[ti:Coming to Terms With Academic Titles at US Colleges ] [ar: Christopher Cruise] [al:Education Report] [by:51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English [00:02.91]Education Report. [00:04.83]Not everyone who teaches in a college [00:07.76]or university is a professor. [00:10.84]Many are instructors or lecturers. [00:14.32]In fact, not even all professors [00:17.57]are full professors. [00:19.93]Many of them are assistant [00:21.84]or associate professors [00:23.96]or adjunct professors. [00:27.07]So what do all of these [00:29.30]different academic titles [00:30.77]mean at American colleges [00:32.58]and universities? [00:34.56]Get ready for a short lecture, [00:36.56]especially if you are thinking [00:38.86]of a career in higher education. [00:41.17]Professors usually [00:43.91]need a doctoral degree. [00:45.93]But sometimes a school [00:48.45]will offer positions to people [00:50.16]who have not yet [00:51.77]received their doctorate. [00:53.87]This person would be called [00:55.95]an instructor until the degree [00:58.98]has been completed. [01:00.68]After that, the instructor [01:03.03]could become an assistant professor. [01:05.76]Assistant professors [01:07.88]do not have tenure. [01:09.67]Tenure means a permanent appointment. [01:12.73]This goal of greater job security [01:16.41]is harder to reach these days. [01:19.54]Fewer teaching positions [01:22.21]offer the chance for tenure. [01:24.63]Teachers and researchers [01:27.21]who are hired into positions [01:29.56]that do offer it are said [01:32.43]to be "on the tenure track." [01:34.68]Assistant professor [01:36.92]is the first job on this path. [01:39.43]Assistant professors generally [01:43.07]have five to seven years to gain tenure. [01:46.36]During this time, other faculty members [01:50.35]study the person's work. [01:52.00]If tenure is denied, [01:54.48]then the assistant professor [01:56.97]usually has a year to find another job. [02:00.70]Candidates for tenure [02:03.31]may feel great pressure [02:05.48]to get research published. [02:07.39]"Publish or perish" [02:09.81]is the traditional saying. [02:12.17]An assistant professor [02:14.59]who receives tenure [02:16.11]becomes an associate professor. [02:19.17]An associate professor may later [02:22.75]be appointed a full professor. [02:25.30]Assistant, associate [02:29.06]and full professors [02:30.48]perform many duties. [02:32.47]They teach classes. [02:34.06]They advise students. [02:35.96]And they carry out research. [02:38.47]They also serve on committees [02:41.36]and take part in other activities. [02:43.41]Other faculty members are not [02:47.08]expected to do all these jobs. [02:49.62]They are not on a tenure track. [02:52.77]Instead, they might be in adjunct [02:56.64]or visiting positions. [02:58.85]A visiting professor has a job [03:02.06]at one school but works at another [03:05.06]for a period of time. [03:06.85]An adjunct professor is also [03:10.55]a limited or part-time position, [03:13.49]to do research or teach classes. [03:17.01]Adjunct professors have a doctorate. [03:20.78]Another position is that of lecturer. [03:24.16]Lecturers teach classes, [03:26.85]but they may or may not [03:29.02]have a doctorate. [03:30.74]And that's the VOA Special English [03:34.32]Education Report, [03:35.79]written by Nancy Steinbach. [03:38.45]You and read and listen to our reports, [03:41.87]and get information [03:43.67]on how to study in the United States, [03:46.40]at 51voa.com. [03:50.06]I'm Christopher Cruise.