Professors Advisors And Instructors
What is a 'professor'?
A professor is a full time employee of the college who has the credentials, usually a PHD or what we call a terminal degree, in their field. The professors are responsible for preparing the curriculum, designing the courses, making sure that the major requirements are always current and up to date, and of course they teach the courses.
What is an 'advisor' in college?
An advisor in college is someone who is assigned to assist a student to be successful throughout their four years in school. Many times an advisor is a faculty member, but depending upon the college or university, the advisor can also be a professional staff person who is trained in the basics of general education, as well as all of the requirements for the various majors.
What is the difference between a professor and an advisor?
A professor is a professional who is teaching in the classroom and offers the course content and assesses students performance and gives a grade. They are also able to assist students with issues surrounding their major or their interests, their professional interests beyond college. But often times the professors does not know the details or really is not qualified to go into specifics about the future beyond that particular class. That's where the advisor comes in. The advisor can be a faculty member, but it is not necessarily someone who teaches classes. The advisors job is to assist the students with questions such as: How does this class help me graduate? How does this class fit into my major pattern? How does this class help me when I graduate and get out there and work? And what kinds of jobs can I have with this major?
What kinds of questions should I ask my advisor?
Advisors are very important people to your educational success. Each semester, there is often a regular meeting that you will have with your advisor and before you go in to meet with your advisor, always be prepared. That person is there to help you, but they also have many people that they need to meet with as well. So use the time wisely. To prepare, always go in with a list of questions. For instance, after reviewing your catalog and your course schedule for the next two, three of four years, your plan for graduation, continue to ask 'Am I on the right path for graduation?' Share with your advisor any new interests that may have come up and say perhaps there's a new course you would like to take. Maybe you even want to change your major and you want to just try that idea out with someone who has been there before and might know the answer. An advisor can also tell you what sorts of courses would be best for you to take if you are interested in a minor. Or the advisor also, can many times, make referrals for you to other areas in the college that can help you and answer other questions that maybe you want to know like 'What kinds of employment can I find with this degree'? or 'What sorts of volunteer jobs or jobs in the community can I do that can better help me to apply what I'm learning in the classroom to the real world'?
What is an 'instructor' and how do they differ from professors?
Professors are employees of the institution, meaning that they are long term employees who are in charge of designing the curriculum as well as making sure that the curriculum is up to date. Instructors are temporary employees who are hired on a semester or yearly basis to assist the faculty to teach the courses. So many times when there are a lot of people who want to take a particular course and there are more students who are interested in taking the course than there are professors to teach it, instructors are hired to teach the class that particular year to be able to accommodate for the need.
What is an 'associate professor'?
An associate professor is a person who has completed their doctorate degree, or the highest level of education in their field, and have continued to work in that field after graduation by teaching at the school as well as by doing independent research. Through the process of doing independent research and teaching and doing service to the community, this person acquires enough experience to seek a full professor position at the college. In order to do that, they apply and seek associate professorship. It is one step on the way to become a full professor.
What is a 'teaching assistant' or 'TA'?
Do full professors teach undergraduate courses?
Depending upon the university or college, full professors may teach undergraduate courses. Oftentimes, it does depend upon the focus of the institution. If it is a large research institution, particularly state universities, full professors may teach one or two undergraduate courses or maybe none at all. Oftentimes associate professors, graduate assistants and instructors are hired to teach undergraduate courses at larger institutions. At a smaller college, liberal arts colleges or community colleges, they do teach undergraduate student on a regular basis. And oftentimes that's one of the benefits of going to a smaller school, it is the opportunity to be able to be taught by a PhD or someone who has the highest credential in their field.
How can I reach faculty members outside of class?
All faculty members who teach courses are accessible by office hours. Office hours are the time that the faculty member sets aside to meet with students outside of class. Each faculty member has their own particular style in how they organize their office hours. A student can find out about office hours by looking in the syllabus that is available on the first day of class and then by contacting the professor via their preferred means of communication, whether that be via email or telephone and scheduling an appointment during office hours. Other faculty members are much more casual about office hours and just allow students to wait outside before the next student comes in. It's a time to be able to ask the faculty members really any questions that you have about the course, about your performance in the course and also to talk to them casually about what their interests are and really get to know them as people.
What is 'tenure'?
Tenure is a condition of employment that full professors are awarded by an institution, a college or a university. When they have been judged by their peer faculty members to have achieved a level of expertise in their field, that qualifies them for long-term employment, essentially lifetime employment. Tenure, essentially, is an unrestricted employment contract that a faculty member achieves after demonstrating that they have reached a level of scholarship and professional expertise. As such, a tenured faculty member is often employed at the same institution for the rest of their teaching career, and is protected from any sort of different administration or other influences that may threaten their right to teach the topics that they believe are appropriate according to their discipline.
