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[mbhamper]

I teach composition at a small, four-year design college. Recently, I designed the English component of our new bridge program and have also worked on several department-building projects.  As a result, my course load has jumped from 6 credit hours (certainly an acceptable number for an adjunct) to 12 credit hours on a pretty permanent basis (the courses that I teach are only taught by me, so from semester to to semester my schedule remains the same). 

Is 12 credit hours more than what an adjunct should be taking on at one institution?  It seems to me that 12 credit hours is more appropriate for a full time instructor.

So, my question is: What should I do?  Should I attempt to bargain for a full-time position?  Should I let things stay as they are? Is 12 credit hours a normal adjunct course load?

Thanks in advance for any advice or commiseration you can offer. :)

[reener06]

I think it depends on the school policy. At the comm. college where I adjunct, you can only teach 4 classes as an adjunct (12 hours) each semester. At the university where I adjunct, you can only teach 2 as an adjunct; after that, they need to change your status from part-time instructor to lecturer (with slightly more pay). The latter is no guarantee of job stability. Well, maybe some--lecturer positions are year to year; PTI positions are semester to semester.

Is four too much? I dunno. I've done four the last two full semesters, and one of those was an accelerated course. I also did a winter intersession and a summer course, so 10 in the last year. I'm doing five this semester. I knew someone who did 7 one semester. That was a lot. It depends on how much prep you have to do. Four new preps is a lot. Four classes previously prepped is doable.

My two cents; YMMV.

[systeme_d_]

You're asking a specific policy question that will have very different answers from institution to institution.

The more important question is this:  What's their incentive to hire you full time?  You've done all this unremunerated work as an adjunct.   

I think you need to talk to the department chair, and inquire whether any lecturer (or tenure-track) positions will be opening in the near future. 

[palla]

The answer depends on you.  Are you ok teaching 12 hours as an adjunct?  Do you feel used or abused by the department?  Do you want a FT position?  If so, are you looking elsewhere?

[mickeymantle]

I would definitely talk to the chairperson.  All types of faculty today are looking at more and more classloads demanded by administrators, but adjuncts are especially open to abuse, particularly when they engage in unrenumerated service.

[spinnaker]

I can pretty much guarantee that your department is not thinking about designating you a full time instructor.

[offthemarket]

If you teach this much for six years, according to AAUP guidelines, then you need to become a full-time employee.  Someone I know just got a permanent instructor-like position this way.  That's because the school wanted to do this and he was a great teacher and they felt like complying with unenforceable AAUP guidelines.

[spectacle]

You need to be aware the schools almost never roll non-tenure track/adjunct positions into full-time.  Does it happen?  Sometimes.  But very, very rarely.

If you want to get them to make you an offer, make yourself marketable.  That means having an offer in hand from a comparable or better school.

As systeme_d_ points out, right now they have absolutely no incentive to hire you full-time.  Why should they, when you're willing to do loads of work for free? 

Some folks around here will tell you that they way to a full-time job is to make yourself appealing as a part-timer; do a ton of service and other unpaid work.  I strongly disagree with this.  A little service is fine, but extensive amounts of unpaid work - not necessarily a good idea.

My advice, in a nutshell: go on the market.  Get an offer from another school.  Show them they risk losing you if they can't make a counter-offer.

[spinnaker]

You need to be aware the schools almost never roll non-tenure track/adjunct positions into full-time.  Does it happen?  Sometimes.  But very, very rarely.

If you want to get them to make you an offer, make yourself marketable.  That means having an offer in hand from a comparable or better school.

As systeme_d_ points out, right now they have absolutely no incentive to hire you full-time.  Why should they, when you're willing to do loads of work for free? 

Some folks around here will tell you that they way to a full-time job is to make yourself appealing as a part-timer; do a ton of service and other unpaid work.  I strongly disagree with this.  A little service is fine, but extensive amounts of unpaid work - not necessarily a good idea.

My advice, in a nutshell: go on the market.  Get an offer from another school.  Show them they risk losing you if they can't make a counter-offer.

Couldn't agree more. It sounds like they may have already required unpaid work?

[untenured]

You need to be aware the schools almost never roll non-tenure track/adjunct positions into full-time.  Does it happen?  Sometimes.  But very, very rarely.

If you want to get them to make you an offer, make yourself marketable.  That means having an offer in hand from a comparable or better school.

As systeme_d_ points out, right now they have absolutely no incentive to hire you full-time.  Why should they, when you're willing to do loads of work for free? 

Some folks around here will tell you that they way to a full-time job is to make yourself appealing as a part-timer; do a ton of service and other unpaid work.  I strongly disagree with this.  A little service is fine, but extensive amounts of unpaid work - not necessarily a good idea.

My advice, in a nutshell: go on the market.  Get an offer from another school.  Show them they risk losing you if they can't make a counter-offer.

This.

Unfortunately, good faith voluntarism devalues your labor.  Why purchase the cow when the university gets the milk for free?

[spinnaker]

Thus far, OP has not definitely said that he/she volunteered.

[history_anon]

Here's what I would advise, as a former adjunct and current department chair.  Talk frankly with your department chair about your contributions to the program and your long-term career goals.  Ask him/her to sit in on your classes to observe your teaching, present him/her with a portfolio of the program development you've done, and also of your teaching materials and your scholarly work (if applicable).  Tell him/her that you would love to build a career at your current institution, but that you need a job that will provide you with employment security and a decent salary.   Ask about any current or prospective vacancies in your department, and what criteria will be used to select the successful candidate.  Tell him/her that you are on the job market, and ask if he/she would be willing to provide a letter of recommendation for your file.

