Challenges facing beginning Faculty in the 21st Century Higher Education: Evaluating Research Productivity, Teaching Effectiveness, And Service

Much of the past and recent scholarly literature on faculty performance, productivity, and effectiveness for tenure and promotion has focused largely on the quality and quantity of research of over a specific timeframe and based on rigorous guidelines. Pre-tenured faculty in research-oriented institutions are expected or required to carry demanding teaching loads, serve on numerous committees, and continue to remain on the cutting edge of research. As a result, isolation, anxiety, and stress often rule the lives of pre-tenured faculty who strive to secure tenure at their respective institutions. This exploratory study uses anecdotal evidence to examine the challenges pre-tenure faculty face in the 21st century in the area of teaching, research and service. The term pre-tenure faculty in this paper refers to faculty who have been teaching for less than five years and who are not tenured. Results of the study show that, in the area of teaching, full workload and the disproportionate demand on faculty members’ time and responsibilities are major issues. In the area of research, the major problem is the inability of pre-tenure faculty to balance research with their teaching load due to the absence of established mentoring programs in the programs examined. Anecdotal evidence suggests that emphasis should be placed on dealing with challenges pertaining to teaching. Pre-tenure faculty also contend that the issues confronting them can be addressed through effective mentoring, relationship with tenured and senior professors, and the establishment of separate promotion tracks for teaching and intellectual contribution to name but a few in higher education. The then study recommends that academic institutions design and implement formal mentoring programs for pre-tenured faculty, establish dual progression paths for pre-tenured faculty, and cultivate a supportive environment that promotes faculty self-discipline for research productivity.