No, this has no effect on salaries. The size of a class is generally determined by the demand for the class, the number of professors available to teach the class, room availability, and other demands on the department. For instance, at my university our introductory biology courses were always capped at 30 students for lecture. Several years ago, however, we raised some of them to 45. Recently, we were devoting nearly 1/3 of our faculty members’ time to teaching first-year biology, which meant that with the large number of first-year students, we were having difficulty meeting the needs of our upper division students. So as a result, our first-year classes are now much larger (60+).

One might think that with more students, the university might hire more professors, but the lag time is amazingly slow in getting this done, and generally, the administration at a university would prefer all big classes, as this is most cost effective.

If your university is particularly bad (and most are similar…), then look into what the university spends money on besides professors as the possible problem.

In recent years, students have “demanded” much nicer dorms, recreation facilities, landscaping, and foods. The money spent on these luxuries (what’s college for after all?) has to come from some where, and often it comes from the faculty through decreased hiring (slower than student numbers would suggest), lower salaries and raises, decreased retirement or health benefits, etc.

It’s not often that students collectively discuss and think about the impact of what they say to universities in surveys or focus groups. But their impacts are significant, and unless students start asking for small classes as loudly as they ask for a new swimming pool or cable TV, then classes will continue to get larger and larger.

No, but the survival of the class my count on that. Only get 15 students enrolling and the school could cancel the class.

Instructors are paid starting with a base salary per hour of classroom instruction or class credits.

There is more pay and benefits when you get tenured and made full time.

Then it’s based on your education and ranking in the department, if you are an Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or PRofessor, Assistant Chair or Chair.

Then it’s reserach grants and projects.

Someone like Carl Sagan was probably scraping his head on the pay level at Cornell. I doubt he was paid more than the PResident of the University.

But he got perks. He got unlimited ability to Sabbatical so he could fly to Los Angeles and go on the Johnny Carson show.

There are certainly other professors out there that could take off at the drop of a hat, but it’s usually to conventions, semminars and reserach sites, not the green room at NBC studios.

This is where you make your money, writing a national best selling book, getting a theory with your name on it.

You can take time off if your tenured without pay so you can do a seminar or lecuture circuit which is going to pay you $5,000 or $10,000 per college for a three hour lecture, plus airfare and hotel room.

Otherwise maybe you’re making nearly $100,000 after 30 years with an MBA teaching under graduate business at some Junior College as a full Professor.

no . . . a professor’s salary is usually determined by the institution where he or she is working, and his or her teaching experience and research