<p>That, of course, is the classic decision a student makes when choosing a research university. Appointments and promotions are based on research, not on teaching ability, and many of these new hires will be unknown quantities as teachers. However, there is some evidence that the economics department at Columbia does care about teaching. For example, unlike other departments, it chooses to publish online the results of the student surveys for each prof’s course. (I’m not talking about the student reviews on Culpa, but the survey that the department itself takes at the end of each course.) You can look and see what percentage of students thought the class was harder or easier than other classes, what percentage thought the exams reflected the material taught, etc., and what percentage of students thought the course was good, very good, etc. This sends a message to the professors that what the students think of them is important – or at least very public.</p>
<p>I agree 110% about choosing a lecture class with a great teacher over a small class with a mediocre prof. Xavier Sala-i-Martin is both a big name and a “fantastic lecturer”, according to my son. The intro class with Sunil Gulati is also hugely popular because of his abilities as a lecturer. The significance of small classes, or of doing research, is having a prof who knows your work well enough to write a personal recommendation come time to apply to grad schools – as well as the chance to get some mentoring in a broader sense. And, if you get a small class with a great teacher, that is the best of all possible worlds. In the Spectator article on the new hires, the undergrad advisor in the department mentioned that one of the goals of expanding the department was to involve more undergrads in research as well as to lower class size. So, the declaration is there, and I hope they follow through.</p>
<p>There are universities that hire new departments by cutting deals with the star professors that they don’t have to teach undergrads. As far as I know Columbia does not do this. (Joseph Stiglitz is co-teaching the introductory econ class this year and, according to the Spectator, is not exactly captivating.) Jeffrey Sachs is also teaching a lecture class and, when it was so crowded that the university wanted to not allow first years in, he used his clout to get it moved to another room instead.</p>