Hello, Fellow Adjuncts:

The following link is from Inside Higher Education regarding Tufts University and its new model for adjunct faculty.  I hope you find it interesting.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/10/28/tufts-adjuncts-tout-pay-and-job-security-gains-first-union-contract

Back with more soon.

Ever the Adjunct,

Linda Martinak, Ed.D.

The LATEST in ADJUNCT FACULTY ORGANIZING

Hello, Fellow Adjuncts:

I just wanted to share this site that summarizes the current state of adjunct faculty organizing and unionizing.  I hope you find it interesting.  

I'll be back with another post soon!

http://labornotes.org/blogs/2014/10/wave-contingent-faculty-organizing-sweeps-campuses

Ever the adjunct,

M. Linda Martinak, Ed.D.

SO WHAT'S IN A TITLE?

Hello Fellow Adjuncts:

Some recent articles have mentioned that there are numerous titles that adjuncts hold at our colleges and universities.  Adjunct Faculty member seems to be the most obvious one and I think we all relate to what that appears to mean.  No tenure, no or few benefits, no guarantees.

  

At some of our colleges, we are associate faculty.  At others, contingent faculty.  I am sure there are many that I am missing.  If we think more about it, we might also use a title that may or may not be related to our status as part-timers: like Professor or Doctor, Mr. or Ms. etc.  In fact, some part-time faculty members prefer that students speak to us on a first-name basis.

If we, in fact, hold a "rank" within the part-time faculty, such as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor, I wonder if there are any perks that come with those.  Do these titles result in the ability to secure more courses per year or per semester?  Or are these titles conferred on us due to our previous teaching experience, either at the current institution and/or including our total teaching experiences elsewhere.

 

Have you actually noticed what occurs in your own circumstance?  Are full professors teaching more often than those with lesser titles?  Or are those with more experience privy to more courses?

  

Notice, I am not mentioning additional pay or opportunity for more benefits. This post is really all about Who We Are at the college and if we have different titles, what do those titles mean in terms of courses we can teach and how often we teach them.  Does it really matter what we are called? 

I know you just hate to add opinions to these posts, but I am hoping you'll add a thought or two about your experiences with titles and what they mean to you, including whether it makes you feel better to have a more meaningful title.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the fall foliage.

Ever the Adjunct,

M. Linda Martinak, Ed.D.

Some Small Progress for Adjuncts

Hello, Colleagues:

As summer fades into the past and autumn begins to bring us into busier times, we should take a look back at a few pieces of news that occurred during August and early September.

I wish I could tell you that adjuncts are out of the woods, fully accepted in the academic community and now have reasonable salaries and benefits.  However, pipe dreams are not reality.  But if we look a little closer to the news, there are hints of change.  Yes, just hints.  

According to the Chronicle, we have made strides during the 2013 -14 academic year.  Our plight has been discovered on capitol hill and Congress may actually take a look at the serious struggle that adjunct faculty have, along with the questionable working conditions many have across the country.

On a similar note, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation has discussed including "how adjuncts are treated" when colleges are reviewed.  (Chronicle, 8/22/14- Sarah Hebel).  I have this overwhelming desire to say "ya think", here, but I'll let it go.

As mentioned in previous posts, unions have been on many campuses this past year.  But, in fact, they have made considerable strides in at least 10 metro areas across the U.S.  That actually resulted in 25,000 adjuncts joining unions this past year.  Since this is a topic that will continue into the future, I hope you will share news from your own campuses.  As mentioned in my July 4th post, there should be no topic that cannot at least be discussed in academia.  However, you likely will not hear about it at any conferences.   Fear of "political issues" such as these, are just not going to be permitted.

Since the discussion surrounding adjuncts may involve better salaries, keep in mind this statistic.  The median salary for college Presidents, two years ago, according to Ms. Hebel's column, was $478,896.  At private colleges, at least 40 Presidents were paid more than one million per year.  And yes, that probably includes extras, but the fact remains that's pretty big money.

Let's all hope that the positive steps made last year, multiply during this academic year.  More than any other time, we all need to be the best possible teachers.  Be known for your dedication to our students' success; speak up at your institution; and as Elizabeth Warren just posted on facebook (not related to adjunct faculty)---if you're not seated at the table, you're probably part of the menu.  Be part of the discussions about adjunct life on campus.

