In the spring of my freshman year of college, Martha Strohschein reinvigorated my passion for writing.
Her English 2000 class hammered vigorous work ethics, research elements, writing skills and critical thinking into the 80-minute 7:30 a.m. class. She built a solid academic foundation for every class thereafter.
Since taking her class two years ago, Strohschein has become both a friend and mentor, always willing to hash out political thoughts and project ideas in her small office in Allen Hall.
She is one of the many instructors who received termination letters in the face of 2010’s budget cuts. University administration revealed in 2010 what is bound to happen in 2015 — budgetary downsizing will target instructors.
Luckily for Strohschein, and in turn, me and all of her past, present and future students, the layoffs in 2010 did not affect the 27-year veteran of the English department. However, the same was not true for the mentors and inspirations of thousands of other students.
Instructors are arguably the best teachers on campus, as their departments judge them on teaching performance rather than research. They listen closely to the heartbeat of student learning and adapt their teaching methods to an ever-changing youth.
Despite effectiveness in the classroom, they will be the first up on Gov. Bobby Jindal’s $567 million higher education chopping block.
Jindal’s proposed financing options for decreasing the burden of budget cuts, such as scaling back tax-break programs, are unlikely to pass through the legislature with business lobbyists biting at the heels of state representatives.
The University is switching to a plus/minus grading system to increase academic competition with other schools, but it will likely cut the instructors that provide the important groundwork required for higher-level classes.
According to an analysis of University employee salaries by LSUreveille.com, University instructors make just about as much money as a high school teacher in Louisiana. To keep professors and administrators, the University will terminate a large amount of its instructors.
LSU will cut instructors, scale back or eliminate classes and most definitely raise tuition.
The forthcoming tuition hike asks parents and students to invest more money to a university that is firing some of its most capable teachers. The education site Noodle surveyed nearly 1,000 parents with children in high school or college and found parents want their children to acquire real-world marketable skills rather than a first-rate academic experience.
The reality is most parents don’t care about a professor’s research. They care about what and how the professor is teaching their students.
Undoubtedly, academic research is irreplaceable in today’s society, and most academic research aids a professor in his or her teachings. Some of my favorite professors only teach one or two classes, spending the rest of their time on invaluable research.
However, research universities like LSU need to change their formulas to include instruction when determining tenure, or they risk deepening the discord between parents and higher education.
The 1,200-percent increase in higher education tuition since 1978 increases a parent’s stake in the system.
Elementary and high school teachers are expected to receive a certain amount of annual training to teach, but college professors go from receiving their doctorate to teaching a class full of 20-something year olds without a day of training.
Good research does not always equate to good instruction. Public research universities can either realize this and adapt, or suffer from the bubbling anger and dissatisfaction among parents and students.
Universities should base tenure off scholarship and instruction, rewarding employees who utilize innovative teaching methods such as team-teaching across different subjects and utilizing social media.
Until the University changes its evaluation of teachers, it must retain effective instructors or risk failing student’s academic needs in the classroom. Cut money somewhere else, redirect funds or ask for more private donations, but don’t lay off some of the most academically influential men and women on campus.
If you get rid of instructors like Strohschein, students fail to acquire the real-world marketable skills needed to survive in today’s competitive workforce.
The universities that realize this and reform their education models to fit the needs of their consumers will survive higher education’s changing environment. Those who fail to reform will die out. It’s the law of the market place.
Justin DiCharia is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from Slidell, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @JDiCharia.