Help/FAQ
- What is the origin of the NCAW?
- What is the purpose of the NCAW?
- Who is the audience for the NCAW?
- What does the NCAW include?
- Who selected the documents that have been included?
- How were the Subjects assigned to the records?
- Why isn't the term I'm searching for producing the results I want?
- I have done a search in the Clearinghouse and found resources I'd like to use. How can I access the documents themselves?
- How can I suggest materials to be included in the NCAW?
- How can I ask a question or get more information about NCAW?
What is the origin of the NCAW?
The National Clearinghouse on Academic Worklife is a part of the Academic Workforce/Dual Ladder Project at the University of Michigan's Center for the Education of Women. The project is funded by the Workplace, Workforce and Working Families program of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Visit the CEW website (www.cew.umich.edu/research.htm) to learn more about the entire project, including our publications and our institutional survey on the subject of non tenure track faculty.[ back to top ]
What is the purpose of the NCAW?
Information about academic worklife and worklife issues is found in the literature of a wide variety of fields, from education to economics to business. In addition, colleges and universities across the country have enacted policies, surveyed their own faculty and staff, and completed reports of interest to those concerned with the worklife of those in academia.
The purpose of the NCAW is to provide a portal for researchers, administrators, and faculty to link to this information from one central resource.
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Who is the audience for the NCAW?
The information available through the NCAW can be used by any of the following groups:- Administrators in institutions of higher education who are designing, implementing, administering or interpreting policies and practices that affect academic work.
- Researchers who study academia, faculty, higher education, work-family balance, and related issues.
- Faculty - tenure track or non tenure track, part time or full time, instructional or research or clinical - who are interested in or concerned about worklife in academic settings, policies and practices at other institutions, or current trends regarding academic work.
- Graduate students who are currently working as instructors and/or researchers or those who plan to work as faculty, researchers or higher education administrators in their future careers.
- Policy makers on the state or federal level who are involved in setting policy for higher education.
- Unions representing faculty.
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What does the NCAW include?
The NCAW covers all aspects of the subject of academic worklife. It includes bibliographic records and abstracts for articles from print and online journals, various print and online reports, books, and pamphlets as well as for faculty policies from colleges and universities. In addition it includes PDF files, and audio/visual materials such as presentation slides and streaming audio.
Among the subjects included are:
- Faculty
- Benefits
- Work-family balance
- Administrators
- Leaves
- Flexibility
- Tenure
- Career Development
- Business models in higher education
NCAW was created in 2005-2006; materials chosen were dated 2000 or later (with the exception of policies). The Clearinghouse does not include materials on curricula or teaching methods, but it does include materials on how teaching and interactions with students affect faculty work and faculty life. Materials related to graduate students as instructors or future faculty are also included.
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Who selected the documents that have been included?
Higher education researchers and information professionals worked together to select materials and build the initial database. We encourage NCAW users to suggest additional materials.[ back to top ]
How were the Subjects assigned to the records?
Information professionals surveyed the literature on faculty worklife issues and looked at existing subject schemes in databases such as ERIC and OCLC to develop the Subjects that were ultimately assigned. For more information on using the Subjects, visit the search tips section, or view the Subject list.[ back to top ]
Why isn't the term I'm searching for producing the results I want?
If you are searching by subject, you will need to use the assigned subject terms created for the Clearinghouse. The Thesaurus created for the NCAW indicates which terms were chosen for subjects and how the different subjects relate to one another (useful if you want to expand or limit your search). Advanced Search allows you to build a more specific or sophisticated search; also check the search tips provided on the search page.[ back to top ]
I have done a search in the Clearinghouse and found resources I'd like to use. How can I access the documents themselves?
If a document is available for free on the Web, a URL is provided in the record. If the document is a print and/or subscription resource, contact your institution's library to see if you have access to it or can request it.[ back to top ]
How can I suggest materials to be included in the NCAW?
Visit the Suggest Content page and fill out the form with the information you know about the document(s) you would like us to include in the Clearinghouse.[ back to top ]
How can I ask a question or get more information about NCAW?
Contact us[ back to top ]