Ever the adjunct,

M. Linda Martinak, Ed.D.

 "In Academe, The Future is Part-Time".

Please check out these videos from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

http://chronicle.com/article/In-Academe-the-Future-Is-Part/148489/?cid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en

Hoping this will stimulate some discussion on this Blog and at your own institutions.

Ever the adjunct,

M. Linda Martinak, Ed.D.

Recommending Another Adjunct Blog

Hello All:

While I am working on my next post, I would like to recommend to you another blog just for you.

Please try http://precariousfacultyblog.com.

If you are also following blogs that discuss adjunct issues, I hope you will pass them along to me and I will be sure to get the word out.

Wishing you all a smooth and successful fall semester and hoping you were able to get the courses you wanted to teach.

Ever the adjunct,

M. Linda Martinak, Ed.D.

Check out We-The-Undersigned from the Adjunct Project/Chronicle of Higher Education

Here's an interesting article and petition posted in the Chronicle of Higher Education's Adjunct Project as a comment on the status of higher education, today.

I hope you will read the "petition to David Weil of the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate faculty working conditions, mistreatment of adjunct professors, and student learning conditions in higher education. So far, 3,200 people have signed on in agreement. Anyone can sign and share this petition—activists, professors, former professors, students, parents, university employees, or anyone else."

Please comment with your opinions on this one.  Names can be held in confidence.

Here's the link to the article by Joseph Fruscione     

Link to We-The-Undersigned

Ever the adjunct,

Linda Martinak, Ed.D.

THIS BLOGGER'S YEAR (so far)

"May you live in interesting times".  Purportedly, that's an old Chinese curse.  As you might expect, that phrase does not connote good wishes.  It's been an interesting 8 months for me this year.....not all good, not all bad...but at least "interesting".

After serving in various roles in higher education for 35 years, I have retired from full time employment and have returned to my life as an adjunct....just as I had started out 35 years ago. So my perspective on adjunct life (and expectations) has changed somewhat.  Yes, it's been "interesting".

During my career in higher ed, I have continually taught as an adjunct faculty member even though during that time, I worked primarily in the administrative function.  Now, I come full circle back to my initiation into college life - adjunct faculty member.

As it so happens, I come back to my adjunct life at a time when enrollments are on the decline, and online programs are popping up everywhere.  Thus, I find myself checking the university schedule at every opportunity to see if I secured a course for fall or whether I was fortunate enough to get two sections.  Ah, the good ole' days of adjunct teaching!  I remember it well.

Meanwhile, I am finishing up my summer section and trying to be as active as possible in the academic environment.  That includes starting to write a book about leadership in higher education.  I know what you're thinking.  Don't go there.  So, as I rejoin your ranks, know that I am paddling the same boat as you and I am looking at the state of adjunct faculty through the same pair of glasses.

  

Lately in this blog, I have listed a number of articles related to the unionization of contingent faculty members.  I hope you have been keeping up with that subject as it doesn't appear that it will go away anytime soon.  Be sure to educate yourselves about the pros and cons of unionization, but also be aware that higher education is changing and unions may not be the only change that's in sight.  Watch for my next blog on this one.

I am glad to be back with you as an adjunct faculty member, proud of what we all do for our colleges and universities and wondering what's around the next corner.  So for me, it's back in the saddle, again.

Ever the adjunct,

M. Linda Martinak, Ed.D.

American Federation of Teachers Support Adjunct Faculty

Sharing with you, this post from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

July 14, 2014 by Charles Huckabee

AFT Reaffirms Commitment to Fighting Exploitation of Adjuncts

During its convention over the weekend in Los Angeles, the American Federation of Teachers reaffirmed its commitment to fighting to end academe’s reliance on contingent instructors and to replace that model “with a system of academic staffing that is sustainable for students, faculty, and the economy.”

A resolution unanimously approved by AFT delegates states the organization is committed to “improving the lives of contingent faculty by ending the rank exploitation of the majority of the higher-education instructional work force.” That exploitation, it says, is undermining the educational and civic missions of colleges and universities, and is negatively affecting the quality of the college experience for students.

