31, no. 1 (Fall 1999): 7-9
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
No Works Cited |
|
Prospects at a Comprehensive Metropolitan University
ELVIRA GARCIA
YEARS of advising job candidates at MLA meetings have convinced me that many first-time job seekers lack an accurate understanding of the differences among the various types of colleges and universities in the United States. The ADFL has recognized a need to serve its job candidates better in this regard, and a session on the issue at the 1998 MLA convention attracted a large audience. Here I wish to elaborate on the features of comprehensive metropolitan universities. Although these universities differ in details, the characterization that follows fits most of them in general terms and distinguishes the employment experience at them from that at other types of schools. The sketch covers the broad configuration of such universities, the professional considerations of employment, the urban environment, and the common problems of institutions of this sort.
Comprehensive metropolitan universities are urban institutions with a mandate often restricted to, or at least focused on, the city's students and needs. The campus may be in the center of the city, not infrequently in an older, declining neighborhood. Sometimes the various colleges are dispersed across the city, and while many schools have handsome, open, and well-landscaped campuses, others are extremely urban and devoid of much open space at all. It's common for most of the students to be from the metropolitan area, and they frequently commute to campus. Bachelor's degrees are awarded, along with a substantial but not complete set of master's degrees, but doctoral degrees can be rare to nonexistent. Such schools are usually public, and they attract a large proportion of first-generation college students. The emphasis often is on professional colleges and job preparation rather than on a college of arts and sciences and a liberal education. There is frequently no foreign language requirement, especially in the professional colleges, although that unhappy situation is by no means universal.
"Comprehensive" means that many undergraduate majors are offered, but "metropolitan" usually means the absence of majors generally thought central to land-grant institutions (agriculture, range management, etc.) and often a reduced emphasis on disciplines requiring elaborate facilities (engineering, physical sciences, etc.). A number of disciplines, including foreign languages, may not be represented by a graduate program, while the size and quality of the library are limited compared with those of libraries at major research institutions. The physical facilities tend to range from marvelous to dreadful. Many metropolitan universities are well-funded and relatively new, with modern, well-equipped buildings. Other metropolitan institutions, heavily influenced by their particular state's history of funding for higher education, may have old, poorly maintained and equipped plants that cause significant disadvantages for faculty and students alike.
The "emerging" nature of many urban universities often produces diverse, controversial, and vague expectations for junior faculty members. Each generational cohort in the faculty may have its own views of what is, or ought to be, required for promotion, tenure, and merit raises, and these positions are reflected to different degrees in the formal written requirements as well as in the equally important and tenaciously enforced unwritten ones. Job seekers need to learn about both kinds of expectations before making decisions.
Regardless of the written rules, publications in national journals of decent reputation are usually required for promotion and tenure. Thus, released time for research is of great importance during the probationary period, although the availability of such support varies widely. Universities, colleges, and departments that informally require publications but fail to provide adequate released time do exist and should be avoided. Most, however, not only offer support appropriate for their research expectations but also set standards appropriate for an institution where teaching usually takes precedence over research. They can provide a desirable environment for the well-rounded academic who would avoid the high-pressure, intense focus on publication at major research institutions. A frequent lack of substantial financial resources beyond released time, however, often works to the disadvantage of faculty research in disciplines such as foreign languages, where funding from outside grants is difficult to obtain.
Another consideration is that, while comprehensive metropolitan universities may tenure professors with modest research accomplishments, they are increasingly disinclined to make such awards to poor classroom teachers. Again, regardless of the formal rules, one cannot expect a strong publication record alone to guarantee tenure and promotion.
Opportunities to make significant contributions in university service are usually extensive and sometimes valued, but as in most institutions of higher learning, they are best sampled lightly until tenure is won. Smaller departments often have extensive service agendas for new faculty members, however, especially for those who bring a novel expertise, and discovering such expectations ahead of time is vital.
Financial support for these institutions varies tremendously across the country, usually by state, and influences every aspect of academic life--buildings, salaries, equipment, tuition, research support, and so on. States like California, Michigan, and New York seem to be in severe financial difficulties at present, while many midwestern states are faring somewhat better, at least for now. The only safe generalization is that there is wide variation, not only in present levels of funding but, perhaps more important, in levels over considerable time. Also, states vary in the evenhandedness with which resources are distributed among the several types of universities; in some locations major research institutions are allowed to prosper at the inappropriate expense of the comprehensive metropolitan universities, while in other states a fair and reasonable distribution usually ensues.
One's colleagues may include older, less accomplished, and relatively insecure people hired during the great expansions of the 1960s, along with growing numbers of younger, more accomplished people, frequently with few faculty members in between. Each group reflects the job market and academic culture of its time, and research accomplishments often are the great difference and bone of contention. Depending on how far along a given department is with the task of cultural modernization, there may be either a contentious or a supportive environment for any new arrival. Over time, however, the prospects for reshaping a department in terms especially appropriate for younger faculty members are generally quite good.
In most instances the traditional student body is leavened by a substantial number of nontraditional students, often with superior credentials and promise, and international students may be more in evidence than students from other states. Part-time students abound and are sometimes the majority. The various metropolitan subcultures and social classes are usually adequately, if not always impressively, represented, and the resultant mix of students can be a major positive factor in the teaching experience. Truly rigorous admission standards are rare, remedial programs (however named) are common, and jobs and families demand time and energy, but students often excel under the influence of their peers and engaged instructors. A large proportion of graduates experience significantly enhanced lives as a result of their years in such universities, and many go on to advanced study in major research institutions.
Many foreign language undergraduate majors are preparing to teach in secondary schools, and often most of the graduate students in a department are established teachers. The modest size of the major programs may limit the range of upper-division courses that can be offered, and the lower-division service courses are inevitably vital to the department's health.
An urban location frequently influences the curriculum of a comprehensive metropolitan university. There may be an emphasis on programs in such areas as urban studies, public administration, social work, criminal justice, information technology, and business, but the fine arts may also flourish in a rich cultural environment. The presence of a symphony orchestra, art museum, ballet company, and auditorium is often reflected in arts programs on campus, while other urban resources such as major corporations, large ethnic communities, and a diverse population also contribute to university life. One's colleagues are often those drawn to the availability of such resources.
Finally, the prospects for metropolitan universities seem promising. Urban populations and student bodies at metropolitan universities are generally growing, while recent changes in student-aid programs have tended to promote a part-time, commuter approach for many students. Some comprehensive universities are experiencing a shift of lower-division students to community colleges, and that is of special concern to foreign language departments highly dependent on enrollment in lower-division service courses, but otherwise the future seems reasonably bright.
A large proportion of the job seekers in foreign languages could prosper and find professional fulfillment at a comprehensive metropolitan university, and many without experience of their own in such institutions should give them serious consideration. There are endemic problems to be noted as well, however. Less rigorous admissions standards correlate with significant numbers of students inadequately prepared to succeed at university work. Both retention and graduation rates are likely to be problematic, and there can be significant disagreement and conflict about possible solutions and about academic standards in general. Large campuses can seem impersonal and uncaring to both students and faculty, the lack of residential students can diminish the quality and breadth of student life, and a highly urban campus may alienate people accustomed to green space. Limited opportunities to teach graduate courses, a heavy lower-division teaching load, and limited library resources may burden some faculty members.
On the other hand, a knowledgeable, experienced, and diverse student body that is highly motivated and self-sufficient can provide teaching opportunities of great interest and satisfaction. Intellectually stimulating and rewarding research can be conducted in foreign languages without maximized support and facilities. And life in the urban milieu offers a richness that readily counterbalances many of the vicissitudes of city life. To feel needed and appreciated by a diverse group of successful students as one makes one's way to a good dinner before a fine play or concert is not chopped liver.
The author is Professor and Chair of Foreign Languages at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. This article is based on her presentation at the 1998 MLA convention in San Francisco, California.
© 1999 by the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages. All Rights Reserved.
