Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers

A growing number of people completing or holding graduate degrees now seek non-faculty positions―also called alternative academic, or “alt-ac” positions―at different stages in their careers. While an increasing number of people with doctoral degrees are hunting for a diminishing pool of tenure-track faculty jobs, most degree-granting institutions do not adequately prepare their graduate students to enter the new reality of the alt-ac job market. Yet the administrative ranks in higher education institutions are growing, as colleges and universities are creating a diverse range of positions that support teaching and learning efforts.

Focusing on the range of potential alternative career choices, this highly practical book offers tools and prompts for readers who are:

• Considering whether to choose an alt-ac career path

• Seeking specific alt-ac positions

• Advising graduate students or mentoring recent professional graduates

• Encountering alt-ac career challenges

The authors offer case stories―their own and those of colleagues across North America in alt-ac roles―with concrete examples designed to help readers pursue, obtain, and excel in a wide variety of alt-ac positions. The book can equally be used as a resource for graduate courses on professional development and job-market preparation.

Kevin Kelly teaches online courses as a Lecturer in the Department of Equity, Leadership Studies, and Instructional Technologies at San Francisco State University, where he has also served as Online Teaching and Learning Manager. He works with colleges and universities as a consultant to address distance education, educational technology, and organizational challenges.

Dr. Katie Linder is currently the executive director for program development at Kansas State University Global Campus. Previously, she directed the award-winning Ecampus Research Unit at Oregon State University. Katie is also a Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation. 

Katie is an avid writer and researcher with a passion for process and peeking behind the scenes at what it takes to be a successful academic. For the past several years, her work has focused on blended course design best practices, institutional supports for accessible online learning, and research literacy for scholarship of teaching and learning practitioners and distance education stakeholders. She speaks on topics related to writing and publication; creativity and productivity; self-promotion and personal branding; and teaching and learning with technology.

Her latest works include Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers (Stylus, 2020; co-authored with Kevin Kelly and Tom Tobin), Managing Your Professional Identity Online: A Guide for Faculty, Staff, and Administrators (Stylus, 2018), High-Impact Practices in Online Education (Stylus, 2018), and The Business of Innovating Online (Stylus, 2019). She is also the author of The Blended Course Design Workbook: A Practical Guide (Stylus, 2016). 

Katie earned her BA in English Literature from Whitworth University in Spokane, WA, and her MA and PhD in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from The Ohio State University.

Visit her personal website at: https://drkatielinder.com

Thomas J. Tobin is the Program Area Director for Distance Teaching & Learning on the Learning Design, Development, & Innovation (LDDI) team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as an internationally recognized speaker and author on topics related to quality in technology-enhanced education, especially copyright, evaluation of teaching practice, academic integrity, and accessibility/universal design for learning. 

His web site is http://thomasjtobin.com/.