Section 3
Full-time faculty in university health education programs
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3.1 Characteristics of full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject
3.2 Work conditions of full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject
Educators can have an impact on both the capacity and the quality of health education programs. While a lack of educators—whether it is to teach or to supervise practical (clinical) placements—can be a possible reason for limitations in the number of seats allocated for a particular health education program, a lack of experience and qualifications on the part of educators may also affect the quality of such programs. The student-educator ratio for a specific program or course may also affect the quality of the education received by students enrolled in health education programs.
To monitor the supply and quality of educators, some base information on all those teaching in postsecondary institutions—whether in class or in practical (clinical) settings—is required.
The data in this section comes from Statistics Canada's University and College Academic Staff System (UCASS). This survey has been conducted since 1946 to obtain nationally comparable data concerning the socio-economic characteristics of full-time university teachers. It is conducted annually and provides a snapshot of full-time university faculty as of October 1st of each year. This section focuses on data from the 2004/2005 academic year (refer to Appendix 1 for more information on this survey).
Data is collected for the principal subject taught and therefore may not provide total coverage for individual fields of study where faculty teach in more than one principal subject. For information on the classification of courses included in each principal subject taught, refer to Appendix 4.
3.1 Characteristics of full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject
One in five full-time university faculty are teaching a health-related subject
According to data from UCASS, there were about 38,600 full-time university teachers in Canada during the 2004/2005 academic year, and one-fifth of them principally taught a health-related subject (Table 3.1.1). It is important to note that even though UCASS collects information on full-time teachers, not all of them are assigned full-time to teaching. Depending on their work arrangement (or on their type of appointment), some educators may be engaged in the practice of a health-related occupation as well as in the teaching of health-related subject at the university.
The proportion of full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject varied widely by province, from about 9% in Prince Edward Island to about 31% in Newfoundland and Labrador (Tables 3.1.2 to 3.1.11). This is not surprising given that the size and number of health education programs offered may vary widely from one province to another.
Men dominate full-time university faculty especially in dentistry and medical sciences, while women prevail in nursing
When looking at full-time university faculty teaching principally in a health-related subject, about 61% of them are men (Table 3.2.1 and Chart 3.1). The proportion rises to 70% for full-time faculty teaching any other subject. The largest proportions of full-time male teachers in health-related subjects are found in the dentistry field (79%) and in medical sciences (76%), two occupations dominated by men. The health-related subject that is taught mostly by women on a full-time basis compared to men is nursing (93%) (Table 3.2.1).
Similar to what was observed at the national level, men dominated full-time health university faculty in most provinces. The only exceptions to this were Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, with about two-thirds of their full-time teaching staff being women (Tables 3.2.2 to 3.2.11 and Chart 3.1). This may be attributable to the relative importance of the nursing program in these two provinces.
Chart 3.1
Men generally dominate full-time university faculty
One in ten full-time university faculty in health was born outside Canada
A sizable majority of full-time university teachers (84%) were born in Canada. The proportion is almost the same whether they teach principally a subject related to health (87%) or any other subject (83%). During the 2004/2005 academic year, results from UCASS showed that about one in ten (14%) full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject was born outside the country. This compares to about 17% for their counterparts in other fields (Table 3.2.1).
Similar to what was observed at the national level, a majority of full-time university teachers in health were born in Canada, varying from about 77% in British Columbia to more than 95% in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. In all provinces but Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, results from UCASS showed a higher proportion of Canadian-born among teachers in health-related subjects compared to those in all other fields of study. These differences were, however, minimal in most provinces (Tables 3.2.2 to 3.2.11).
Of the 1,000 full-time health-related university teachers born outside Canada, about three-quarters (74%) are teaching three main health-related subjects: medical sciences, psychology and medical and surgical residency programs (between 240 and 280 faculty members in each of these subjects). These three subjects also hire the most full-time Canadian-born teachers, but in a slightly lower proportion (68%) (data not shown).