Among other points, the resolution says that the organization will work to organize local unions that can bargain for better terms of employment for contingent faculty members, and will take collective action with affiliates, members, students, and communities to educate people “about the impact of contingency on the lives of teachers and their students and on the quality of education.”

Adjunct Faculty continue to find support for their cause.  We hope it continues.

Ever the adjunct,

Linda

SHARING INFORMATION AT THE REQUEST OF ADJUNCT COLLEAGUES

At the request of some of my adjunct colleagues, I am passing along an interesting article from Inside Higher Education related to benefits for adjuncts.

Please check out this link for the story and also comments that have been posted related to it.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/07/14/aft-and-freelancers-union-announce-new-effort-help-adjuncts-insurance

I hope all of you are ready for fall courses and that you are enjoying either the remainder of what you are teaching this summer, or are getting rest and relaxation in preparation for fall.

Time does fly!

Ever the adjunct,

Linda

The Spirit of 1776

Yes, today we celebrate the independence of the USA from British rule.  We are now free due to the work of our Continental Congress in a hot, sweltering, Philadelphia summer.  If any of you are history buffs, or have seen the DVD - John Adams, or the Movie 1776, you will know that the decision to vote on independence was not easy for our forefathers.  However, given the increase in taxes on the colonies and the lack of attention to the plight of the colonists, by the British, the Second Continental Congress finally agreed to at least talk about Independence.

If we are to believe the Show, 1776, one delegate from Rhode Island was quoted as saying "..in all my years I never heard, seen, nor smelled an issue that was so dangerous it couldn't be talked about...I'm for debatin' anything".

All of that brings me to my point, today....I wonder how all of you at your colleges and universities are talking about the idea of unions, not only for adjunct faculty, but for the rest of your institutions as well.  I hope you will join in the conversation to let us all know if there is open discussion among groups, among individuals, among administration, etc.  Is this an issue on our campus that might be equivalent to "the sky is falling", or is it one where there is clear, open dialogue?

Please comment.  Your comments come to me and I will post them under any name or pseudonym you like.  The idea is that this should be a transparent discussion and not "so dangerous it couldn't be talked about".

Happy Fourth of July! ---- Independence Day!

The Busy Blogger....

As I am in the midst of packing up my "full time" administrator office and life to move off to retirement from the 8 to 4 (9 to 5, or whatever), I find my writing time has been diminished a bit.  In the meantime, I am reading some really interesting posts from the Adjunct Project from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

So, once again, I will direct your attention to one that appeared this morning.  I hope you will read it and be ready for my return to more of my own writing soon.  My academic life will continue as I maintain my adjunct status at another university so I look forward to re-joining all of you in that status, sans admin viewpoints.  We are a marvelous and tenacious group, are we not!

The link to the article is: http://adjunct.chronicle.com/on-working-for-free/    Enjoy.

I will be back with you on my own writing, soon.

Recommendation for Another Blog

I am in the middle of writing my next blog, but in the meantime, please consider reading this one from the Chronicle of Higher Education's Adjunct Project.

http://adjunct.chronicle.com/realizations-about-my-life-as-an-adjunct/

Enjoy and keep the faith.
Linda

Still Invisible Or NOT?

Just when I begin to feel a little bit better about the current state of adjunct faculty having a voice in governance, or any other college process, I hear something from a full time faculty member that just deflates my expectations.  I guess I can assume that it's my "adjunct expectations" (or over-expectations).  Let me put this in perspective.  

At a school where I no longer teach, they (the adjunct faculty) are trying to move forward in having a voice in the shared governance and presenting adjunct issues to the administration.  The adjuncts do have a seat on the faculty senate. In fact, the senate had just met the day before my conversation with a full-time professor who is not a new to the university community.  In fact, she had just gotten tenure there.  I mentioned to her that the adjunct faculty now had a seat on the senate and she told me she didn't know about that.  I asked her if she knew about the process the adjuncts had in place to meet with the Provost over their concerns and she had never heard of that either.  

Please note that the university is not a large one and adjuncts teach a significant number of courses in the liberal arts and other areas.  They teach in the business school as well, although AACSB (business accreditation) limits the number of adjunct faculty members who can teach their courses.  

I then ran into another full-time, tenured faculty member at the same school and she had not heard anything about the adjunct organization there or about their seat on the senate.  Yes, I'll admit that this is an extremely small sample of full-timers, but it is an indication that further study or communication might be necessary.


