The Chronicle of Higher Education
April 23rd, 2015
A bill introduced late last month in the North Carolina General Assembly has set faculties across the state abuzz with a bold suggestion: Require all professors in the University of North Carolina system to teach at least eight courses each academic year.
Senate Bill 593 — titled "Improve Professor Quality/UNC System" — would reduce the salary of any professor who failed to hit that annual mark. Sen. Tom McInnis, a first-term Republican who sponsored the bill, said in a written statement that his mission was to "generate legitimate debate about the role of professors in the classroom."
Mr. McInnis said he was motivated by "countless" complaints from constituents frustrated by the number of public-college classes that are not taught by credentialed professors. (None of the institutions in the public-university system reside in his district.)