We pay college professors for what?

Productivity? Writing a book, obtaining grant money? Is that how we measure college professors?

Hey, I’m no one to talk about the quality of colleges. My experience was nine years of night school first at a community college and then a state school. Most of the classes were taught my tired, disinterested adjunct “professors” and I learned nothing of value. On the other hand, I did pay for sixteen of private college for my four children.

I get it that professors should keep current, break new ground, explore, investigate and share their research … but

Isn’t their primary job to teach and impart their knowledge on students and to stimulate thinking? Or, does that come second to their writing, consulting and other ancillary money-making endeavors? Seems to me productivity should measure time in the classroom, student achievement or other measures that directly relate to what students (and their parents) are paying for.

While we hear endless rhetoric about student debt and the interest rate on student loans, we don’t hear much about what we get for our money or the rewards/productivity/effectiveness of college professors.