MIDDLE STATES STANDARD 10, QUESTION 2
Several fundamental elements of Standard 10 pertain to the sufficiency and preparedness of the faculty
complement. Stockton meets these elements with an academically and professionally prepared
complement of faculty who carry out its mission by dedicating our efforts first to excellent teaching,
second to a Boyer model of scholarly activity, and third to a wide variety of service commitments,
ranging from service to a single academic program to regional community initiatives to international
disciplinary organizations. As the College continues its measured, steady enrollment growth in both
undergraduate and graduate programs, faculty in our governance organizations remain consistently
engaged in the institutional effectiveness pursuits of ensuring that we allocate resources
commensurately with our growth.
The college was able to gather data for the fall semesters beginning in fall 2000 to determine the
percent of undergraduate and graduate courses taught by full-time faculty. During the seven year study
period, 73% of undergraduate courses and 77% of graduate and post-baccalaureate classes were taught
by full-time faculty. When compared to other colleges and universities in New Jersey, Stockton College
tends to offer a higher percentage of courses with full-time faculty as instructors than the other schools.
For example, in fall 2009, 72% of Stockton’s classes were offered by full-time faculty, and this was the
highest percentage of the state colleges. The College of New Jersey had the second highest percentage
of courses (67%) taught by full-time faculty. The remaining colleges and Universities ranged from 66.7%
to 48.7% of courses taught by full-time faculty.
Percent of undergraduate courses
taught by full-time faculty
Percent of post-baccalaureate and graduate
courses taught by full-time faculty
Fall 2003
69.4
75.9
Fall 2004
71.9
76.3
Fall 2005
73.3
84.4
Fall 2006
75.1
82.3
Fall 2007
75.3
78.8
Fall 2008
74.4
72.5
Fall 2009
71.8
72.4
Fall 2010
70.6
75.2
Average
72.8
76.7
Percent of courses taught by full-time faculty at other New Jersey Colleges and Universities, fall 2009
The College of New Jersey
Kean University
Montclair State University
New Jersey City University
Ramapo College of NJ
Rowan University
Thomas Edison State University
William Patterson
%
67
46
53
60
66
57
Not available
55
When Stockton began offering graduate programs just prior to our last Self Study, some of the faculty
members opposed this development out of concern for its impact on the undergraduate programs.
Some faculty believed that the introduction of graduate programs would reduce faculty availability to
undergraduates. In order to address the question of the impact of the addition of new graduate
programs to faculty workload resources, the committee looked at data to determine whether adjunct
usage increased in undergraduate programs that are likely to be impacted by Stockton’s graduate
programs. The committee also contacted directors of graduate programs in disciplines where Stockton
also has an undergraduate major. Coordinators of undergraduate programs that act as feeders for
Stockton’s MA and DPT programs were also interviewed.
One indicator of strain on undergraduate programs would be a decrease in the percentage of
undergraduate courses being taught by full-time faculty. Table ___ includes data for specific
undergraduate programs at Stockton. However, there are several additional factors that may influence
these fluctuations, such as availability of specialized faculty (during sabbaticals, for example) or
temporary surges and drops in enrollment. Nonetheless, the Criminal Justice, Nursing, Education, and
Social Work programs help to support MA/MS programs at Stockton in those same disciplines. While the
MS program in Nursing began in 1998, prior to the data collection period, Criminal Justice (fall 2005),
Education (fall 2004) and Social Work (fall 2009) are relatively new programs.
The percent of undergraduate courses taught by full-time faculty in Criminal Justice and Education
actually increased after the introduction of the graduate programs. The percent of full-time faculty
teaching in undergraduate teaching fluctuated in the Nursing program, and Social work gradually
increased its use of adjuncts over the past several years. While the addition of the MSW program may
contribute to the reliance on adjuncts in Social Work, other factors may be driving this reliance, since
the program’s use of adjuncts has been fluctuating for a few years. It is important to note that changes
in faculty workload, such as sabbaticals or course releases for service to the college can result in
fluctuations, especially in small programs. The college does not have graduate programs in
Environmental Science, Psychology, Biology, or History, but some of the faculty in Environmental
Sciences teach in the Professional Science MS program, and some History Program faculty teaching in
the MA program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. The Psychology and Biology faculty generally teach
undergraduate courses, but both of these programs are popular majors for students hoping to be
admitted to the MS program in Occupational Therapy or the Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy.
