Career and Work Patterns

Career and Work Patterns
Faculty prepare for their teaching careers by earning (almost universally) graduate degrees.
Their “career” patterns can be characterized by examining their employment history. “Work”
patterns can be described by what individuals do in their present positions. This section reports
on degrees earned by community college faculty, their career histories, and work patterns and
activities.
Highest Degree Earned.14 In most two-year institutions faculty are expected to hold a master’s
degree or higher in the subject field in which they teach, and this is the case in accounting as
well. Data from NSOPF indicate that the large majority accounting faculty at two-year colleges
held the master’s as their highest degree (Table 14).
As of 2004, 11.2% held the doctorate or first professional degree, just over 70% a master’s
degree, and 18.3% a baccalaureate or less. The proportion holding a master’s degree or higher
increased, while the proportion holding less than a master’s degree decreased. (This compares
to 48.2% of accounting faculty at four-year institutions holding the doctorate or first professional
TABLE 12
Mean Basic Salary (in constant $) from Institution, Accounting Faculty
at Two-Year Institutions, 1993–2004
1993 (Inflated) 2004 Change
Part-time $7,176.32 $8,157.40 +13.6%
Full-time $49,353.78 $53,622.8 +8.6%
TABLE 13
Mean Total Individual Income (in constant $), Accounting Faculty
at Two-Year Institutions, 1993 (inflated)–2004
1993 (Inflated) 2004 Change
Part-time $65,371.61 $53,486.80 -18.2%
Full-time $62,011.74 $70,528.70 +13.7%
14 The NSOPF survey includes the J.D. (or L.L.B.) as a “first professional degree.” The M.B.A. is included among
master’s degrees.
Accounting in Community Colleges: Who Teaches, Who Studies? Leslie
20 American Accounting Association
TABLE 14
Percent of Accounting Faculty in Two-Year Institutions Holding Indicated Highest Degree,
1993–2004
1993 2004
Ph.D. or first professional 9.60% 11.22%
Master’s 60.80% 70.47%
Baccalaureate or less 29.60% 18.31%
TABLE 15
Percentage of Accounting Faculty in Two-Year Institutions with Doctorate
or First Professional Degree by Full- or Part-Time Status
1993 2004
Part-time 8.3% 10.4%
Full-time 12.7% 12.8%
Total 9.7% 11.2%
degree.) Table 15 breaks down the highest degree held by part- and full-time faculty at two-year
institutions. Full-time faculty were slightly more likely to hold a doctorate or first professional
degree, and the higher degrees were slightly more prevalent for both full- and part-time faculty
in two-year institutions in 2004 than in 1993.
Perhaps more importantly, only half of the accounting faculty at two-year institutions report
holding their highest degree in accounting. (Faculty in two-year institutions may have more
incentives to earn advanced degrees in education than in their teaching field; 6.2% of full-time
accounting faculty at two-year institutions report their highest degree in education compared to
1.1% of full-time accounting faculty at four-year institutions.) For both survey years, almost
exactly half (Table 16) reported that their highest degree was in accounting. More (37% versus
32%) earned their highest degrees in another business field in 2004 than in 1993. (Although it is
not traceable, it would seem likely that this reflects an increase in numbers of those holding
MBAs teaching accounting). Commensurately fewer earned degrees in fields other than accounting
or business in 2004 than in 1993.
Table 16A shows that accounting faculty at two-year institutions were less likely to have
earned their highest degree in accounting than faculty at four-year institutions.
Careers. Data on career history are inconsistent between the two NSOPF survey years included
in this comparison, but some inferences are possible. On average, accounting faculty in twoyear
institutions hold their jobs for substantial periods of time. Table 17 shows that full-timers
have typically held their jobs for about 12 years, while part-timers have typically held theirs for
TABLE 16
Field of Highest Degree Earned, Accounting Faculty in Two-Year Institutions, 1993–2004
1993 2004
Accounting 51.3% 50.8%
Other business 31.6% 37.3%
All other fields 17.1% 11.9%
Accounting in Community Colleges: Who Teaches, Who Studies? Leslie
American Accounting Association 21
TABLE 16A
Field of Highest Degree Earned, Accounting Faculty
at Two-Year and Four-Year Institutions, 2004
Two-Year Four-Year
Accounting 50.8% 62.4%
Other business 37.3% 27.5%
All other fields 11.9% 10.1%
about 7 years. (These figures differ very little from those for accounting faculty at four-year
institutions.)
Continuity of Employment. Full-time faculty at two-year institutions show considerable longevity
(stability) in their positions, while part-timers are more likely to have assumed their positions
more recently. Almost 40% of all part-time two-year faculty reported two years or less of
experience in their current positions. (About 49% of part-time accounting faculty at four-year
institutions also report two years or less of experience, but they constitute a far lower proportion
of all faculty teaching accounting. About one-third of all accounting faculty at two-year institutions
may have little teaching experience.) Figure 6 shows the distribution of “years held current
job” for both groups as represented in the data from the 2004 NSOPF.
FIGURE 6
Years in Current Job; Full- and Part-Time Accounting Faculty in Two-Year Institutions, 2004
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
0 to 2
3 to 6
7 to 10
11 to 14
15 to 18
19 to 22
23 to 26
> 26
Years in current job.
Percent of faculty in interval.
Part‐time
Full‐time
TABLE 17
Mean Years in Current Job, Accounting Faculty in Two-Year Institutions, 1993–2004
1993 2004
Part-time 6.62 7.41
Full-time 13.16 12.75
Accounting in Community Colleges: Who Teaches, Who Studies? Leslie
22 American Accounting Association
The majority of part-time accounting faculty in two-year institutions have held previous jobs
in fields other than education. About 58% had worked outside education in 1993, and 76% had
done so in 2004. Fewer than half (34% in 1993 and 44% in 2004) of the full-time faculty had
worked outside education. So, as has often been contended, part-time faculty may bring a broader
and deeper range of practical or clinical experience (in place of advanced degrees) to the classroom.
A similar pattern was observed among accounting faculty at four-year institutions, with
part-timers far more likely to have worked outside education. The difference between backgrounds
of two-year and four-year faculty is important because two-year students are far more
likely to take their courses from part-timers, and may therefore have more exposure to the practical
and clinical aspects of the field (and commensurately less to the more theoretical, researchbased
aspects).
Tenure. Tenure or eligibility for tenure is far less common among two-year faculty than among
those at four-year institutions. Only 22% of accounting faculty at two-year institutions were
tenured or eligible in both 1993 and 2004. Part-timers are almost never eligible for tenure; only
1% reported being eligible (or tenured) in 1993, while 6% were in 2004. Only about half (52% in
2004, down from 65% in 1993) of the full time accounting faculty at two-year institutions were
tenured or eligible in the most recent survey. That compares to about 83% of full-time accounting
faculty at four-year institutions in both 1993 and 2004 surveys. Tables 18 and 19 report the
distribution of tenure among part-time and full-time accounting faculty (respectively) in twoyear
institutions.