. (1997) regarding the increase of publication productivity throughout the hierarchy, and given the increasing concern about the ways in which faculty spend their time (Bok, 1992; Boyer, 1990; Cage, 1991; Ewell, 1994; Jacobson, 1992), it is clear that more empirical evidence is needed to adequately assess the changing nature of the academic role over time. Building upon the assumption that type influences faculty role performance, this study uses previous theory and research that address issues of stratification to examine changes in the amounts of time faculty spent engaged in teaching, advising, and research activities at the level over a twenty-year period. Conceptual Background Scholars have long been interested in the factors affecting the way individual faculty members, departments, and institutions divide the various responsibilities associated with the faculty role (e.g., Bowen & Schuster, 1986; Boyer, 1990; Braxton & Berger, 1996; Clark, 1987; Feldman, 1987; Finkelstein, 1984; Massy & Zemsky; 1994; Newman, 1985; Volkwein & Carbone, 1994). Scholars have also been interested in examining how different types of institutions impact the purposes of higher education (Bowen & Schuster, 1986) and in investigating conditions that foster diverse missions among postsecondary institutions (Birnbaum, 1983). It has been noted that external forces exert opposing pressures on faculty at the institutional, departmental, and individual levels to spend more time on either teaching or research (Braxton & Berger, 1996). For example, state legislators and public opinion frequently mandate that faculty focus on teaching, whereas patrons of research (e.g., private industry and foundations, federal re search organizations) promote and reward research activity and productivity. Given the recent evidence that faculty at all types of institutions are becoming more productive in terms of publication (Dey et al., 1997) and considering the growing concern regarding the accountability of faculty time (Massy & Zemsky, 1994), researchers and policymakers have compelling reasons for wanting to know more about how increased publication productivity relates to other aspects of the faculty role. This is particularly true regarding the role played by type as a major source of influence on academic role performance. …