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Old 06-27-2006, 11:49 PM   #1
Agemegos
 
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Default Academic rank

I see the fnords

Last edited by Agemegos; 11-14-2007 at 12:51 AM.
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Old 06-28-2006, 12:07 AM   #2
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Default Re: Academic rank

I'd probably place grad students and undergrads as rank 0. No real benefits, no responsibilities other than showing up/doing research. Rank 1 for teacher's assistants or grads teaching to pay the bills. Rank 2 for not quite Profs, 3 for Profs, 4 for Dept Heads, 5 for head, dean and pres. Note how my typing uses more and more shorthand as I prepare to go to sleep...
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Old 06-28-2006, 12:44 AM   #3
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Default Re: Academic rank

Quote:
Originally Posted by Agemegos
How, roughly speaking, should I handle Academic Status in my upcoming Walpurgis University campaign.

Ought there to be some sort of cost, like that of Clerical Investiture, for being an undergrad with Academic Rank 0?
I would say no. Being a student should get you Academic Rank 0, all right, but it should cost 0 points, just like Military Rank 0.

Quote:
Ought a grad student to be Academic Rank 1, or ought I to hold Rank 1 for the lowest-ranked teaching positions?
I believe that the lowest-ranked teaching positions, called things like "teaching assistant," traditionally are held by graduate students. One of the players in my Whispers campaign is a graduate student at UCLA and is in charge of a bunch of undergraduate music students. Giving instruction to undergrads seems to be both a way to earn a little money to live on and part of the educational experience.

Quote:
  • Undergraduate student
  • Graduate student
  • Post-doc
  • Adjunct professor
  • Assistant professor
  • Professor
  • Chair of department
  • Head of school
  • Dean of faculty
  • President of university
Post-doc was much, much less common back then. It basically means "somebody who's getting funded to do continuing research," and such funding expanded greatly after WWII, as a product of the GI Bill and the continuation of federal support for science.

Adjunct professor probably shouldn't be defined as part of the academic hierarchy; it's more like a brevet rank or courtesy rank.

In between assistant professor and professor is associate professor, which usually means you have tenure but are still junior to the top men in the department.

I would suggest that the levels might be

graduate assistant
reader, lecturer, etc.
assistant professor
associate professor
full professor
department chair
head of a school, faculty, division, etc.
head of the university

In a purely liberal arts college, as opposed to a university, the top guy would be rank 7, not rank 8.

Bill Stoddard
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Old 06-28-2006, 05:23 AM   #4
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Default Re: Academic rank

Quote:
Originally Posted by Agemegos
  • Chair of department
  • Head of school
  • Dean of faculty
  • President of university
These seem to be administrative ranks rather than Academic ranks. Our new Chairman at the department is much younger (and junior in many ways) than some of the other professors; administrative positions has nothing to do with academic seniority. Prof. Ogel, certainly one of the most junior professors at our department, has been the dean's assistant for years, for instance... Anyways, my two cents...

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Old 06-29-2006, 05:47 AM   #5
Phil Masters
 
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Default Re: Academic rank

I really wouldn't give modern academics Rank at all. Rank is the ability to give orders to subordinates with pretty fair certainty that they'll be obeyed, even at significant inconvenience and even danger to the person being ordered about; it's about having more clout than the person with lower Rank, even outside of working hours. It's a real, 5-points-a-level game advantage.

Higher-level positions in an academic environment are just higher levels in a job. You get better pay, and a warm glow, and at high enough levels maybe some justification for buying a bit of Status. But you don't generally get squads of minions at your beck and call. Apart from anything else, academics tend to be very conscious of their employment rights and often quite independent-minded. Try pulling "rank" on one of them and you'll likely just be laughed at.
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Old 06-29-2006, 08:07 AM   #6
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Default Re: Academic rank

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Masters
it's about having more clout than the person with lower Rank, even outside of working hours. It's a real, 5-points-a-level game advantage.

Higher-level positions in an academic environment are just higher levels in a job. You get better pay, and a warm glow, and at high enough levels maybe some justification for buying a bit of Status.
Generally speaking I'd agree. However a campaign that centered extensively on a University (like an IOU game) might warrant Academic Rank, which instead of working like Rank was really closer to status.
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Old 06-29-2006, 12:21 PM   #7
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Default Re: Academic rank

I use the chart here for my Cabal game. It's based on the Academic Status chart from GURPS IOU.
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Old 06-29-2006, 12:24 PM   #8
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Default Re: Academic rank

Quote:
Originally Posted by whswhs
I believe that the lowest-ranked teaching positions, called things like "teaching assistant," traditionally are held by graduate students. One of the players in my Whispers campaign is a graduate student at UCLA and is in charge of a bunch of undergraduate music students. Giving instruction to undergrads seems to be both a way to earn a little money to live on and part of the educational experience.
Some TA's can be undergrads as well. I know a friend who taught recitations in physics as an undergrad and myself I have taught labs as an undergrad.
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Old 06-29-2006, 07:21 PM   #9
Mehmet
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Default Re: Academic rank

Quote:
Originally Posted by whswhs
I believe that the lowest-ranked teaching positions, called things like "teaching assistant," traditionally are held by graduate students.
I have lectured a couple of classes as a student-assistant during my undergrad years... So, if (and I'm sure) it isn't an isolated incident, you may have Academic rank 1 while you're an undergrad... Also, I believe academic rank would mean some seniority over your peers but nothing much in modern times/settings. There is a hierarchy among the academics but it doesn't have much real life effect, imo, as it did in, say 1970. (These purely represent personal experience so may be rubbish...)

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