ACTA's Must-Reads
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Retaining great professors
The list of complaints should be familiar to anyone familiar with ACTA's work: rampant grade inflation, excessive drinking, administrators more concerned about making college fun than providing a sound education to students, faculty members who use the classroom as a platform to indoctrinate and the proliferation of classes unworthy of being taught at a higher education establishment. The litany in this case though comes not from a concerned trustee, alumnus, parent or student but rather from a disillusioned tenured professor who, in his mid-40s, is calling it quits and going to look for work in the private sector.
The professor, who wrote under a pseudonym in Inside Higher Ed, seems to be a good one: he cares about his students, seeks to expose them to a broad range of perspectives, and does not freely distribute A's. It is unfortunate that students and the university should lose such a member of the faculty -- and it is telling that someone would be so frustrated as to give up the comforts of tenure. Trustees should take this as one more reason to ensure that their universities remain true to their mission. Not all good professors will otherwise leave, but many may lose their passion for teaching -- a lamentable result for all involved.
Posted by David Azerrad on November 07, 2008 at November 7, 2008 09:20 AM
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