2016 undergraduate study in psychology: Faculty characteristics and online teaching.
Abstract
Who is teaching undergraduate psychology and how it is being taught both constitute vital questions for the discipline and higher education. The 2016 Undergraduate Study in Psychology assessed faculty characteristics, teaching responsibilities, and online teaching. A total of 223 responding psychology programs (32% return rate) represented 4 institutional strata: those granting associate degrees only or dominant, bachelor’s degrees only, bachelor’s plus master’s degrees, and bachelor’s plus doctoral degrees. The percentage of full-time female faculty ranged from 47–61% across institutions and racial/ethnic minority faculty from 12–15%, both representing steady increases over the decades. Faculty teaching at institutions awarding associate degrees most commonly held master’s degrees (38%) followed by PhD degrees (30%), although the majority held some doctoral degree. Most (68%) undergraduate psychology courses were taught by full-time faculty across institutions except for associate programs, where part-time faculty taught almost half of the offerings. Full-time faculty on the semester system taught an average of 18.6 credits. Overall, 26% of undergraduate psychology courses were offered and 17% of psychology credits were taken online. About 16% of undergraduate institutions offered psychology degrees entirely online. These 2016 findings were compared with earlier survey results to portray the historical evolution and probable future of undergraduate education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication Title
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology
Recommended Citation
Hailstorks, R., Stamm, K., Norcross, J., Pfund, R., & Christidis, P. (2019). 2016 undergraduate study in psychology: Faculty characteristics and online teaching.. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 5 (1), 52-60. https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000134
