University Teaching and the Assessment of Merit

Through a quantitative and qualitative analysis of 408 recommendations for merit salary awards, this article considers the value placed on teaching by faculty and administrators at an American university. The analysis focuses on the amount of attention given to teaching, compared to other academic tasks in recommendations regarding the distribution of merit salary increases. It was found that participation in administrative or committee functions or being active in research is afforded more attention in requests for merit salary increases than making special contributions to the teaching program. The fact that teaching is less valued than other activities faculty engage in suggests, of course, that it is not perceived as being as central to the academic role as are research, administration, and service.