Working Paper: NBER ID: w19406
Authors: David N. Figlio; Morton O. Schapiro; Kevin B. Soter
Abstract: This study makes use of detailed student-level data from eight cohorts of first-year students at Northwestern University to investigate the relative effects of tenure track/tenured versus non-tenure line faculty on student learning. We focus on classes taken during a student's first term at Northwestern, and employ a unique identification strategy in which we control for both student-level fixed effects and next-class-taken fixed effects to measure the degree to which non-tenure line faculty contribute more or less to lasting student learning than do other faculty. We find consistent evidence that students learn relatively more from non-tenure line professors in their introductory courses. These differences are present across a wide variety of subject areas, and are particularly pronounced for Northwestern's average students and less-qualified students.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I23
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| nontenure line faculty (M51) | student learning outcomes (A22) |
| nontenure line faculty (M51) | likelihood of taking additional classes (A22) |
| nontenure line faculty (M51) | performance in subsequent classes (D29) |
| nontenure line faculty (M51) | less qualified students' learning outcomes (I24) |
| nontenure line faculty (M51) | student learning outcomes across various subject areas (A21) |