Abstract
Drawing on experience as a postsecondary speech educator, this commentary critiques administrative policies that prioritize publication counts over teaching quality and faculty judgment. It argues that pressures tied to enrollment decline, retrenchment, tenure insecurity, and managerial self preservation can make faculty the scapegoat and reduce educational quality. The essay challenges assumptions that teaching quality cannot be measured, that research and publication are equivalent, that publication totals are universally accepted measures of excellence, that submission readily produces publication, that publication guarantees quality, that experimental quantitative work should outrank other forms of inquiry, and that conference travel is justified only by presenting papers. It calls for administrators to trust faculty in balancing teaching, research, publication, and professional participation.
Recommended Citation
Owen, Gordon R.
(1983)
"Come On Administrators: Get Off Our Backs,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 45, Article 15.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol45/iss1/15
