Career Track Utilization

Introduction

This report summarizes an analysis of the utilization of Career Track (CT) faculty compared to Non-Career Track (Non-CT) faculty across different colleges or departments within the University of Arizona. The analysis is based on the ratio of Student Credit Hours (SCH) taught by CT faculty to Non-CT faculty in each college.

Analysis by College

AGSC (College of Agricultural Sciences)

CT to Non-CT SCH Ratio: 3.42
CT SCH Sum: 7,803.83
Non-CT SCH Sum: 21,851.33

The high CT to Non-CT SCH ratio indicates a strong presence of Career Track faculty teaching courses compared to Non-Career Track faculty in AGSC.

BUSN (College of Business)

CT to Non-CT SCH Ratio: 3.46
CT SCH Sum: 9,391.92
Non-CT SCH Sum: 27,598.52

Similar to AGSC, the College of Business also shows a high CT to Non-CT SCH ratio, indicating significant reliance on Career Track faculty.

ENGR (College of Engineering)

CT to Non-CT SCH Ratio: 0.35
CT SCH Sum: 12,562.93
Non-CT SCH Sum: 35,433.26

In contrast, the College of Engineering has a low CT to Non-CT SCH ratio, suggesting a greater reliance on Non-Career Track faculty.

MDTC (College of Medical Technology)

CT to Non-CT SCH Ratio: 2.04
CT SCH Sum: 20,558.52
Non-CT SCH Sum: 10,092.90

MDTC shows a moderate CT to Non-CT SCH ratio, indicating a higher presence of Career Track faculty.

SBSC (College of Social Science)

CT to Non-CT SCH Ratio: 0.96
CT SCH Sum: 64,021.23
Non-CT SCH Sum: 66,797.15

The College of Social Science demonstrates a near-equal ratio, suggesting a balanced contribution of Career Track and Non-Career Track faculty.

SCNC (College of Science)

CT to Non-CT SCH Ratio: 1.66
CT SCH Sum: 116,936.41
Non-CT SCH Sum: 70,620.10

The College of Science has a moderate CT to Non-CT SCH ratio, with Career Track faculty playing a significant role in teaching.

Conclusion

Enhanced utilization of Career Track faculty within academic institutions signifies a deliberate allocation of instructional responsibilities to faculty members specifically appointed and committed to prioritizing teaching efficiency. This strategic allocation, in turn, allows Tenure Track faculty members to avail themselves of increased opportunities to engage in contractual research endeavors. Conversely, in colleges where Career Track faculty ratios remain suboptimal, and the volume of Student Credit Hours (SCH) attributed to career track faculty fails to reflect their intended utilization, colleges may find themselves compelled to delegate teaching responsibilities to adjunct and lecturer positions, thereby amplifying the overall teaching workload for faculty members who are concurrently tasked with advancing research initiatives alongside their teaching commitments. This divergence in utilization patterns underscores the distinct approaches employed by various colleges in balancing the dual imperatives of research productivity and effective teaching within their academic programs. This cursory analysis reveals variations in the utilization of Career Track faculty across different colleges. AGSC and BUSN have a higher reliance on Career Track faculty, while ENGR shows a higher reliance on Non-Career Track faculty. Other colleges like SBSC have a more balanced teaching load between Career Track and Non-Career Track faculty.