Academic Freedom and For-Profit Institutions
Hi Everyone,
After completed the second quiz in ED 101, some questions came to mind. For those of you who teach in for-profit institutions, what balance do you see between academic freedom of the professor and the preassigned syllabi? I have taught online at two for-profit institutions, and at both to my knowledge the professor is unable to add or alter any graded course material.
I understood this going in, but I was just curious if anyone else had comments on the positives and negatives of this situation.
John,
The key in using a standardized curriculum is to personalize it to your instructional style. You are doing this based upon your comments and examples. This lets you become invested in the teaching process as you move through the course.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Our instructors also have to work with a lesson plan we did not create. We're not allowed to omit any of it; however, we do have the freedom to add anything we consider pertinent to it, shuffle lessons around and present the material as we see fit. Exams are preassigned but we may create pop quizzes, additional study material, etc as we deem necessary and as time allows. The curriculum is reviewed annually and recommended changes to lesson plans, text books, etc. are analyzed and, once approved can be added to the course for the next year. It allows a good amount of freedom in what at first seems to be a very rigid system.
Hi Theodora,
Good point about equality among classes. If a college does not handle such situations it won't be long before they are going to have a host of students situations on their hands. The college needs to make all faculty aware of what standards are going to be in place and how they will be evaluated.
Gary
Whether the institution is For-Profit or not, the instructor needs to have academic freedom in the presentation of the course materials - this is often required by accreditation. Often I have found in my experience that faculty members who teach from a common course syllabus do the students a disservice by altering the grading scale in any way. Can you imagine having all of your students switch from your Comp I class to Professor X's because your final exam is worth 50% while his is worth only 20%?
I agree, Ellen.
Supplemetal materials help to engage a broader range of students in the classroom.
I also teach at a for-profit institution and have found that as long as the information that is included on the syllabus is covered, I am free to add material that I see is necessary after speaking with my clinical sites.
It depends on each individual for profit college:some colleges are stiff, they stick to much to the rules and some other colleges give you academic freedom; in my opinion the best is the middle, balanced level.
Hi Carla,
Great to hear! Always like to hear from a professional that likes what she/he is doing. Also good to hear about the freedom you have within the structured class to put your own stamp of delivery on your course.
Gary
It is frustrating. I always look out for extra material to enhance instruction. Although tests and texbooks and courses may be dicatated by the school there is often no rule against introducing extra activities or material which supports and enhances instruction.
Hi, this is my first time teaching for a for-profit institution. I love it!. We do have preassigned syllabi and lesson plans. However, we do have the ability to change books, add or subtract material, and create our own tests.