Meanwhile, even if full time faculty are not hearing about the adjunct plight at their own institutions, the press is overwhelmingly moving forward with articles every week about how adjuncts are organizing across the country.  Not only are unions cropping up on community college campuses, they are now at four year institutions as well.  The Service Employees International Union, the leading group seeking adjunct membership, has also been joined by the American Federation of Teachers and even the AAUP, traditionally a full-time faculty organization, in recruiting adjunct faculty across the United States.

For specifics on this country-wide movement of unionization, I refer you to the Chronicle of Higher Education's multi-page article by Peter Schmidt in the April 18th edition.   He points out that the new push from unions is using a strategy "that holds that sufficient union saturation of a given local labor market not only produces big gains at unionized colleges, but puts non unionized ones under pressure to treat adjuncts better, too".  To put it plainly, "it's not over until it's over". Stay tuned, I am sure there is more to come.

ADJUNCTS NEED TO SIT AT THE TABLE

Sheryl Sandberg, best-selling author of the book “Lean In” tells women that they need to “sit at the table”.  She encourages them that in order to be leaders in today’s business world and in society in general, they shouldn’t sit on the sidelines.  They should not underestimate their abilities simply because they are women.  They need to negotiate for themselves and not take the first offer made to them.  No one, Sandberg says, gets the promotion by sitting on the sideline.

In Sandberg’s TED TALK, she quotes the numbers of CEOs in the world and compares them to the number of women in those positions.  Women are simply outnumbered in the business leadership world.

     “SIT AT THE TABLE”

Photo courtesy of businessinsider.com

All of that strikes a chord with me, not only because, as a woman, I agree with her, but also because it makes me think of the adjunct situation in higher education.  Unlike, the numbers of women CEOs who are in the minority, adjuncts far outnumber the full time faculty in our colleges and universities in the U.S. 

The Maryland Higher Education Commission, in their 2014 Data Book cite the following figures.  In our state community colleges, approximately 29% of the faculty are full-time, while about 71% are part-time (i.e. adjuncts).  Likewise, in the four year colleges in Maryland, 40% of the faculty are full-time and 60% are part-time.

Adjuncts are not alone.  We are many.  We are not outnumbered.  But are we at the table? Until recently, the answer would be a definite NO.  We have been on the sidelines and have been there for seemingly eons.  Now, in some cases, we are on our way to the table.  Some of the adjuncts even have a seat.  But still this is not the general rule.  We NEED TO BE AT THE TABLE on a regular basis, not merely in certain cases; not merely as an afterthought.

Adjunct faculty members are making progress.  To continue on the road to the table, we have to talk with one another support one another.  As Sandberg tells women in “Lean In”, we must not underestimate our abilities and we must be actively engaged in negotiations with our colleges and universities so that we are part of the solution to the problems that we all have encountered along our journey.    

Adjunct faculty, like those at the Maryland Institute of Art (MICA), must understand the importance of standing together to discuss our needs with the college leadership.  We can do that only if we are AT THE TABLE.  In some cases, being at the table may involve a few easy steps where the faculty and the leadership can speak about each side of the issues without fear of reprisals.  In others, it may mean becoming members of a union.

The key, however, is that positive results can come from different ways of communicating.  It’s listening with open ears and hearts.  In the case of MICA, it was necessary to become members of a union.  In the case of the University of Maryland University College, it has been a new policy of “Meet and Confer”.  In the end, it is not a matter of the structure of the conversation between adjunct faculty and leadership, it is that it happens at all.  Adjuncts must be AT THE TABLE.

Today's Adjunct News in Colorado

April 15, 2014 by Nick DeSantis - From the Chronicle of Higher Education

Colo. Bill to Improve Adjuncts’ Working Conditions Is Defeated

A bill in Colorado that sought to improve the pay and job security of adjunct instructors at the state’s community colleges has been shelved indefinitely after the measure was defeated by the Colorado House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee. The committee voted last week, 9 to 4, against the measure, known as the Community College Pay and Benefits Act of 2014. The committee then voted to postpone the bill indefinitely.

Members of the committee raised concerns about the measure’s costs and said that the matter would be best handled by the community-college system itself, rather than through the legislature.

