Feasibility of Reducing Mathematics Faculty in R1 Universities Without Harming Instruction

Determine whether a Carnegie R1 research university can reduce both tenured/tenure-track and non-tenure-track mathematics faculty while still adequately serving its educational community and meeting undergraduate mathematics instructional needs, particularly in contexts where the ratio of undergraduates enrolled in mathematics courses to total mathematics faculty is high.

Background

The paper analyzes resource allocation pressures on mathematics departments within Carnegie R1 institutions and presents empirical correlations between institutional research indices (ARIS) and instructional load metrics such as the ratio of undergraduate students in mathematics courses to total mathematics faculty.

Using West Virginia University (WVU) as a case study, the author notes that as this ratio grows beyond 150:1, aggregate research indicators decline. Against this backdrop, WVU plans to reduce both tenured/tenure-track and non-tenure-track mathematics faculty, raising the unresolved question of whether an R1 can still properly meet mathematics instructional needs after such reductions.

References

It is unclear how effectively an R1 can then lower the number of both TT and NTT faculty in mathematics as WVU plans to do and still serve its educational community properly or even meet the instructional needs of its student body in mathematics.

— Are University Budget Cuts Becoming A Threat to Mathematics? with Additional Discussion  (2404.09360 - Fuller, 2024) in Section: University and Mathematics Research Activity, paragraph following Table “Characteristics of mathematics departments at R1s”