Unless your chair is an ogre (in which case, I'd suggest having the same conversation with a senior faculty member whom you trust), s/he will respond positively and productively to this kind of conversation.  One of the sad lessons I've learned as a new department chair is just how little power chairs have over the creation of new faculty lines.  It may be that s/he would like to hire you full time, but the dean won't authorize any new full-time positions in the department.  It may be, since full-time positions draw upon a national pool, while adjuncts draw on a local market, that you wouldn't be considered competitive for the former.  In this case, that's a message you need to hear, so that you won't waste time waiting for an offer that will never come, and can start looking elsewhere.  On the other hand, the chair may consider you an invaluable part of the program, and the possibility of losing you could provide him/her some leverage in negotiating with the dean.  In any case, your chair is in a good position to attest to the good work that you've done at your current institution, and to sing your praises to a hiring committee elsewhere that might have a full-time opening for which you'd be a good fit.

[spinnaker]

Here's what I would advise, as a former adjunct and current department chair.  Talk frankly with your department chair about your contributions to the program and your long-term career goals.  Ask him/her to sit in on your classes to observe your teaching, present him/her with a portfolio of the program development you've done, and also of your teaching materials and your scholarly work (if applicable).  Tell him/her that you would love to build a career at your current institution, but that you need a job that will provide you with employment security and a decent salary.   Ask about any current or prospective vacancies in your department, and what criteria will be used to select the successful candidate.  Tell him/her that you are on the job market, and ask if he/she would be willing to provide a letter of recommendation for your file.

Unless your chair is an ogre (in which case, I'd suggest having the same conversation with a senior faculty member whom you trust), s/he will respond positively and productively to this kind of conversation.  One of the sad lessons I've learned as a new department chair is just how little power chairs have over the creation of new faculty lines.  It may be that s/he would like to hire you full time, but the dean won't authorize any new full-time positions in the department.  It may be, since full-time positions draw upon a national pool, while adjuncts draw on a local market, that you wouldn't be considered competitive for the former.  In this case, that's a message you need to hear, so that you won't waste time waiting for an offer that will never come, and can start looking elsewhere.  On the other hand, the chair may consider you an invaluable part of the program, and the possibility of losing you could provide him/her some leverage in negotiating with the dean.  In any case, your chair is in a good position to attest to the good work that you've done at your current institution, and to sing your praises to a hiring committee elsewhere that might have a full-time opening for which you'd be a good fit.

Right now would be a good time for OP to cut his losses and look for a better opportunity, and for the department chair to look around for another wishful thinker.

[quietly]

Is the faculty unionized? If so, there is probably language about the limits on adjunct hours in the faculty handbook.  Even if not, there may be such language. 

But regardless of whether there is or not, I think "conversion" to a full-time position is very unlikely.  First, as history_anon noted, departments generally have little to no control over such things (probably partly because of circumstances just like this--your chair may be very sympathetic but can place blame for his/her helplessness on administration).  Full-time positions usually must initiate much higher up, based on wider institutional needs and goals.  Departments are competing for these lines, and while your chair might have some idea of how likely one is to arise in the coming years--and it's worth asking!--I highly doubt one will be created just because YOU need one and have proven yourself worthy.  Plus, unless you're at a small, non-bureaucratic, nepotistic school, any full-time position will need to be advertised and multiple candidates interviewed.  It won't be just "creating a job for you."

Does that mean you're wasting your time with this extra service? Eh, I don't know. I'm both more and less cynical than some on here: I don't completely agree with the "why buy the cow" argument because again I don't think that's the institution's calculus in deciding whether a position is needed.  Your collegiality is a big positive when it comes to getting letters of rec for other, actual FT positions (as long as you make sure it's visible). 

But will it help you get a FT position at YOUR school? Here, I'm more skeptical.  I've been on more than half a dozen search committees where current adjuncts apply for the advertised positions, and only once has someone ever got the job.  First, an advertised FT job draws a lot more competitive applicants than the local pool of adjuncts can supply--suddenly the department will have many impressive options.  Second, it's almost always easier to look good on fresh paper than it is to look good after years in person. 

So I think you're better off applying widely to advertised FT positions and collecting great LORs.  If you're geographically constrained without other nearby institutions, then you can keep waiting around and as long as you can financially/emotionally afford to: there's always a chance at your school, but it may be slim.  The chair could probably give you an indication of how slim, and there's no harm in asking.

Q.

[spinnaker]

Is the faculty unionized? If so, there is probably language about the limits on adjunct hours in the faculty handbook.  Even if not, there may be such language. 

I'm getting the feeling they don't have an adjunct union.

But regardless of whether there is or not, I think "conversion" to a full-time position is very unlikely.  First, as history_anon noted, departments generally have little to no control over such things (probably partly because of circumstances just like this--your chair may be very sympathetic but can place blame for his/her helplessness on administration). 

Oh yeah, these administrators are almost always nice people to chat with. You won't hear them going on about how you devalued your work by electing to do business with them. Or whether they set out to...nah, it will be pleasant.

So I think you're better off applying widely to advertised FT positions and collecting great LORs.  If you're geographically constrained without other nearby institutions, then you can keep waiting around and as long as you can financially/emotionally afford to: there's always a chance at your school, but it may be slim.  The chair could probably give you an indication of how slim, and there's no harm in asking.

Great ideas!