Since the workload of the faculty in the aforementioned programs is affected by the college’s graduate
offerings, they were included in this analysis. The Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy programs
were introduced in the late 1990s. During the data collection period, there was little difference in the
Psychology program’s participation in undergraduate courses. The Biology program did have some
fluctuations in full-time faculty offering undergraduate courses between 2003 and 2010. The
Environmental Sciences program did experience a slight drop in the percentage of undergraduate
courses taught by full-time faculty a year after the graduate program in Professional Sciences was
introduced. The History program does not appear to have been negatively impacted by its faculty’s
involvement in the Holocaust and Genocide MA program.
Percent of undergraduate courses taught by full-time faculty in programs that feed graduate
programs
Criminal Nursing Education Social Psychology Biology History Envl.
Justice
Work
Science
Fall
2003
Fall
2004
Fall
2005
Fall
2006
Fall
2007
Fall
2008
Fall
2009
67.4
66.7
16.7
90.9
84.6
70.7
52.6
92.3
65.2
100.0
25.0*
76.2
86.9
84.7
65.0
92.6
71.7*
100.0
22.7
81.0
82.6
77.4
84.2
96.0
73.9
100.0
31.3
76.2
87.5
85.1
88.5
100
74.4
100.0
37.7
72.4
89.3
85.1
84.2
94.7
72.5
80.0
43.6
82.6
87.3
83.7
73.1
92.1
80.0
75.0
37.5
75.0*
83.6
72.8
80.0
97.1*
Fall
76.3
64.3
42.6
64.0
87.9
2010
*Denotes when the corresponding graduate program began.
67.1
86.4
86.7
Most of the surveyed graduate directors and undergraduate coordinators expressed little concern about
the impact of the addition of graduate programs to the college. One graduate director did note that
while there was little impact on the workload of the feeder undergraduate program, this person
expressed concern about library funding increasing commensurate with the addition of graduate
programs. Evidence of the increase in library funding can be found in the college’s response to Standard
3. Another graduate director noted the strain that graduate program accreditation processes put on the
faculty and stated that it is difficult to focus on both an undergraduate and graduate programs
simultaneously. One undergraduate coordinator did state that that the start of a graduate program has
impacted the corresponding undergraduate program. The coordinator noted that the faculty must now
spend a good deal of time mentoring graduate students and participating on graduate thesis
committees rather than working with undergraduates.
The faculty at Stockton – full-time and part-time – are prepared and qualified for their roles.
Ninety-five percent of full-time faculty hold the highest degree in their field. In the 2008-2009 academic
year, the 271 full-time faculty published 21 books, 257 other published works, delivered 49
performances and exhibitions, gave 475 presentation of scholarship, served on 94 boards, and received
164 awards and grants. Full-time faculty have received more than $5,000,000 in grants and contracts in
each of the last three fiscal years, which is a substantive increase from less than $2,000,000 awarded in
the 2005 fiscal year (see evidence repository). Likewise, forty-three percent of the 220 part-time faculty
hold terminal degrees for their field of study (see evidence repository). Moreover, a sample of part-time
faculty resumes found that approximately ninety percent of part-time faculty have practitioner
experience in their field of teaching. In some schools all part-time faculty have practitioner experience
related to their teaching as well as graduate degrees. For example, all adjuncts in Health Sciences must
have Masters degrees in their field and at least two years of experience in their field and have expertise
in the specialty they are teaching. Part-time faculty without practitioner experience generally include
individuals who have recently competed graduate work (e.g., Masters in Education, Ph.D., M.F.A.).