The publication of scholarly research assures that a faculty member is knowledgeable in the most current trends in the field. Many faculty publish scholarly articles to ensure that they attain tenure and promotion to a higher rank. Such scholarly articles are often highly theoretical and are published only after review by a peer group of scholars, to ensure that the work is of high quality. Some faculty publish more practical articles which may appear in trade journals. Whether theoretical or applicable to practice, the number of publications is a measure of faculty activity and interest in their fields.
This statistic ranks schools on the number of publications per faculty member during the past five years, with more publications resulting in a higher rank.
Most faculty spend a considerable amount of time and effort selecting textbooks that make learning for the student as easy as possible and that are most suitable for the courses they teach. Professors who write textbooks spend a large amount of time and effort thinking about and perfecting the education process. It is reasonable to assume that there is a relationship between the extent that the faculty engage in the preparation of teaching material and the quality of teaching that results from such efforts.
As with textbooks, publishing teaching materials and courses on the internet can consume a large amount of time and effort on the porfessor's part. The amount of on-line publishing for MBA courses indicates the school's commitment to preparing students for a cutting-edge professional environment that is becoming pervaded by internet communications.