As regular readers of this blog know, I’m very interested in how colleges and universities employ contingent faculty members, not just course-by-course adjuncts but full-time, non-tenure-track instructors. I would never deny that, in general, American higher education is misusing a large portion of its labor force, and this misuse has negative effects not just on the labor force itself but also on the quality of college and university instruction.
The situation we’ve arrived at with contingent academic labor is the result of a confluence of many forces. Budget pressures, enrollment growth, attention to the bottom line rather than instructional quality and integrity, administrative mis-if-not malfeasance, unwillingness of tenure-track faculty members at some institutions to engage in lower-division instruction, and a number of other factors have played into the way adjunct faculty members are employed.
I want to make it clear that I don’t think adjunct faculty members are inherently less-accomplished teachers than tenure-track faculty members, because I have plenty of experience to show that that’s not true. However, as a commenter on one of my previous entries mentions, it’s reasonably likely that the support adjunct faculty members receive in terms of office space, opportunities for professional development, and collegial acceptance have a strong impact on their instructional effectiveness. Because it’s generally thought that such faculty members don’t get much support, it’s not surprising that they may not be as effective as full-time (preferably tenure-track) faculty can be.
One of the things often missing in these discussions, though, is actual data on adjunct faculty work and perceptions. For example, it’s not that unusual to see comments that suggest that many adjunct faculty members don’t want full-time academic employment and are adjuncts for other reasons, including “a love of teaching” or retaining a connection to the academy for possible future full reentry. (Disclaimer: I’ve made this argument about my own institution’s adjunct faculty members recently. Though I know it’s true here because I know the faculty members, I would be very careful about generalizing from our somewhat unusual programmatic circumstances and location.)
If we’re going to have a useful conversation on academic labor, then, we need the truth and some accurate data rather than mere impressions. I therefore want to call your attention to an excellent opportunity to help redress the paucity of data on adjunct and contingent faculty members.
The Coalition on the Academic Workforce is now conducting a comprehensive survey of contingent faculty members of all kinds to “inquire about fall 2010 course assignments, salaries, benefits, and general working conditions as members of the contingent academic workforce experience at the institutional level.” The CAW membership comprises many of our disciplinary organizations, and represents an effort to develop and provide a genuine understanding of the conditions of academic employment as they are now in the United States.
If you are a contingent faculty member and have not already completed this survey, I urge you to do so. It’s an opportunity to create a better voice for contingent academic labor, and it should help provide compelling information about your work to help us all understand better what the situation is so we can work together to improve it.
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7 Responses to Contingent Faculty Members: Share Job Data
11272784 - October 29, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Many adjuncts are much better, more engaged teachers than tenured faculty. Why? Because they’re not distracted by committee work, research and other responsibilities of resident faculty. And frankly, because they are focused on teaching – while many faculty are focused on research and view teaching as a necessary inconvenience! Adjuncts should be paid at least as much per course as regular faculty, and should have benefits if they are teaching the equivalent of a 51% load – which at most research institutions would mean two classes.
nancymills - October 30, 2010 at 1:53 pm
The Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society has published a very recent survey on the use of adjunct/contingent faculty in chemistry departments, from four-year schools to graduate institutions, http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_ARTICLEMAIN&node_id=872&content_id=CNBP_025418&use_sec=true&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=c9dff45d-4e8a-4454-8903-16ddf4afc9cd.
Alternatively, go to the American Chemical Society website, http://portal.acs.org and search for Faculty Status Report.
The last part of the report discusses faculty benefits for adjuncts.
duchess_of_malfi - October 31, 2010 at 3:05 pm
This study may be helpful. It will have some respondent issues, of course. There are existing sources for information about contingent faculty. I have bookmarked and saved a few dozen sites and papers, and I haven’t been systematic about looking, so I’m sure there are some I haven’t found. Contingent faculty as a group and part-time faculty specifically have been more studied than full-time contract faculty.
