In my previous department adjuncts were the primary instructors of the undergraduate students. In one semester there would easily be more adjuncts than faculty. Typically there are about 25 adjuncts and only 21 faculty members in the department. While adjuncts may serve a critical role in the department they are in no way treated as such. There is no retirement plan, no raise, no bonus, and they do not give any feedback to the department. There are a number of reasons to treat adjuncts well however they are seen by faculty and departments as temporary. Their temporary status affords them no benefits and yet a number of them have taught for many years. There is a clear divide amongst faculty and departments concerning adjuncts. I am conflicted about how I feel about the use of adjuncts because I know the large part they can play in a department. “Academics on the tenure track spend a lot of time talking about the plight of the disenfranchised groups at home and abroad, but confess to feeling hamstrung when it comes to academe’s own mistreated population. That irony is not lost on many chairmen, who feel forced to rely on adjuncts for budgetary reasons and powerless to improve the lot.” (Jacobson, 2003).

From a department’s perspective adjuncts provide instruction to students at a cheap rate. The payment of an adjunct varies depending on the department and the university. “Most of these contingent teachers receive $1,800 to $3,000 per three-credit course. A few institutions pay more, from $3,00 to $6,000 per course, but they are the exceptions. Huge number of adjuncts, working six courses during the year, barely make $20,000 a year not enough to provide for family or children.” (Eisenberg, 2010). For example in a department at the University of South Florida an adjunct makes $2575 per class. To pay a faculty member to teach the same class it can cost as much as $9,000. The rate of $2575 was standard even if the adjunct had a Ph.D. or not. In these economic times when budget cuts are determining the number of classes each department can offer an adjunct is ideal. Departments are able to offer more classes with less impact on the overall budget. No matter what the average pay is for an adjunct it’s not enough money survive for this reason adjuncts are normally teaching more than two or three classes.

An adjunct may be employed at a number of different institutions at once and therefore be teaching as many classes as they can fit in their schedule. For the students and department this is not a positive attribute of adjuncts. One of the major arguments against adjuncts is the quality of teaching. If an adjunct is teaching six classes the amount of time involved in teaching, grading, and counseling students will be reduced to accommodate the hectic schedule. Often the true impact of the quality of teaching is not realized until the evaluations are completed. Departments do not receive faculty evaluations until the beginning of the next semester. This makes it possible for a poor quality adjunct to continue teaching in the department for at least two semesters before the problem can be addressed.

There are no labor unions for adjuncts, no benefits, and their opinion is not always valued. However some adjuncts have been with the same department and are a valuable source of information. They can serve as an invaluable resource and a wealth of information. Some of these employees have more relevant experience than other faculty who may be out of touch with the field they are teaching. For students in the classes this is a wonderful asset and can overall be more helpful than other permanent faculty members. Many adjuncts begin working with a university because they are passionate about teaching and they are looking to be permanently employed. I am sure they never planned for adjuncting to become a permanent career. However there is no established career path for an adjunct or retirement plan. If the university depends on these individual s there should be some investment in keeping them or attracting new adjuncts.

Adjuncts can create a number of issues in regards to teaching and servicing students. If an adjunct left the following semester and there were any grievance issues, it can be difficult and sometimes impossible to contact the instructor. There are also certain policies and procedures that are hard to enforce if the adjunct is no longer available. For example the College of Education has an electronic portfolio to keep track of students meeting the state mandates. If students do not submit the work by the end of the semester the student receives a failing grade in the course. The grade is not changed until they submit the document electronically. Therefore if an adjunct is not still employed we have no way to know the actual grade the student earned. This leaves the student and the department stuck in the middle as a result.

As long as there are universities there will probably be adjuncts present. The higher education system needs to take a closer look at the role of adjuncts and how to address the concerns. There are a number of issues however I don’t feel as if higher education is addressing all of the concerns of adjuncts or the faculty members. With the economic climate I feel as if the problem is only going to get worse before it gets better.

References

Bauerlein, M. (September 1, 2008). Against Ajuncting. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Against-Adjuncting/6246

Carroll, J. (May 10, 2002). Can Adjuncts Afford to Retire?. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/can-Adjuncts-Addford-to-Retire-/46084/

Esienberg, P. (2010). Plight of Adjunct Faculty Needs More Attention From Foundations. Chronicle of Philanthropy, 22, 4-4.

Jacobson, J. (March 20, 2003). The Challenges of Managing Adjuncts. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/The-Challenges-of-Managing-/45127/