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Faculty employment at 4-year colleges and universities

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  • Zhang, Liang
  • Liu, Xiangmin

Abstract

We examine the variation in employment levels of part-time faculty, full-time teaching faculty, and full-time professorial faculty across 4-year colleges and universities in the United States. Employment structures and practices in higher education institutions are determined by a variety of economic and institutional factors. For example, a 1% increase in the average salaries paid to professorial faculty increases the employment level of part-time faculty by 0.845%. A 1% increase in the average salaries paid to full-time teaching faculty reduces the employment level of full-time teaching faculty by 0.757%. Institutions located in large cities or suburban areas hire 31.3% more part-time faculty but 12.5% fewer full-time teaching faculty. Private institutions hire more part-time faculty than their public counterparts. A 10% increase in FTE student enrollment is associated with a 5.4% increase in the number of part-time faculty, a 10.1% increase in the number of full-time teaching faculty, and a 9.1% increase in professorial faculty. In addition, we find divergent patterns of temporal variability among these three types of faculty. While employment levels of full-time instructors and professorial faculty are rather consistent over time, there is a wide range of fluctuation in the employment of part-time faculty. Finally, the employment of part-time faculty is significantly affected by that of full-time teaching faculty. There is no substitution effect on the employment of professorial faculty.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Liang & Liu, Xiangmin, 2010. "Faculty employment at 4-year colleges and universities," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 543-552, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:29:y:2010:i:4:p:543-552
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ronald G. Ehrenberg & Liang Zhang, 2005. "Do Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty Matter?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(3).
    2. Rosen, Sherwin & Nadiri, M Ishaq, 1974. "A Disequilibrium Model of Demand for Factors of Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(2), pages 264-270, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Spencer, Marilyn & Gevrek, Deniz & Chambers, Valrie & Bowden, Randall, 2015. "Labor Supply and Productivity Responses to Non-Salary Benefits: Do They Work? If So, at What Level Do They Work Best?," IZA Discussion Papers 9153, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Ronald G. Ehrenberg, 2012. "American Higher Education in Transition," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(1), pages 193-216, Winter.
    3. Ozan Jaquette & Bradley R. Curs, 2023. "Enrollment Growth and Faculty Hiring at Public Research Universities," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(3), pages 349-378, May.

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