ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 28, 1996 TAG: 9612300035
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PHILIP WALZER LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
One in six lower-level courses at both the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech is taught by graduate students, a state study says.
The statistics, Virginia education officials say, invalidate the notion that big schools are leaving much of the teaching of basic courses to inexperienced graduate students.
``Certainly, it's low compared to everyone's worst fears,'' said Margaret Miller, associate director of the State Council of Higher Education, which released the report. ``It looks to me like the undergraduate students in Virginia's public colleges and universities are getting a good deal.''
Gordon Davies, director of the council, said, ``What you see is a very strong commitment to teach by teachers, and that's very encouraging.''
Of all freshman and sophomore courses in the fall of 1994, 16.3 percent at Tech and 16.0 percent at UVa were taught by graduate students, according to the report.
Radford University had the next-highest, 9.3 percent. The figures at Old Dominion and Norfolk State universities were 6.1 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
Six of Virginia's 15 state-supported four-year schools, including Christopher Newport University, had no graduate assistants teaching those courses, the study said.
The U.S. Department of Education does not calculate national breakdowns. But across the country, large universities from Yale to Stanford have been accused of handing over the teaching responsibilities for a large chunk of courses to graduate students while senior faculty focus on research.
A 1993 Virginian-Pilot computer analysis of classes across Virginia found sharply higher numbers of graduate students teaching freshman composition. Eighty-nine percent of freshman English sections at UVa and 31 percent at Tech were led by graduate students in the 1992-93 school year, the analysis said.
Since then, however, UVa officials say they have cut the size of their graduate student body by more than 10 percent.
At Virginia Tech, senior Joe Yack of Richmond said: ``I think most of the general classes are taught by professors. ... It's good to have professors teaching at the freshman and sophomore level, because they're more willing to work with you than a graduate student, who has a lot of other things on his mind.''
The Virginia study was based on total credit hours. It divided the types of teachers into three categories: ``regular faculty,'' ``other faculty'' and ``graduate teaching assistants.''
Freshmen and sophomores at Mary Washington College and the College of William and Mary had the best chance of getting regular, or full-time, faculty. Those professors teach 93.4 percent of the lower-level classes at Mary Washington and 86.5 percent at William and Mary.
Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason universities had the lowest share of regular faculty for those courses - 55.0 percent and 57.9 percent, respectively. That's because they had the highest proportion of ``other faculty,'' or part-time professors, teaching lower-level classes - 38.5 percent at VCU, and 34.2 percent at George Mason.
Higher-education critics have pointed to the increasing reliance on part-time professors as another way colleges have reduced the quality of education while cutting costs. But Miller said the students at George Mason and VCU are benefiting from the heavy use of part-time specialists.
``They are drawing upon the professional experiences of people in their communities,'' she said. VCU, for example, ``can make use of the medical expertise of a very broad community.''
The state council study showed higher percentages of upper-level classes, for juniors and seniors, taught by ``regular faculty.'' All schools had rates above 75 percent, except for George Mason's 71.1 percent. In the upper-level category, none had more than 4 percent of classes taught by graduate students, except for Tech, at 6.9 percent.
The study did not include private schools such as Virginia Wesleyan College, which does not have any graduate students.
The state report also found that:
* Business is still a hot major. At NSU, 18 percent of students major in business, more than in any other category. It is also the most popular discipline at Christopher Newport, George Mason, James Madison and Virginia State.
* Engineering was No. 1 at ODU, with 17 percent of students.
* Social sciences led the way at W&M, with 29 percent. Life sciences were tops at Virginia Tech, with 22 percent, and visual and performing arts had the biggest share at Virginia Commonwealth, with 17 percent.
* Every degree program at NSU requires students to ``integrate and apply their knowledge.'' That could include an internship, a ``capstone course'' or a senior project. Longwood was the only other school with a perfect record.
William and Mary had the lowest percentage, at 31 percent of all programs.
* Students at community colleges are almost evenly divided in three tracks: 41,000 plan to transfer to a four-year college for a bachelor's degree; 42,000 are pursuing a vocational/technical degree or diploma; and 44,000 are ``unclassified,'' meaning that they may be taking a noncredit course or getting retrained for a job.
``The numbers reflect the diverse mission of the community colleges,'' Miller said.
The state council plans to publish copies of the study by February. For copies, call (804)225-2137.
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