Monday, January 27, 2014

Jan 28 Jambar Ad Post



 Ad Number 2
                                                             Jambar ad for Jan 28,2014 starts here
                                 YSU Part Time Faculty Are
                                                   Engineers                   Teachers
                         Writers                       Producers
                          Managers                  Lawyers
                          Nurses                      Musicians
                          Social Workers         Librarians
                          Poets                        Journalists
                          Inventors                  Business Owners
                          Medical Professionals IT Staff
                          Artists

They start up each day and power the Mahoning Valley

    Check Next Tuesday For One Very Important Group
YSU Part Time Faculty Assoc.
for more see  ysuparttimefaculty.blogspot.com

Ad for Jan 28, 2014 ends here

Commentary

          Hundreds of YSU part time faculty members begin each day working in businesses and industries of every size.   They work in private and public institutions.  With their education and experience they help make the Mahoning Valley successful in a wide variety of fields.    At least a couple days per week when they finally squeeze the lid closed on one days work they don’t head for home.   They head for YSU , usually physically sometimes electronically.   What do they do there?

                At a student centered institution like YSU they address the prime mission of the university.They lecture, lead class discussions,  guide  student work,  set up labs and administer assessment instruments.   It isn’t over yet.   On weekends there are tests, projects and papers to evaluate.   Time is required to prepare for the next weeks classes.  Part time faculty are often engaged in continuously upgrading their own knowledge.

                Courses taught by part time faculty can range from freshman to senior level.    Part time faculty know what types of technical expertise will be expected of graduates and how they will need to develop on the job.  They are aware of the advantages of a broad based general education component.


Sunday, January 12, 2014

YSU Student Newspaper Ad Series



                

           YSU Student Newspaper Jambar Informational  Ad Series
                In order to address YSU part time faculty members and the YSU greater community about issues related to part time teaching at YSU we have begun a series of ads in the YSU Jambar.   The ads will begin running in the Tuesday January 14,2014 edition.    They will continue to appear in each Tuesday Jambar  for 10 weeks.   Each ad will address a different aspect of part time teaching and will refer to this blog for additional commentary on the topic.  Each topic could also use a more thorough two ( at least two ) way discussion in some university forum.


Ad Number 1
         Did You Know?   36% of YSU classes are taught by part time faculty  (spg 2013 )

                This percentage has probably already changed  some by spring 2014.   Whether it goes up or down some it will remain high enough that the educational experience of YSU students will be critically influenced by the quality of part time teaching.  

       What is the “Right”  percentage?    The current percentage is far from uniform across university  departments.   The range of appropriate part time faculty use probably varies from department to department.   If the number grows too high it is more difficult for full time faculty to perform university and departmental service functions.  Each department often has major sub fields that would be expected to have a full time faculty member.

    What is the purpose of having part time faculty members?   The right percentage might not be
0%.   In some fields local professionals can be the best instructors for certain courses.  Their constant contact with professional practices enable these instructors to act as a transitional phase from the student  in the classroom to the graduate in their  field.

                There are some other reasons for having part time faculty.   Cost is a major one that has received attention nationally within educational circles.
               

Survey Progress

A survey of part time faculty members was sent out during december and returns have begun  coming in.
    If you are a ysu part time faculty member and have not received the survey form please
email     jczupanic@ysu.edu   or jczupanic@yahoo.com.