ROPS 2012

PORTRAIT OF THE DISENGAGED

Steven G. Brint
Allison M. Cantwell
2012

The topic of undergraduate academic engagement has been a matter of intense inquiry for more than a generation. This paper examines the other side of the coin: the size and characteristics of academically disengaged populations. Drawing on classic sociological work on conformity and deviance, we theorize four dimensions of student academic disengagement: values disengagement, behavioral disengagement, alternative involvement, and interactional disengagement. Using survey data, we estimate the size of disengaged populations along each of these dimensions and the characteristics of...

THE FACULTY PROMOTION AND MERIT SYSTEM IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES:THE CASES OF WUHAN UNIVERSITY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS

Cristina González
Yamin Liu
Xiaoling Shu
2012

Any serious inquiry about improving the quality of a university must begin with an examination of its faculty promotion and merit procedures, since a university’s quality cannot be higher than that of its faculty. In this essay, we will examine the tenure track or regular faculty promotion and merit systems at the University of California, Davis, and Wuhan University, with a view towards understanding how they motivate the professoriate and foster creativity. In our analysis, we will pay special attention to compensation, as well as to work-life balance, issues. Our hope is to...

EXPLORING CANDIDATES, ELECTIONS, CAMPAIGNS, AND EXPENDITURES IN CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICTS, 2004-2010

Patrick Murphy
Max Neiman
Jelena Hasbrouck
2012

Previous recommendations to eliminate the district-level, elected boards have met with strong local resistance, particularly from faculty. The findings in this report do little to strengthen the case for locally elected, community college boards, however. The highlights of our findings are as follows: (1) a very high proportion of trustees seem to choose not to run for re-election and, overall, relatively few individuals choose to compete for trustee positions; (2) nearly half of the races involve just two individuals competing for a trustee seat; (3) there are some districts where...

CHANGES IN KNOWLEDGE CULTURES AND RESEARCH ON STUDENT LEARNING

Monika Nerland
2012

This paper discusses how contemporary changes in knowledge cultures and practices alter conditions for student learning in higher education and what this may imply for research on student learning. Drawing on perspectives from social studies of knowledge, it is argued that the general emphasis on science in society generates an increased research orientation also in professional programs and brings with it a focus not only on science-based knowledge but also on the investigative processes through which knowledge is produced and validated. Changes are also related to the emergence of...