three easy and low cost ways to improve academia

When people talk reform, they often talk about really big changes. Here, I’ll offer three simple policies that are low cost and easy to implement and would make academic life way, way easier:

1. Do not require letters of recommendation for job applicants unless they are a finalist. Reason? First, as I noted before, research shows that letters do not predict future performance. They have low value, so ditch ’em. If you must use them, then only for people who have made the cut. Second, letters are not crucial for most applicants. Most of the action comes from PhD program prestige, publications/working papers, teaching portfolio, and awards. Third, lots of faculty fail to write them anyway. Fourth, letters encourage us to look at your friends, not your work.
2. Limit the number of articles in your tenure or promotion file to five articles or one book plus three. Reason? Most tenure cases revolve around your best work, not your 12th best work. Also, if one really believes that academic CV’s are bloated, then this is a simple way to reduce the incentive for over production. Finally, it provides a relief for tenure committee members. A committee can genuinely read all five papers, but if you have 20 articles, it can be hard. Why five? Most people only have a few ideas to begin with. It is also enough space for a few big hits or a series of articles that lead to a big point.
3. Multiple submission for articles. I have made this argument in the past many times. Books can be submitted to multiple presses, which usually prevents “hostage taking” that you find in journals, where an editor can hold a paper for years. It’s low cost in that it involves no new technology. If you are worried about reviewers doing too much work (e.g., reviewing a paper for journal A and B), the solution is easy – editors should just read papers, decide which ones should be “sped up” and let papers with slower reviews go to other journals. Thus, an editor can tell a reviewer “don’t bother writing the review, the paper went to another journal.”

Do you have a low cost and easy academic reform? Use the comments!

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BUY THESE BOOKS!!
50+ chapters of grad skool advice goodness: Grad Skool Rulz ($4.44 – cheap!!!!)
Intro to sociology for just $1 per chapter – INSANE BARGAIN!!!!!
A theory book you can understand!!! Theory for the Working Sociologist (discount code: ROJAS – 30% off!!)
The rise of Black Studies:  From Black Power to Black Studies 
Did Obama tank the antiwar movement? Party in the Street
Read Contexts Magazine– It’s Awesome!!!!