I have shared findings from previous surveys at various times and in various ways on this site, and I haven’t been encouraged to think that the information is welcomed by most people or makes a difference in influencing how people think about the issues. Maybe that is true of information and people in general.
gplm2000 - November 4, 2010 at 11:30 am
Someone who is a part time college instructor usually has done so as a matter of choice or due to poor career decisions. In this economically challenging period, some need the money and choose to be an instructor. A Masters is all that is required. Others, decide that several “gigs” as an instructor is a nice way to suppliment other income or provide something to do. Yes, some have a “higher calling” to teach. Regardless of reason, there is no point in the school providing all the extras given to fulltime professors. Adjuncts are not entitled to anything more than being paid for their part time work. I have been doing it for 5+ years and do not feel that I am “owed” anything.
philostitute - November 4, 2010 at 1:36 pm
If you are doing adjunct work because there is no job market in your field and you would rather be FT-TT, then all of the easy dimissals that allow for the above generalizations apply. No one I’ve met in philosophy is doing adjunct work because this is what we prefer, or in addition to another career. We are published, conference presenters and just too numerous to employ full-time given the current economic realities in our discipline.
The institution where I adjunct is a state school in PA. They have not hired a FT-TT person in my field in over 15 years. Soon many of the humanities and philosophy departments located in PA state schools may have their majors discontinued (“retrenched”) and FT-TT faculty will be teaching service courses to fulfill general education requirements. This will take place over the next five years. For me and my colleagues adjunct work represents our best chance at hand-to-mouth living during the great depression and we will definitely have to leave academia to survive as the economy improves (if ever). This is not our “choice”; it is the reality of declining budgets, weak unions and the mentality of the current generation of FT-TT who are quite content to exploit the newbies despite their platitudes of compassion. Please know that I understand my colleagues’ conflict, but they have been forced to sell the next generation down the river to secure their own tenuous positions that are also on the chopping block. It is apparent if humanities departments transform to a service oriented role with no majors that FT-TT faculty will be replaced by contingent, powerless faculty as they retire.
adjunctcarol - November 4, 2010 at 2:22 pm
FIRST: to analyze the world of adjuncts we need comprehensive data bases.
It is hard to accurately get a statistical examination of the adjunct when comprehensive data records of adjuncts are not kept. There are a variety of reasons from seemingly devious (what one doesn’t know one can’t be held accountable for by accreditation, or unions cannot use stats that don’t exist) to illusion and lack of sense of need (why track adjunct- they come and go and are here a short time, yea right), to innocence (various data base incompatibilities ).
I was finally able to get some data. Apparently it was only available for current adjuncts teaching in that one specific quarter. It included which quarters taught and credit loads. While very appreciated, the data had to be cut and pasted from various docs which is very timely. Of course I am not allowed to do this legwork on my own. I’d love to simply get the whole data set for all adjuncts who ever worked here, the quarters taught and loads. I don’t even need names. Pay scale could be useful.
When examining the data I got- cleaning the data- I found some of my own personal info was missing, which made me look closer at the rest, and a couple of people were included who having not taught here in years. Some adjunct may have been missing… but how to tell when there are over 175 current adjuncts? While this was simple error, when I tried to get clarification but was told there was no time, they were too busy. My request has seemingly been forgotten.
Overall conclusion? Be wary of what I say, GIGO. Our average adjunct has been teaching here for 18 quarters (not counting summers) THAT IS SIX YEARS! Over 100 adjuncts teach eight 5 credit/or equiv classes or equivalent per year (FT is nine 5 credits/or equiv plus governance or school service We have about 70 FT).
Adjuncts here are not transitory, we are the base of students’ education, we are counted on to make ends meet, to fulfill mission statements, to train new FT and Adjunct teachers, and to pass accreditation. ADJUNCTS ARE A VALUABLE RESOURCE: TREAT, RESPECT, TRAIN, AND INCLUDE THEN AS SUCH.
hnsawyer - November 4, 2010 at 10:08 pm
@philostitute – you said it best! I would like to add that although it is part-time work, should we not receive a bit more respect and wages?
We are cheap labor for hire – as I see it! We often do our jobs better than tenure because they don’t have nothing to lose while we gain nothing. Where’s the report stating how many adjuncts are hired FT per year?
@adjunctcarol – “ADJUNCTS ARE A VALUABLE RESOURCE: TREAT, RESPECT, TRAIN, AND INCLUDE THEN AS SUCH.”
=> Amen