Understanding Faculty Productivity: Standards And Benchmarks For Colleges And Universities

"An invaluable resource for any college and university striving to meet the National Cost Commission's call to make what colleges do and what it costs more 'transparent' to the public."
--Jacqueline E. King, director, federal policy analysis, American Council on Education

Defining and measuring faculty productivity are among the most central issues for quality and accountability in higher education. Known for assembling some of the most authoritative research on faculty productivity--and for analyzing its impact on academic and institutional accountability--Michael F. Middaugh presents this comprehensive volume to help campus professionals build greater accountability for students, parents, foundations, governmental organizations, and other concerned constituents. Middaugh first draws from a research study funded by TIAA-CREF's Cooperative Research Grant Program and the Fund for Postsecondary Education within the U.S. Department of Education. He then provides a new framework for analyzing faculty efficiency and emphasizes how the results of faculty work can become the best indicators of productivity. He also applies the joint study findings to the task of developing benchmarks for faculty productivity. Practitioners from any type of campus will find a rich array of data, valuable recommendations, and relevant examples.

MICHAEL F. MIDDAUGH lives in Wilmington, Delaware and serves as Assistant Vice President for Institutional Research & Planning at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE. He received his doctoral degree in Education at SUNY Albany. Dr. Middaugh has authored and co-authored two books on institutional research and written numerous articles and book chapters on topics in planning and research, including assessing faculty productivity.

1. Defining Faculty Productivity.

2. Responding to Public Pressure for Systematic Accountability.

3. A Quantitative Perspective on Productivity and Accountability.

4. Measuring Productivity: What About Quality?

5. Laying the Groundwork for Dependable Productivity Benchmarks.

6. Using Quantitative Benchmarking Data.

7. Establishing Qualitative Benchmarks in Individual Departments.

8. Looking to the Future.

Appendix A: Delaware Study Definitions and Conventions.

Appendix B: Delaware Study Benchmarks for Typical Academic Departments.

Appendix C: Participants in the Delaware Study.