Graduate Student and Faculty Trends from the CAUT Almanac

Some interesting tidbits from the 2012-13 CAUT Almanac: In 2009-10, women accounted for 54% of degree enrollment at the Master's level (down from 56% last year); holding steady at 47% at the Ph.D. level for 2009-2010. In 2010, 44,919 master's, and 5,736 degrees were awarded in Canada. Women accounted for 61.5% of Master's degrees; 44.3% of Doctorates that were awarded for 2009-2010. In 2011, 2,034 new full-time university teachers were appointed in Canada. 44.2% were women. The proportion of full-time university teachers employed beyond the age of 65 more than quadrupled between 2001 and 2011, to 5.1% of males and 3.8% of females. The number of 'senior' full-time university teachers exceeded the number of 'junior' teachers in 2010-11: 5.7% were within the 30-34 age bracket; 5.8% were between 65-69 years of age.

Mentoring Graduate Students

While scanning the literature for another topic, I recently came across two articles on graduate student mentoring published this year. Both focused on faculty mentorship, as much of the work in this area seems to. The first article, looks the significant impact of faculty mentorship on graduate student success an retention, acknowledging the changing demographic of the graduate student body, as well as the role of technology as important considerations for faculty setting out to provide guidance to the next generation of scholars. The second article, looks at faculty's perceived roles and responsibilities in their mentoring relationships with their graduate students.

There is a paucity of literature examining the effects of peer mentoring at the graduate level. There is much to be said for the establishment (whether formally or informally) of ties between fellow graduate students; opportunities for mentoring and even research and writing collaborative relationships can evolve among members of a program cohort, or even across institutions as graduate students network at conferences and meetings of professional associations. Further research would do well to explore this form of mentoring, the role peers may play in the development, success and retention of graduate students, and how to foster such relationships.

The Effect of Prestige at American Universities on Graduate Education

The most recent edition of the Journal of Higher Education features an article I have been eagerly anticipating: Keeping up with the Joneses: Socialization and Culture in Doctoral Education at One Striving University, by Susan K. Gardner. In the article, Gardner discusses the role of institutional prestige and rankings at American universities, and the effect this has on students, faculty, and the quality of graduate education programs. Gardner’s research at one third-tier university indicates that in their effort to increase their ranking to keep up with the most prestigious institutions of higher learning, lower-ranking universities may in fact be unintentionally undermining the quality of education. Such middle- to -lower ranking universities try to attract the ‘best’ scholars and students, but doing so requires funding and resources for research, areas in which many of these institutions are ultimately lacking. The reality is that such “superstar” faculty who get hired on devote little time to teaching and mentoring graduate students, and/or become disillusioned, many of them leaving, resulting in high turnover rates and setting a pattern in play of poorer quality programs and thus affecting the reputation of the university.

One’s institutional affiliation is an important factor to consider when enrolling in graduate study, particularly in the U.S., where prestige and ranking are considered important (though maybe not the most ideal) methods for measuring the success of a university. In Canada, this is not so much the case, but I think it definitely plays a role. Certain campuses are certainly less well known than others, and access to funding and resources is distributed less than equally across the country, as is the case around the world. How much do Canadian graduate students pay attention to how well their chosen institution is renowned (or not)? Do prestige and rankings matter all that much- to us, to faculty, or the institution? How much of a role does where one completed graduate work play in the job market or in seeking a career in academia? Should it play a role at all?

Post-Doctoral Transitions

New opportunities are available for experienced faculty looking for a career change. Tulane University and the University of Florida are two of five universities now offering the Post-Doctoral Bridge to Business Program, endorsed by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSG); which aims to prepare experienced doctoral faculty from non-business disciplines for new careers as business faculty and to qualify them to teach in such areas as accounting and finance, marketing, management, supply chain management, international business, entrepreneurship, and more. The program arose in response to a faculty shortage in business schools.

According to this article,

"All participants of the Post-Doctoral Bridge to Business Programs must have a doctorate degree from an institution recognized for producing successful scholars, and as appropriate, the institution must maintain any necessary specialized accreditation for that field. Candidates must show excellent capabilities for conducting scholarly research and teaching in a field related to the business discipline for which they are applying. Graduates receive a certificate of completion indicating that they are qualified to teach in their respective business discipline at an AACSB-accredited school for five years from the date of graduation. To maintain academic qualification past the five-year period, each graduate must perform appropriate activities as both a scholar and a teacher."

Similar programs would be beneficial to new post-docs, looking to diversify their portfolios and boost their employability. Even better, such initiatives could be offered in conjunction with traditional graduate schools.

Transitioning from Student to Faculty/Post-Doc

This article offers advice to those making the transition from graduate student to faculty member or postdoctoral fellow, based on conversations with those who have recently gone through the process. The writers of the article, Julie Miller Vick and Jennifer S. Furlong, are the authors of the book, "The Academic Job Search Handbook", an excellent reference that I highly recommend for graduate students contemplating an academic career as well as those on the job hunt.