Techbits: PE School Faculty Shortage Needs Immediate Remedy

Abstract

Excellent employment prospects at salaries well above their peers have created a rapid increase in the number of students enrolling in petroleum engineering (PE) programs at US universities. But a severe PE faculty shortage has resulted, one that cannot be eliminated in the short term through normal recruitment. On 13 April, SPE sponsored a workshop of PE department chairpersons and industry representatives to discuss the problem and determine if and how industry might help fill the gap. The problem can be summarized as follows:PE student enrollment has increased by more than 60% since 2003, while faculty numbers have increased by only 7%.More than 40 positions for faculty are vacant in 19 PE departments.Faculty teaching loads are as high as four courses per semester, while top programs in other science and engineering disciplines have teaching loads that are normally one course per semester, if research activity is significant, and two courses, if research demands are low.Starting salaries for PE faculty are as much as USD 30,000 per year below offers to top undergraduates, making it difficult to attract and retain faculty. The workshop group proposed two main areas where the oil and gas industry could provide short-term PE faculty support: supplying adjunct faculty and providing financial assistance for faculty hiring and retention. The group also recognized the need for increased research funding, especially considering the proposed elimination of funding from the US Department of Energy. However, that issue will be addressed later as a longer-term problem. For adjunct faculty, the group made the following recommendations:Establish a "clearinghouse"—a website for posting adjunct faculty needs by PE schools. Companies also could post available lecturers and their subjects; spe.org could be the Web home, with open access to the clearinghouse site.Consider team teaching (e.g., on a 28/28 rotational schedule) for PE schools distant from an adjunct faculty member's home as an alternative to relocation.Use distance teaching for certain courses, preferably in a real-time format allowing direct interaction between lecturer and student. This would be especially attractive for PE schools remote from industry centers.Create a short course for training adjunct faculty in teaching skills, such as testing and assessment techniques.Maximize the use of graduate-student teaching assistants to support both on-site adjunct faculty and distance teaching. Regarding faculty hiring and retention, the workshop committee made these recommendations:The industry should augment salaries of junior faculty with faculty fellowships of USD 10,000 to USD 30,000 per year. Funding could be annual or in the form of endowments.Support teaching assistants with fellowships and internships. In addition to an important role in assisting adjunct faculty in the near term, graduate students are the primary source for future permanent faculty.