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[isaacsweeney]

Her son was really sick and she had a plan to cover class. Still, she didn't get paid.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/onhiring/adjunct-realities/29813#disqus_thread

[jonesey]

That's called "being an adjunct."

At every institution I've adjuncted for, if you didn't teach, you didn't get paid.  The reason(s) didn't matter.

See also: Office temp.

[educator1]

Since this was posted on a 2-year track blog, I will recognize that things might be different in that environment.
That said, leaving a class without faculty coverage is a big no-no on my campus. In my twenty years as a full-time non-TT teacher (adjunct?), I have never heard of a class being uncovered by a faculty member, so I really don't know whether an adjunct's pay would be docked, although I doubt it. I do know, however, that it would be considered highly unprofessional and the probability of being re-hired would be reduced drastically.
We have unofficial mutual coverage agreements among the adjunct and TT faculty. My office mate and I generally cover each other's classes and when that doesn't work out, it generally only takes one e-mail to the faculty to find someone willing to help out, even at the last minute. We haven't had the "serious traffic accident on the way to work" or similar situation come up to test what would happen if it were truly unavoidable to miss class without adequate coverage arrangements.

[_touchedbyanoodle_]

I used to adjunct at a CC where missing a class meant you were docked the same ratio of overall pay as the amount of class time you missed, never mind all that grading and prep stuff. On top of that, the rate of pay for a sub to teach the same class was significantly less than the amount the adjunct was docked in the first place. It was quite the racket for the CC.

[iclaudius]

At my CC adjuncts are allowed to miss four hours of class per semester for whatever reason. After that their pay is docked. I guess with that you can afford one family emergency or job interview per semester.

[cc_alan]

At my CC adjuncts are allowed to miss four hours of class per semester for whatever reason. After that their pay is docked. I guess with that you can afford one family emergency or job interview per semester.

That's similar to our policy.

Alan

[daniel_von_flanagan]

At my R1, if I am going to miss a class I need to explain how it will be covered or made up, and I am a tenured full professor.  That means that either I need to find someone to substitute for me, or I need to put a lecture online, or I need to reschedule.  In either of the latter two cases (and possibly the former as well) I need to file documents in advance. 

In other words, this kind of policy is not limited to adjuncts (though there might be less benefit of the doubt given to an adjunct than to me w/r to how the class will be made up). - DvF

[kaysixteen]

So, Daniel, you would be docked pay if you missed a class without doing any of these things?

I have had lots of professors, real tt/ tenured professors, at various institutions at which I have studied, blow off classes for all sorts of reasons, good and bad (bad= wants an extended spring vacay, etc.), and near as I can figure, nothing was ever done to them for doing so, nor could I ever recall a 'sub' professor.  k-12 schools have sub systems, private ones usually have informal 'you cover for me and I'll cover for you' set-ups, but college professors seemed to be in a different universe.  But then there came adjunctery...

[daniel_von_flanagan]

So, Daniel, you would be docked pay if you missed a class without doing any of these things?

I'm salaried, and teaching is only a fraction of my workload, so it is harder to calculate a financial penalty, but I could certainly get chewed out, a note could enter my file, and if someone wanted to get rid of me this would add to a "doesn't do his job" narrative.  In fact, capricious class cancellation is one of the few things for which tenured faculty members can (and do) get fired; I know of several such cases on my campus, and we're unionized (which minimizes administrative misuse of this power).

I have had lots of professors, real tt/ tenured professors, at various institutions at which I have studied, blow off classes for all sorts of reasons, good and bad (bad= wants an extended spring vacay, etc.), and near as I can figure, nothing was ever done to them for doing so

It is possible that as a student you were unaware of what was happening at your professors' level.

As a tenured faculty member I probably have a lot more flexibility than an adjunct in determining how my course material gets covered, but I've never been anywhere where not meeting contact hour responsibilities is considered acceptable. - DvF

[educator1]

I have had lots of professors, real tt/ tenured professors, at various institutions at which I have studied, blow off classes for all sorts of reasons, good and bad (bad= wants an extended spring vacay, etc.), and near as I can figure, nothing was ever done to them for doing so, nor could I ever recall a 'sub' professor.  k-12 schools have sub systems, private ones usually have informal 'you cover for me and I'll cover for you' set-ups, but college professors seemed to be in a different universe.  But then there came adjunctery...

This is far from my experience as well, at my undergraduate institution, graduate institution, and current gig. While I don't know about pay docking, I am quite sure that any faculty member who blows off a class or even leaves an assignment without having someone show up to meet with the students would prefer to get a letter advising them of a pay penalty than have to meet with the Dean where an explanation would be demanded. Not showing up for a course without arranging for a sub is considered unprofessional.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

I should add that at my current institution, we are scheduled to meet around 3 more hours per semester than our acceditors require (and that our governing documents require for a "semester hour").  To some extent these are useful as storm days etc.  As long as I cover all the material in the syllabus, I have some slack w/r to those days, and could probably get away with simply canceling a class, though I would certainly clear it first with my associate chair. - DvF

[spectacle]

At my last (TT) job, I threw a fit when our dean docked an adjuncts' pay and added that pay to mine because I covered the class.  I thought that was super sleazy.  It was just one class and she was going to a conference.

I ended up covering for adjuncts and telling them not to file the paperwork that they were missing class so that their pay wouldn't get docked. 

In other words, I think it's a crappy policy... As long as the class is covered, and it's no more than the occasional class, why dock their pay?  But it seems to be a really common one. 

[southerntransplant]

My R1 requires me to file a plan for handling a class when I submit my travel request. In addition, I can't have a grad student take it over. I either need to reschedule it (impossible for undergrad classes) or have a colleague fill in. Requests for vacation leave during the semester are usually followed up by questions, even if taken during a non teaching day. I took one day of vacation leave to bring furniture to STpouse recently, and it required a lot of maneuvering, despite the fact that it was not a teaching day for me.

As with DvF, my pay wouldn't get docked but I would end up with some nasty comments in my file - exactly what I don't need pre-tenure.

[aprilmay]

Skipping a class without a substitute or make-up session and having the students just work themselves would not be considered appropriate here (R1) for anyone, adjunct or full professor. Although I do not know if an adjunct would lose their pay, they could very well lose their job, and there is a line out the door of people ready to fill the position. Emergencies happen, but why skip the class entirely rather than have a make-up session? Adjuncts are not treated well by many institutions, but this complaint is not as strong as some others.

[scampster]

Emergencies happen, but why skip the class entirely rather than have a make-up session? Adjuncts are not treated well by many institutions, but this complaint is not as strong as some others.

How feasible is even having a makeup session though? Sure, for a five person grad class, maybe you can find a time that the students are available to meet. But for a big class?