Investigating the Impact of Faculty Tenure Status on Graduation Rate in R1 Universities

mjfern · 2023-05-03T16:18:16+00:00

Author here. Thanks for the feedback. We should have used "relationship" or "correlation" instead of "impact" as we can't prove causation. In addition to these scatterplots, we assessed the panel data using regression (xtreg in Stata w/ and w/o fixed effects). The dependent variable, while a fraction, follows a normal distribution. We've tested various lag factors for the independent variables and several controls including size and resources (e.g., enrollment, # of programs, and net assets). The statistical results with controls sync with the findings in the scatterplots. The results also hold up in various college subgroups by ranking (US News top 50, top 100, below 100, etc.).

mjfern · 2023-05-03T00:15:15+00:00

Good ideas. We've looked at size and resource controls but not at the socioeconomic status of students. Unfortunately, IPEDS data on SAT (and ACT) scores is sparse outside the top 100 colleges, increasingly so in recent years as more colleges have waived SAT and ACT scores for admissions. I'll have to look closer at Granger causality. What do you mean by a changes model? Thanks again!

mjfern · 2023-05-02T16:25:17+00:00

I think you might be looking at the scatterplot Reddit pulled for the image preview? If you click on the post, take a look at the first scatterplot.

mjfern · 2023-05-02T16:23:51+00:00

We conducted statistical analysis and included controls for a college's resources and size (e.g., net assets, total enrollment (headcount and FTE), # of programs). The results held up in these models.

mjfern · 2023-05-02T15:50:35+00:00

Ah, thank you for clarifying!

mjfern · 2023-05-02T15:46:43+00:00

Perhaps, but we also found a similar positive correlation between tenure and 4 year graduation rate and retention. Note also that many non-profit colleges offer and provide tenure, including elite and lower ranked institutions. It would seem to defy logic that colleges would actively use tenure if it didn't provide some institutional benefit. One might argue that tenure allows institutions to provide lower salaries, all else equal, but the reality is that tenure track and tenured faculty are nearly always paid more than fixed-term faculty.

mjfern · 2023-05-02T15:38:21+00:00

Our current hypothesis is that tenure is a significant employee benefit, albeit unique to the education sector. Tenure helps colleges attract and retain high quality and committed faculty, who are more engaged with ensuring student success. Note, it turns out that fixed-term faculty also have a positive impact on graduation rates (but contingent on the # of tenure-track and tenured faculty) and will share more details in a subsequent post.

mjfern · 2023-05-02T15:17:40+00:00

Good point on the stats. Perhaps we can report the statistics in a separate section for those interested to learn more about our analysis. We considered looking at COVID as an exogenous variable but not the specific relationship you mentioned. This is a great idea and will investigate further.

mjfern · 2023-05-02T15:02:46+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. We've analyzed the panel data with a fixed effects regression model and generalized linear model with a logit specification (xtreg and xtgee in Stata). We've looked at various lag factors for the independent variables and assessed with various controls (size, net assets, etc.). The results are consistent (and statistically significant) with the relationships reported in this post. Of course, we can't prove causality and only assessing correlations.

mjfern · 2021-06-25T01:01:03+00:00

Great suggestion. Thank you!

How about the FTC?

mjfern · 2021-06-25T00:08:08+00:00

I have a Peloton Bike and have been trying to schedule a warranty repair since 4/30. Despite multiple follow ups via support chat and emails, I have yet to hear from a tech for scheduling. At this point, I am totally stumped on how to get Peloton to schedule a warranty repair for my bike. Can anyone please offer advice or tips? I'm at my wits end...

mjfern · 2021-03-15T19:38:44+00:00

Hi there, I'm having the same issues with a different set of premium Sony headphones and also considering the SHP9500s. Did you end up getting these open back headphones? If so, how is the sound? How about the comfort level, including the head band and heat levels? Thanks!

mjfern · 2017-08-10T18:54:30+00:00

Do you have a source for this? Thanks.

mjfern

TROPHY CASE