Section 2.8: Faculty

Judgment of Compliance

Requirement

Narrative

McNeese State University is in compliance with Comprehensive Standard 2.8.

McNeese State University employs a diverse, qualified faculty whose professional accomplishments and expertise in their respective fields support the University’s mission as a selective admissions institution. Since the University’s primary mission as is to provide “education, research and service,” faculty members are the central figures in ensuring that mission is properly executed. Through delivery of “associate, baccalaureate, and specific graduate curricula distinguished by academic excellence,” the faculty conducts teaching, research, and service activities that have resulted in continuous accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and have further contributed to accreditation of numerous individual academic programs.

The University’s curriculum has been developed and is maintained in such a way as to maximize faculty teaching loads, physical classroom space, and library and instructional support resources to ensure quality instruction is delivered to undergraduate and graduate students who enroll in the University from year to year. McNeese State University has sufficient faculty members who work in a collaborative manner to support the mission of the University and to strive for the highest academic standards, both in their individual and collective pursuits of excellence in teaching, research, and service.

The University mission is to offer associate, baccalaureate, and specific graduate curricula distinguished by academic excellence. Through quality teaching, research, and service, the University strives to achieve accreditation in all eligible programs, evidence of its commitment to southwest Louisiana and beyond. To realize these objectives, McNeese has developed quality curricula, the core ingredients of which enable the University to sustain the accredited programs. Needed faculty resources are provided to support seventy-nine degree offerings to approximately 8300 students who attend the University.

Adequacy in Faculty Numbers

"Excellence with a personal touch” is more than a motto; it represents a cornerstone of the educational and administrative philosophy of the entire campus community. Implicit in this theme are the core values of “academic excellence, student success, fiscal responsibility, and university-community linkages” that are intimately tied to the University’s mission. The University seeks to honor these values by allocating faculty teaching loads and implementing class size limits that are appropriate to the subjects taught and the educational level of students receiving instruction. The University motto is accomplished by providing small class sizes and adequate full-time faculty members to teach course offerings.

McNeese employs faculty members whose academic preparation is appropriate to the content areas in which they teach and are in compliance with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges standards for faculty qualifications. The statistics below reflect the adequacy of staff as it relates to student population:

• 305 full-time and 103 part-time, adjunct faculty members were employed by the University at the beginning of the fall 2005 academic term;

• Full-time faculty taught 86 percent of all class sections offered; part-time adjunct faculty taught 10 percent of all class sections offered;

• Graduate assistants taught three percent of classes;

• University administrative staff with proper academic credentials taught one percent.

• More than 80 percent of all upper-division undergraduate courses and more than 90 percent of all graduate courses offered during the Fall 2005 academic term were taught by tenured and tenure-track faculty. Table 1 below illustrates the number of sections offered and the distribution of faculty, by rank, teaching those sections.

McNeese employs faculty members who meet SACS-COC standards for faculty qualifications. The University employed 305 full-time faculty members for the fall 2005 semester. While McNeese makes every effort to recruit and retain full-time faculty for teaching purposes, 103 qualified part-time adjunct faculty members were hired in fall 2005 to meet students' needs and/or to bring specialized expertise into the classroom. The list below reflects the ratio of student to faculty member according to rank:

• In fall 2005, full-time faculty taught 86 percent of the class sections offered;

• Part-time adjunct faculty taught 10 percent;

• Graduate assistants taught three percent;

• Administrators or University staff with proper credentials taught one percent of the sections. Table 1 shows these data related to the number of sections taught and by whom. Full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members teach the majority of upper-level (300 and 400 series) and graduate courses. During fall 2005, tenured and tenure-track faculty taught 81 percent of upper-level undergraduate courses and 92 percent of graduate courses (see Table 1).

McNeese State University values class size as an indicator of instructional quality that significantly impacts adequate allocation of faculty resources. The University, in keeping with its core values of academic excellence and student success, strives to maintain class sizes that permit maximum faculty-student interaction. Sixty-five percent of undergraduate class sections offered during the fall 2005 academic term contained fewer than 30 students. Figure 1 illustrates undergraduate course section student enrollment per course for Fall 2005. Another indicator of adequacy in faculty numbers is class size. McNeese strives to make certain that class sizes are kept as small as practically possible, allowing for the high level of student/faculty interaction–"the personal touch"– described in the motto. Figure 1 below illustrates the number of students enrolled per class section for undergraduate level courses during fall 2005. Sixty-five percent of the class sections contained fewer than 30 students.

