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[tt_wannabe]

Online_adjunct:

Is that 7 classes per semester?

[onilne_adjunct]

No.  That's six per quarter at the CCs.  The seventh is open enrollment for a year (not my favorite teaching style - I much prefer cohorts).   I teach between 4 and 6 CC courses per quarter over the course of a year (less during the Summer).

And, no I don't put in 14 hour days.  I do work about 6-8 hours per day, but I break it up, and I don't work on weekends. 

I actually turned down an online gig because the school wanted me to check in on weekends.  I said "Thanks, but no thanks.  Weekends belong to me and my family."  I figure my kids will only remain so for so long - why miss out on their childhood?

[nofreelunch]

I think most schools give full-timers first crack at online classes... and they suck them up quickly.
Only are few are left for adjuncts. I could be wrong but that is certainly how it is at my school.

[onilne_adjunct]

There's something inherently wrong when full-timers, who should be on campus, decide to teach online classes, forcing more adjunct to teach the on-campus classes, thereby adding to adjunct travel/time costs, along with increasing pollution through transportation (and in some areas, adding to congestion).

In an attempt to ensure that some colleges develop/adhere to sustainability (what is also referred to as sustainable development), I'm attempting to show full-timers the impact their decision has on the triad of social justice, economics, and the environmnent (all of which should be fostered by all centers of higher learning - especially those who advocate sustainability).

[larryc]

There's something inherently wrong when full-timers, who should be on campus, decide to teach online classes, forcing more adjunct to teach the on-campus classes, thereby adding to adjunct travel/time costs, along with increasing pollution through transportation (and in some areas, adding to congestion).

In an attempt to ensure that some colleges develop/adhere to sustainability (what is also referred to as sustainable development), I'm attempting to show full-timers the impact their decision has on the triad of social justice, economics, and the environmnent (all of which should be fostered by all centers of higher learning - especially those who advocate sustainability).

Bah humbug.  How does your driving to campus use more gas than my driving to campus?

[onilne_adjunct]

larryc,

If you're a full-timer (tenured or tt track) I'm willing to bet you only drive to one campus once a day.  At most, you probably drive about 40 minutes (based on an average daily commute of about 20 minutes).  Heck, you might even consider yourself green and either walk, bike, or ride the bus.

Most adjunct attempting to fill a full-time schedule (same teaching load for 50-80% of the pay) wind up working at two, three, and sometimes four different institutions.  This means they tend to drive considerably more on a daily basis.  Most full-time adjunct I know commute well over 100 miles per day, in heavy traffic in my area. 

Simple math applies:

Adjunct commute - 100 miles X 5 days (I'm not including Saturday classes, many of which are taught by adjunct) = 500 miles.  Usually in an older vehicle, because due to the low pay adjunct receive, they can't afford a nice new hybrid.

Tenured commute - 10 miles X 5 days = 50 miles (assuming that the full-timer actually commutes to campus all five days in the work week - which is not always the case).  Even if we extend the average distance to 20-40 miles, that still works out to only 100 to 200 miles per week, far less than half the travel distance.

Given, these are averages in my area - your's might be different (e.g.., only a single institution within 100 miles, so adjunct all teach at the same place as full-timers).

I recommend you talk to some of the adjunct working at your institution to find out their particular situation.  Don't talk to those who only adjunct in the evening, rather talk to the ones who work at it full time.  Maybe then you can better understand the situation.

[larryc]

But I don't drive to campus at all several days a week because of my online teaching.  Compare this to your not driving to campus at all because of online teaching.  Where is the gasoline savings again?  Or reverse the viewpoint--either you drive to campus or I do.  Again, no savings in gas results from switching the order. The fact that you are also driving other places is irrelevant.

It is a popular tactic these days to pick something we want and to call it a matter of social justice. 

[onilne_adjunct]

larryc,

I quote myself  "Most adjunct attempting to fill a full-time schedule (same teaching load for 50-80% of the pay) wind up working at two, three, and sometimes four different institutions.  This means they tend to drive considerably more on a daily basis.  Most full-time adjunct I know commute well over 100 miles per day, in heavy traffic in my area."

This is the gist of the savings, not a transference of savings on a single site visit, but the elimination of multiple site visits by a single commuter.  Most full-timers still work on campus (committe meetings, classes, research, etc.) - why not just stay there?

[larryc]

Sorry, but you are just making stuff up.  If your daily commute drops from 4 to 3 institutions, that only saves one leg of the trip, not the whole trip.  Compare that leg of the trip you don't make to the trip I don't make and we have a wash.

Adjuncting is a horrible, abusive system in all too many cases, and I understand that teaching online would ease the burden a bit.  On the other hand, many institutions are wary of online teaching in the first place, fearing a loss of quality control. My chair is far more comfortable having me teach the online classes and using adjuncts in the classroom. 

Good luck in getting off the adjunct track.

[onilne_adjunct]

larryc, sorry, but I'm not making anything up.  Do some research.  Nothing made up here.  Maybe when I get some spare time I'll post the links for you, but you probably have more time than I do (along with my teaching I run a part-time business which I expect to supplant my adjunct salary in the near future).

BTW, I'm not interested in TT.  I live in an area with few opportunities for full-time teaching employment in my field, and I refuse to relocate.  I enjoy the online adjunct stuff - especially now that I've worked out a great schedule.  I figured if I couldn't go to the mountain, I'd make it come to me :-)

[fortune12]

I applied to 3 online adjunct positions and never even received a nibble even though I am finishing my degree (May) at an R1, have 3 years teaching experience, and received 2 TT offers for brick and mortar schools.

What gives?

I know of some of these online programs that operate on very short time frames. As enrollments for a term come in, they staff courses. Sometimes, they are staffing on the first two days of the term. They often advertising for instructors in order to build a pool of people to call on. You may have been a good candidate, but weren't at the top of the list. Or online enrollments might not have panned out.

[larryc]

larryc, sorry, but I'm not making anything up.  Do some research.  Nothing made up here.  Maybe when I get some spare time I'll post the links for you, but you probably have more time than I do (along with my teaching I run a part-time business which I expect to supplant my adjunct salary in the near future).

BTW, I'm not interested in TT.  I live in an area with few opportunities for full-time teaching employment in my field, and I refuse to relocate.  I enjoy the online adjunct stuff - especially now that I've worked out a great schedule.  I figured if I couldn't go to the mountain, I'd make it come to me :-)

Very well, I will research how your driving the same number of miles as me is worse for the planet.  I am not hopeful of enlightenment.