November 6, 2008

Studies Link Use of Part-Time Instructors to Lower Student Success

By Peter Schmidt

At a time when colleges are under increasing financial pressure to rely more on part-time faculty, three new studies suggest that doing so erodes the quality of education many students receive.

Part-timers’ inability or unwillingness to devote more time to students outside the classroom, the research suggests, results in the denial of important support services to many students—including, often, those who need the most help.

And in a finding that breaks new

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