Full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject are aging and 31 % of them continue to work after age 55
The issue of ageing faculty is a central concern facing the management of universities. The group of teachers who are now preparing for retirement were hired in the 1970s, at a time of significant growth in the postsecondary system. As the youth population declined in the 1980s, slowing enrolment growth meant fewer university faculty were hired during this period. Looking ahead, large numbers of university faculty hired during the 1970s enrolment boom are in a position to retire over the decade. At the same time, the population of 20- to 24-year-olds is projected to increase until 2016 (Statistics Canada and Council of Ministers of Education, Canada 2007).
Similar to what is observed for university faculty in other fields, full-time university faculty who teach primarily in a health-related subject are ageing, with the average age varying between 46 and 51 in all health-related subjects in 2004/ 2005. Results from UCASS showed that close to one in three (31%) full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject were aged 55 and over (Table 3.3.1 and Chart 3.2), almost three times the percentage in the health labour force (11%) in 2001 (Statistics Canada 2001b). Slightly less than two-thirds (64%) of full-time university faculty in health-related subjects were aged 35 to 54, compared to 59% of the labour force working in health occupations in 2001. About 6% of full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject were aged less than 35, compared to 30% of the labour force working in health occupations in 2001 (Table 3.3.1 and Statistics Canada 2001b).
Similar to what was observed at the national level, full-time university faculty who teach primarily in a health-related subject across the provinces are ageing, with the average age varying from 48 in Nova Scotia to 50 in Manitoba. In all provinces, around 30% of full-time university faculty in health-related subject were aged 55 years or older (Tables 3.3.2 to 3.3.11 and Chart 3.2).
Male university faculty in health-related subjects are generally older than their female counterparts
As illustrated in Chart 3.3, male university faculty who teach primarily in a health-related subject are generally older than their female counterparts, with an average age of 50 years old compared to 47. The situation was about the same across the provinces, with the largest age gap in Prince Edward Island (54 years old on average for full-time male university teachers in health compared to 47 for their female counterparts) (Tables 3.3.1 to 3.3.11 and Chart 3.3).
Most full-time faculty teaching principally a health-related subject have either doctoral or professional degrees
Individuals are generally required to have a doctoral degree to be able to teach at the university level. However, this is not the case for health programs, where practical experience in the related occupation is also important. Over six in ten (63%) full-time university faculty teaching a health-related subject have a doctorate compared to slightly more than eight in ten (83%) for full-time university faculty in other fields. But, when adding the full-time faculty with a professional degree to the two groups, the percentage increases to 87% for the full-time teachers of a health-related subject and to 84% for their counterparts in other fields. This is not surprising given that entry-to-practice requirements for a large majority of health-related occupations do not require a master's or a doctoral degree. The three subjects with the fewest full-time teachers with a doctorate are dentistry (34%), medical and surgical residency programs (44%) and nursing (45%) (Table 3.4.1).
Nursing is the subject with the highest proportion of full-time university teachers holding master's degrees (44%) (Table 3.4.1). This may be explained by the fact that entry-to-practice requirements for most nursing occupations only necessitate either a college or bachelor degree (depending on the province).
Similar to what was observed at the national level, most of the university full-time academic staff teaching principally a health-related subject had a doctorate or a professional degree across the provinces, varying from about 55% in New Brunswick to more than 90% in Saskatchewan andAlberta (Tables 3.4.2 to 3.4.11). Educational requirements may vary across provinces as not all of them are offering the same programs.
3.2 Work conditions of full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject
Full-time male teachers in health tend to have more years of seniority than their female counterparts
On average, full-time university teachers of health-related subjects have been appointed to the current institution for about 12 years. As shown by UCASS, full-time male teachers tend to have more years of seniority (or years appointed) within the same institution than their female counterparts, on average 14 years compared with 10 years (Table 3.5.1). This may be explained by the fact that full-time female teachers in health fields tend to be younger than their male counterparts and, consequently, may not have been teaching for as long.