• Source: Gjsentinel

In an attempt to rescue the bill because of a $55 million fiscal cost (an earlier version of the bill carried an $86 million fiscal note), Fischer tried to amend it to force the college system to dip into its reserves to increase pay and offer benefits for all adjunct instructors.

That effort failed.

While Fischer earned sympathy from Democratic and Republican members of the committee, most agreed that it was too expensive a proposition, and that it was the wrong way to address the issue.

Today's Blog is an update on the news posted in the Chronicle; yet another blow to adjunct life.   I hope you will comment and add other stories from your own area, college, or state.

..Just A Little Respect...

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T" ...Aretha Franklin was singing about adjunct faculty members.  

Perhaps she just didn't know it at the time, but Aretha was singing about the lives we live in the contingent faculty world.  Spelling out our needs and reviewing our plight, her song leads us to what adjunct faculty have been saying about how a little respect can go a long way to make us feel better.   Let me tell you a little about her alphabetical reprise on adjunct faculty.

R - Adjuncts want RESPECT shown to them from their full-time faculty counter-parts.   We want some indication that the college or university respects us for how we assist them in providing for their students.  That includes, being able to keep the doors open and making courses available for the students so they can fulfill their dreams and complete their education.

E - Experience.  Adjunct faculty want to feel Respect for the wealth of real world EXPERIENCE we bring to the classroom.  We are subject matter experts in ways that are unique to part-time instructors.  As stated in so many arenas, students should leave college with a readiness to either enter the job market or go on to further their education.  Adjuncts know quite well, what graduates need to be successful in the job market, today.

S - Support.  Aretha was singing about the SUPPORT that all faculty need to do their jobs well.  However, in the adjunct world, it's also the simple things that need to be considered.  As many have noted, adjuncts are often required to hold office hours (see Stacey Patton's article in the March 28th Chronicle of Higher Education- "The Adjunct is In.  But is She Getting Paid?" However, as noted, many do not have office space.  It's not that adjuncts don't want to hold office hours, they just have no place to meet.

Perhaps, Franklin should have used several "S"s in her song, because it also stands for the adjuncts' need for some sense of SECURITY by allowing them to have contracts for more than one semester at a time.  And a part in SHARED-GOVERNANCE wouldn't be bad either.  SENSITIVITY to what adjunct faculty have experienced for all of their hard work at low wages would be a nice touch, too.  Adjuncts are not "just the help" (author's quote).

P - Some of us would enjoy the POSSIBILITY of PERMANENT employment as full time faculty members.  Perhaps, a PENSION fund or ability to have a retirement fund would show some respect for what contingent faculty bring to the classroom.  The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) indicated in their 2010 National Survey of Part-Time/Adjunct Faculty that half of all adjuncts would like to become full-time faculty members. 

E - Ah yes; you knew we would get to EARNINGS.  Adjuncts need to be paid for their work at levels commensurate with the work they do in the classroom; what they do to they prepare for classes; the help they provide to students on an individual basis (even if it's not in an office they can call theirs); and for the meetings they need to attend.  As an ethical issue, adjuncts need to be paid a living wage.

C - Respect is also shown to part-time faculty through such simple things as offering CONTRACTS that are longer than one semester at a time.  Colleges plan several semesters ahead at any given time.  While the number of students per semester may vary, we can usually define the number of sections of any one course that will be needed.  As courses go, so go the adjuncts.

T- Ms. Franklin's song would be remiss if it didn't mention TEACHING.  The research shows that often adjunct faculty members are rated more highly than their full-time colleagues.  That should not be surprising since TEACHING is their primary interest and primary role.  They love it or they wouldn't be doing it with all of the work they do every semester, while being paid so little and not receiving benefits.  They are good at TEACHING.  They know the practical side of the course content to add to the theoretical views expressed in their texts and by full-time faculty.  

So, R-E-S-P-E-C-T our adjunct faculty members.  And yes, we know it's a two way street.  We all need to show respect to each other in academe.

Adjuncts Helping Adjuncts

As we are now seeing, adjunct faculty, along with full-time faculty and staff, are being approached by various unions to join in for the purpose of support in grievances, pay scales, and other issues.  Colleges and universities are being asked to provide the names and positions of employees to these unions, and because of the freedom of information laws, they cannot avoid doing so.  Unions are being pretty persistent in these efforts of late.

