The Civil Rights Project / Proyecto Derechos Civiles

The fundamental asset of a university is its faculty. Without faculty working with students, the university is just a set of buildings. The faculty design and teach the courses, keep the educational program updated, and work with students to help them gain the skills and knowledge they need to prepare for their careers or professional education. The quality of faculty is very directly linked to the quality of a student’s education and the value of the degree.  The research released in these two new studies from the Civil Rights Project shows that the budget cutbacks at the California State University system are already reducing the quality of education faculty can offer students.  The CSU now faces large additional cuts. Faculty Under Siege, is based on a survey of more than four hundred faculty across the CSU system and it shows that the main sources of stress that appear to affect job satisfaction and the quality of teaching are increased class sizes and teaching loads, a lack of personal time, not receiving support and supplies from the system, working with underprepared students, and advising an increasing number of students. This web-based survey collected data on 424 faculty; 76% are full-time employees of their institution, and the majority of respondents teach at only one campus. In addition, 47% had tenure at the time of the survey, with an additional 22% on tenure track.

Also available at: http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu