Thursday, November 15, 2001

Help Wanted
More faculty needed for students sake

One of the first lessons they teach in Elementary Statistics is that numbers can lie. TCU’s printed student-faculty ratio has been misleading the public for years. The 15-1 ratio looks good on paper, but it represents an average of the university as a whole instead of reflecting true numbers campuswide.

When looking at colleges, students often want a place with a “small school feel.” In some majors, TCU doesn’t just feel small; it’s downright tiny. But generally, as the university has grown, the chances of getting lost in a lecture hall have increased dangerously.

The numbers don’t reflect the real need. TCU needs more full-time faculty for certain growing departments. Students will be better served. But the challenge lies in a lack of practical funding.

Chancellor Michael Ferrari has said high-quality institutions want ratios as low as possible, but he also stresses the importance of keeping tuition costs reasonable.
And so the balancing act begins.

Departments are waging war against both an administration who needs to tighten the purse strings and a student population tired of seeing costs rise each year.

Adding faculty takes time, money and facility space, but in some departments there’s a dire faculty shortage. TCU must find a practical solution to a problem which has been slowing creeping up on us. We can longer ignore the numbers.

The university could consider limiting undergraduate enrollment, but that action could have a serious impact on the overall budget. Fewer students means less money.

Less money means less financial support for faculty salaries and institutional programs.

The TCU Fact Book clearly indicates that some departments and schools have a serious need for additional faculty, especially when the definition behind the numbers is explained.

More accurate ratios would highlight the problems with faculty-to-student ratios in specific areas, but accuracy is not a solution. Money is always tight, but we can’t ignore the facts — TCU must hire more faculty.