Evaluation of Faculty and Qualification in Nursing Education Part I
Evaluation of the Faculty in Nursing Education, Qualifications of Faculty for Evaluation Process.
Evaluation of the Faculty in Nursing Education
There must be enough qualified faculty to accomplish the mission, philosophy, and expected outcomes of the program. The nature of the program, the expectations of the parent institution, the number of students, and the requirements of accrediting bodies influence the desired number and qualifications of faculty. Qualifications of faculty may be measured from several perspectives: credentials, diversity, and professional experience.
Qualifications of Faculty for Evaluation Process
Faculty should possess credentials appropriate to their teaching assignment, to the program levels in which they teach, and to the service and scholarship mission of the school. Faculty members’ professional experience, education, and specialty certification should be congruent with their teaching assignments. Evaluation of the level of degree preparation of nursing faculty is related to the program level in which they teach.
A master’s degree in nursing is the minimum expectation for teaching in associate or baccalaureate degree programs. A doctorate in nursing or a terminal degree in a related field with a master’s degree in nursing is the expectation for teaching in graduate programs. Many nursing schools also strive to have faculty with terminal degrees teaching in prelicensure nursing programs.
The nursing profession has been challenged to meet these expectations because of the lack of nurses with terminal degrees. The AACN 2013 Annual Report stated that only 47.9% of nursing faculty are doctorally prepared. This report also identified that approximately 88% of unfilled nursing faculty positions are still seeking candidates with doctoral degrees in nursing or a related field (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2014).
To address the shortage of nurses with terminal degrees, some nursing schools may provide additional incentives and support to faculty with master’s degrees to assist them in pursuing their doctorates. In this situation, care must be taken to avoid “inbreeding,” which may result in a disproportionate number of faculty with degrees from the same institution.
Representation of a wide variety of educational institutions in the faculty profile demonstrates a commitment to diversity of ideas and openness to creative differences. “Inbreeding” of faculty may perpetuate the status quo. Evaluation of qualification faculties should also include the profile of faculty related to rank, classifications for tenure or non-tenure track appointments, and the balance of full-time and part-time positions.
Assessment of the number and proportion of faculty for each level of rank provides a measure of faculty experience and expertise in their teaching role. If few faculty members within the school have achieved higher ranks, such as associate or full professor, there may be a lack of senior level faculty or an inequity in nursing promotions compared with other academic units.
In some universities, there are multiple categories of faculty, including non–tenure-track lecturers and clinical instructors, tenure-track faculty, and scientist tracks (see Chapter 1). In some universities, only tenure-track faculty may participate in the governance of the larger institution. Standing committees within both the school and the university may have criteria for rank and tenure as a condition of membership.
The goal of full participation in governance issues at the university level can be compromised or enabled by the number of faculty eligible to participate. On the other hand, a faculty composed largely of tenured members could be a barrier to the recruitment of a more diverse faculty or a goal of increasing the number of
faculty members with specific areas of expertise.
The balance of full-time and part-time faculty is also of concern in ensuring adequate involvement in governance, meeting needs for academic advising, curriculum development, and program evaluation. Setting goals for qualifications allows the nursing school to measure progress in achieving those goals.
Once the goals for qualified faculty have been identified, the faculty profile can be evaluated or analyzed in terms of those goals. Factors that may be interfering with the achievement of the goals will also need analysis. It is essential to track the profile of faculty who are within 5 to 10 years of retirement and to examine reasons for faculty turnover.
Control of the faculty profile is influenced not only by recruitment goals but also by faculty retention factors. A factor related to both recruitment and retention of qualified faculty is the salary structure. If a goal of the school of nursing is to support quality programs and to achieve national stature, salaries must be competitive to attract the mix of faculty that promotes excellence.
There are multiple sources for comparison of salaries. Internally, it is important to demonstrate that faculty salaries in the school are congruent with those in the larger institution for comparable rank and productivity. External data are available from such sources as the AACN, the NLN, the American Association of University Professors, and regional groups such as the Big Ten universities.
AACN provides salary information for full-time administrative and instructional nursing faculty, including mean a median salary by rank and degree, and by region of the country (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2014). The College and University Professional Association for Human Resources conducts an annual survey of faculty salaries for public and private institutions offering baccalaureate and higher degrees.
The National Faculty Salary Survey for Four-Year Institutions provides salary data by discipline and rank (College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, 2014). The results of this survey are available online. In addition, customized reports that sort data by variables such as region of the country, size of the institution’s operating budget, and religious affiliation for private schools can be requested.
Customized reports may provide a more accurate comparison in determining how faculty salaries compare with peer institutions. Some nursing schools may be able to obtain salary information through networking with a select cohort of peer institutions that agree to share data.