While there was not much variation in the average number of years appointed to the same institution by full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject across provinces (between 10 and 14 years on average), differences in the average number of years within the same institution between male and female health-related teachers were more pronounced in some provinces than in others. The highest differences could be observed in Prince Edward Island where full-time male faculty teaching a health-related subject were appointed to the same institution for about 20 years compared to about six years for their female counterparts. Newfoundland and Labrador, on the other hand, showed the smallest difference (15 years on average compared to about 12 years) (Tables 3.5.2 to 3.5.11).
With few exceptions, full-time university faculty in health were mostly full or associate professors
Similar to what was observed for university faculty in other fields, full and associate professors make up around 70% of full-time faculty teaching principally a health-related subject, and another quarter or so of full-time faculty act as assistant professors. As shown by UCASS, full-time male teachers in health are more likely than their female counterparts to be appointed to full or associate professor positions within the institution, 78% compared with 56% (Table 3.6.1). This, again, may be attributable to the fact that full-time female teachers in health fields tend to be younger than their male counterparts and, consequently, may not have been teaching for as long.
The types of positions obtained by full-time health-related teachers vary widely by province. While full and associate professors make up around three-quarters of full-time faculty teaching principally a health-related subject in Quebec, Saskatchewan and Alberta, this was the case for about 50% of them in Prince Edward Island and about 60% of them in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Regarding the types of positions obtained by men and women across provinces, UCASS showed that, similar to what was observed at the national level, full-time male teachers were more likely than their female counterparts to be appointed to full or associate professor positions. The largest differences could be observed in Nova Scotia (77% vs. 41%) and New Brunswick (87% vs. 52%), while Newfoundland and Labrador (71% vs. 58%), Quebec (81% vs. 65%) and Alberta (82% vs. 66%) showed the smallest differences (Tables 3.6.2 to 3.6.11).
The average salary of full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject was generally higher than in other fields
It should be noted that many factors can influence salaries, including qualifications and number of years teaching. As well, some universities impose a maximum to the salary range for each rank while others have an open-ended scale.
In general, the average salary of full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject exceeds the average salary of their counterparts in other fields. With an overall average of $97,000, the average salary of full-time health-related university teachers is about $5,000 higher than the salary of the full-time university educators in other fields ($92,000) (Table 3.7.1 and Chart 3.4).
Average salaries are calculated based on the Annual Rate of Salary plus Administrative Stipends. In cases where the unrounded count of individuals is 3 or less, the associated mean salary figures are suppressed.
In all provinces but Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Ontario, the average salary of the full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject exceeds the average salary of their counterparts in other fields. The average salary of full-time university faculty teaching principally a health-related subject varied widely by province, from about $76,000 in Prince Edward Island to more than $100,000 in the western provinces: Manitoba ($100,000), Saskatchewan ($133,000), Alberta ($116,000) and British Columbia ($112,000) (Tables 3.7.2 to 3.7.11 and Chart 3.4). Again, this may be attributable to the types of programs offered within a province as there are differences in the education and work experiences required to teach the different types of programs.
Full-time male university teachers in health tend to have a higher salary than their female counterparts
There seems to be a salary gap between men and women in the teaching occupation. Full-time male university teachers earn on average, between $10,000 and $20,000 more than their female counterparts across all fields (Table 3.7.1 and Chart 3.5). However, given that educators in postsecondary institutions generally operate in "union" environments, the salary gap between men and women may be driven by factors such as their rank, job tenure, highest education and previous work experiences. This difference in salary may also be attributable in part to the fact that there are considerably more men teaching dentistry, medical sciences and medical and surgical residency programs which includes full-time faculty also engaged in the practice of medicine and residency supervision.
Similar to what was observed at the national level, there seems to be a salary gap between men and women in the teaching occupation across all provinces, especially in the western provinces (Tables 3.7.2 to 3.7.11 and Chart 3.5).
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