メッセージ122:

Translation of Letter from Noji (Letter No. 121, 21 August 2006): Part 1

Dear colleagues,
As was introduced in a Letter from Noji (Noji No. 106, 5 August 2006) - this was later translated into English (see Letter from Noji No. 116, 15 August 2006) - , a number of new faculty posts at APU have been advertised. I have now received a letter that informs me that, in addition to these posts, APU is also recruiting a large number of language teachers. For this letter, see below.
From this year, APU will start to accept 50 percent more students every year. In other words, in four years, the total student body is set to increase by a total of 2,000. According to a document, "Report of the APU New Challenge All University Investigative Committee" (October 2004), the original budgetary plan was to increase student numbers by 1,600 (an increase of 1,440 in the capacity allowed by school regulations). For this increase, APU originally intended to increase faculty by 20. Since the actual number of students is now set to increase by 2,000, a simple calculation indicates that APU must now plan to increase faculty numbers by 25. However, since it will take four years for all 2,000 extra students to enter, there is no need to recruit all new faculty at once. If we divide the number of new faculty over four years, 6 to 7 individuals should be recruited every year for four years. Even calculating on the high side for the first year, that means ten new posts. However, APU is now advertising more than 30 positions. This seems to provide some indication of the savage and sharp flow of faculty who are leaving APU.
This increase of 25 assumes that full-time, regular faculty are to be employed. If all are non-regular employees, it is possible that a total of 75 over four years might be employed. Even then, however, 30 positions in a single year seems to be too many.
According to "APU Facts & Figures: Faculty and Staff"(see http:// www.apu.ac.jp/home/modules/keytopics/index.php?id=200), as of April 2005, there were 111 members of faculty at APU, of whom 40 were full-time contracted lecturers. In addition, there were 50 visiting (or guest) teachers. There were also 49 members of administration staff on contract, and 79 regular members of administration staff.
Introducing a Letter on the Current Situation of Faculty Recruitment at APU
In the Letter from Noji dated 5 August, it was noted that APU has just advertised positions for at least 13 new members of faculty (the deadline for applications was 14 July). (It was also noted that the description of the duration of the terms of employment was quite remarkable.) The number 13 was calculated by assuming that positions for "a few" actually meant one. If "a few" means two, then the total number becomes 21. It can be assumed that APU has almost no intention of giving any new member of faculty tenure, so these new positions will be for either one-year or five-year terms. Although tenure ("until retirement") was mentioned, this was merely a lure to attract applicants, because without it potential applicants would not show much interest. APU claims that, of the three types of appointment [appointment for 5 Years, for Tenure, and for 1 Year], "Successful candidates will be notified about which type of appointment they are eligible for". I believe that this type of appointment started from about last year. I cannot believe that highly qualified faculty will decide to come to APU with this sort of recruitment document.
In addition to the new positions advertised that have been mentioned above, APU is also looking for new language teachers. Here, the due date for applications is 30 September, and the following positions have been advertised.
Fixed Term Faculty Position (5 Years, Associate Professor in English): 1 member of faculty
Senior Tutor (English): A Few
Junior Tutor (English): Several
Senior Tutor (Japanese): A Few
Junior Tutor (Japanese): Several
Junior Tutor (Spanish): A Few
[Please note that the Japanese here is translated by APU as "Senior Lecturers" and "Junior Lecturers": both highly misleading translations.]
Moreover, a "few" positions to start from the second half of 2006 in Japanese language (part-time lecturers) were advertised with a deadline for applications 31 July. Here, a total of five people were in fact employed. In the second half of 2006, APU lacks teachers in Japanese for a total of about 60 koma, and it seems that the five part-time lecturers have been employed to teach these classes.
Leaving aside part-time teachers, APU has a total of only 110 to 120 members of teaching staff (as of 2006, there were 98 members of faculty in the two Schools, plus 12 in the Language Institute - a total of 110 - to which staff who teach only in the graduate schools must be added). Given this small number of faculty, it can be seen that the large numbers now being recruited is abnormal.
If the current situation continues, APU will be forced to recruit a similar number of new faculty every year. It is not healthy for any university that is not brand new to be advertising and recruiting such a large number of faculty every year. It is a natural response for people to determine just from these numbers that something is wrong, and as a result be unwilling to apply to come to APU.
Japanese: http://ac-net.org/rtm/No/121,