Average class size for lower-level classes during the fall 2005 term was 29.9 students. The average class size for upper-level classes was 18.2 students. Graduate level classes averaged 10.2 students enrolled per course section. These data, reflected below in Table 2, illustrate than the number of faculty teaching during the fall 2005 term was adequate to support the University’s mission and core values. Table 2 illustrates average class sizes by college and level of instruction during fall 2005. The average class size for lower-level classes was 29.9 students; the average class size for upper-level classes was 18.2 students; and graduate level classes averaged 10.2 students per class section. These numbers illustrate that an adequate number of faculty members were available for university course offerings.

The average ratio of faculty to students, across all academic divisions of the University during the fall 2005 term, was 23:1. Table 3 below illustrates faculty to student ratio by academic college and the University as a whole. Student to faculty ratio for the University during fall 2005 was 23:1. Table 3 provides student to faculty ratio by college, for the fall 2005 semester.

The faculty-student ratio demonstrates the University’s commitment to providing adequate faculty resources in support of its degree programs and in harmony with its core values of academic excellence and student success. The student-to-faculty ratio demonstrates that the University provides adequate faculty numbers to support its degree program offerings and its goal of “Excellence with a personal touch.”

Adequacy of Faculty Resources

Adequacy of faculty resources may also be evaluated, in part, on the basis of degree attainment. Sixty-seven percent of the University’s 305 full-time faculty held terminal degrees in their respective disciplines during the fall 2005 academic term. Figure 2 illustrates the degree attainment of full-time faculty who taught during the fall 2005 term. In judging adequacy of faculty resources, it is important to note that faculty qualification is supported by degrees held. In fall 2005, 67 percent of the university’s 305 full-time faculty members held terminal degrees in their respective disciplines. Figure 2 provides data relevant to degrees held.

Adequacy in faculty resources is also demonstrated by the quality of academic programs provided by the University. The Louisiana Board of Regents clearly links adequacy of academic programs to nationally recognized accreditation of programs in their respective fields, where such bodies exist. In its General Policy on Program Accreditation, the Board states that all programs that are eligible for accreditation by an agency must be so accredited to receive continued Board approval. All eligible programs at McNeese are so accredited.

Rank and tenure status among the full-time faculty of all academic divisions of the University further confirms the adequacy of faculty resources to fulfill the institution’s mission as a “selective admissions institution.”

• Eighty-three percent of all full-time faculty of the University had achieved professor, associate professor, or assistant professor rank;

• Seventeen percent of full-time faculty held rank as instructor or lecturer during the fall 2005 term;

• Ninety percent of all faculty had achieved tenure or were one tenure track during the fall 2005 term. Tables 4 and 5 below illustrate the University’s commitment to ensuring that full-time faculty with appropriate academic credentials and scholarly achievements are the primary conveyors of instruction, research and service activities within the campus community. Adequacy of faculty resources is further validated when reviewing the distribution of faculty, by rank and tenure, across the academic divisions of the University. Among the colleges that comprise McNeese State University, the distribution of faculty, both in rank and tenure status also attests to the adequacy of faculty resources. As Table 4 shows, the University employs faculty at all ranks.

Diversity of Faculty

As yet another indicator of faculty quality, faculty diversity is highly valued at McNeese. In the Fall 2005 semester 45 percent of the full-time faculty members in Fall 2005 were female, and 13 percent of full-time faculty were minority.

Supporting Evidence

Table 1: Number of Sections Taught by Faculty Type, Fall 2005

Figure 1: Number of Students Enrolled in Undergraduate Class Section

Table 2: Average Class Sizes by College and Level of Instruction

Table 3: Student to Faculty Ratio by College, Fall 2005

Figure 2: Degree Status of Full-Time Faculty, Fall 2005

Tabe 4: Full-Time Faculty by Academic Rank, Fall 2005

Table 5: Full-Time Faculty by Tenure Status, Fall 2005

Table 6: Fall 2005 Full-Time Faculty by Race and Gender