"Only taught by professors"
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Anonymous
thanks. And to OP, oh please, try harder 
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Anonymous
1000% |
Anonymous
| And of course, the acronyms PAWS and SWAP would be unacceptable, right? |
Anonymous
I agree. Why does that matter if the professor is there longer than two years your child is only taking a one semester or year long class with them. If they connect they can keep in touch via email. I would hate my child to be taught by 25 year old grad students for the tuition I pay. And by the way, those grad students are thinking about their next steps too. No place has an instructor solely focused on your child with nothing else going on in their life. I take the visiting, experienced and accomplished PhD professor in a small class setting over a grade student instructor any day! |
Anonymous
A visiting professor can be almost anything: A tenured faculty member on sabbatical; a young PhD replacing someone who is on maternity leave/sabbatical/health leave... I even know some permanent "visiting professors, who are spouses of a big name faculty member. They all have in common that they are more qualified than your typical grad student. |
Anonymous
+1000! After DC takes Econ Macro 101 why would they need access to the professor for anything after the class is complete? OP wants coddling by a grad student baby sitter for 2-6 years. LOL. |
Anonymous
Just you who likely attend research univerisities. This is a commonly known classification for the top LACs. Plus, they were WASP schools for most of their history, so it doesn't fall too far off the meter. |
Anonymous
Yes... a random collection of schools....Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona. Never been put together or discussed before, just random. Not like they could possibly be the liberal arts colleges with the most money, resources, and lowest acceptance rates or anything...No that's silly! |
Anonymous
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges |
Anonymous
This depends on the Faculty Handbook. At ours, VAPs are non-TT positions that have 1 year renewable terms and are justified by 1.) need and 2.) budget. So if we need to fill a faculty slot or hold a TT faculty slot but for whatever reason can't do a search or did a search and can't find someone, we have a VAP. We have some VAPs in traditional one year roles that move on to different institutions in TT roles, some people who transition, and some who are perpetually renewed (usually these are in applied fields and are not a great fit for a TT role). In other words it's not really the slight OP think it is, and at many institutions they are good connections to have. TT folks move on too, you know. Also, there are increasing numbers of adjuncts and non-TT faculty everywhere. This is going to be the norm. As always. it's important for students to make connections wherever they can, be it ANY type of faculty, TA, guest lecturer, internship supervisor, or whatever it is. Attend networking events, follow up with any in person connection on LinkedIn, take advantage of Career Services. The days of the elbow-patch blazer professor behind the mahogany desk making a phone call to get you a job are pretty much over (as they should be), but the days of some low-ish paid hardworking teacher in a button down shirt with a connection at a local whatever-firm who shoots off an email to someone they went to school with to connect a student who made a positive impression at office hours or in class or through proactive outreach are very much happening. Ask me how I know. |
Anonymous
| Why are there so many mothers at these WASPs? |
Anonymous
The service academies are LACs?! |
Anonymous
Neither. A VAP is an otherwise unattached faculty member on a finite contract that is typically 1, 2, or 3 years long. After their "visiting" time is up, they must move elsewhere. These positions are often hiring venues for newly minted PhDs while they continue searching for tenure-track positions. With the changes in the academic job market over the last 25 years or so, VAP positions have become very competitive to land. |
Anonymous
I know - it's bizarre |
Anonymous
| If you don't already know, lots of top colleges, at least I know at Harvard and Stanford, are using visiting professors, at a pay of $3,000 per course a semester (from data a few years but less than 10 years back, so don't know what's the number now), and non-tenure track professors to teach undergrads. There are also very few tenure-track slots in those universities. |