College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
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The Foothill College Student to Faculty Ratio & Faculty Composition

Does Foothill College have a good student to faculty ratio?

Check out the information on class structures and faculty to get a feel for the academic life at Foothill College .

Student to Faculty Ratio is Well Below Average

Foothill College , with 26 students for every instructional faculty member, ranks among the lowest in comparison to the national average of 15 :1. This ratio indicates that the number of students split between the same faculty is much higher than normal, and could mean students will experience larger class sizes and fewer opportunities to connect with professors, especially in introductory courses.

Breakdown of Instructional Staff

The following table shows all the employees the school considers instructional, and therefore, part of the above student-to-faculty ratio. These include both those employees designated as either "primarily instructional" or as "instructional combined with research/public service". It does not include employees that have been identified by Foothill College as primarily performing research or public service.

TotalFull TimePart TimePercent Full Time
Total of Instructional Employees53317136232.1%
Total of Those With Faculty Status53317136232.1%
Tenured Faculty137137-100.0%
On Tenure Track3030-100.0%
Not on Tenure Track36643621.1%
Without Faculty Status----
Graduate Assistants----

Above Average Use of Part-Time Teachers

32.0% of the teaching staff are full time at Foothill College , which places this college below average in its use of full-time teachers when compared to a nationwide average.

Use of Part-Time Teachers is Above Average

68.0% of the teaching staff at Foothill College are part-time non-faculty or non-tenure track faculty. This percentage represents a higher than average use of adjuncts when compared to the national average of 51.4% , a controversial statistic that some consider indicative of a college's commitment to building a strong, long-term instructional team.

Colleges often use part-time professors and adjuncts to teach courses, rather than full-time faculty. This hiring practice is primarily a way to save money amid increasingly tight budgets. However, it is a controversial practice with strong views on either side. We encourage you to understand this topic more deeply, and how the colleges you are interested in approach faculty hiring. It's your education and your money on the line. Make sure you know what you are getting for it.

Additional Information

No Graduate Programs

Many U.S. colleges utilize enrolled graduate assistants to help instructional faculty, however, as Foothill College does not offer graduate degree programs, this practice is not applicable to this college.

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