However, adjunct faculty, in some instances have already formed their own organizations, not to seek higher wages or deal with grievances, but more positively, to help in networking, professional development and sharing best practices in teaching.

In this week's blog, I want to share with you one such group that has been actively working together for 12 years.  It is the Maryland Consortium for Adjunct Faculty Professional Development (MCAPD).

Initially this group formed when one community college put out a call to other local colleges to invite a representative for a meeting where professionals in the areas of continuing professional education could discuss what the schools were doing in their work with adjunct faculty.  That first meeting had about 20 or so administrators, faculty and adjunct faculty attend.  From that point on, a monthly meeting was held where these folks could share best practices in teaching, administration of programs and various topics of interest to each college.  All found the meetings helpful in the area of professional development.  They were no longer alone in their work, but had a new group of colleagues with whom they could share information freely.

Important to these discussions is that the primary recipients of the work of MCAPD were the adjunct faculty. What seemed to be missing however, was a way to provide the professional development opportunities to a wider number adjuncts.  Thus, an annual conference was born.

MCAPD has now held yearly conference each first Saturday in October for seven years and is working on their 8th..  Besides a keynote address from outside of the organization, workshops and presentations are almost exclusively the purview of the adjuncts themselves.  The conference is well known around the Baltimore region and now draws some 300 adjunct faculty members who give up their Saturday to share and to network with others across the state.  The meeting has had rave reviews and is again planned for October 4th in 2014.

Beyond the networking and sharing, adjunct faculty are given the opportunity to offer a professional presentation and show others the great work they are doing in the classroom.  If you haven't heard of this group or the conference itself, I highly recommend them to you and hope you will take the time to join them online or in person at one of their monthly meetings as they prepare for this year's gathering.

To be notified when the next blog is posted, please sign in with your email address in the box at the upper right corner of the blog.  You may comment on the Blog at the end of each post, as well.



I encourage you to  join MCAPD on facebook.  Go to your facebook page and search MCAPD or go to the MCAPD website and click on the facebook link.  The Website where you will soon find information about this year's conference can be seen at ola.aacc.edu/mcapd  

Adjuncts' Goals

Posted recently in the Chronicle of Higher Education was a quote by the Provost of Boise State University, as he spoke to a local newspaper.  The Provost said "The goal is not to hire adjuncts who are doing this for their living.  The goal is to get the practical experience in the classroom from someone who is out working in their field".

Having recently been with some fellow adjunct faculty members at a local university, the nature of such a statement lit a serious discussion with one of my colleagues.  In fact, I had stated pretty much the same idea as the Provost to him.  I had obviously hit on a very sensitive part of his personal life.  He, like many of us, was teaching as a part time faculty member while trying to maintain a decent salary to meet his family financial situation.  His true love, also like many of us, was to teach; hopefully full time some day.

Admittedly, he and I are in very different stages of our academic careers and because of that, our goals related to teaching were clearly not the same.  That conversation gave me pause and when I saw the quote from the Provost at Boise, I was immediately taken back to my interaction with my colleague.  

What that situation exemplifies is that we adjuncts come to our contingent lives with our own stories, and while others would like to see us all the same way, we adjuncts like our full time counterparts, teach for very different reasons.  

As part of a team of authors writing about the needs, the demographics and personal goals of adjunct faculty, I saw that in a group of 1600 contingent faculty in Maryland, few were teaching to make a living. Very few were teaching at more than one school and relatively few were aiming at becoming full time faculty members via the adjunct route.  

That study was a follow up of one done five years before and though the first survey was based on only 800 respondents, the results were pretty consistent over the entire 10 years.  That does not negate the personal plight of my colleague and it certainly does not put all adjuncts in the same boat with the same oars.  We do indeed bring that practical experience to the classroom and perhaps that is akin to our greatest strength. However, we are a diverse group and colleges have diverse needs which we are available to meet. So, some of us do our teaching to "make a living", even though the Provost would rather hire faculty for their experience in the work force.  

So why do you continue to teach as an adjunct faculty member while being paid wages that are not even close to full time faculty? Visit this site for adjuncts' stories.

Adjuncts United (no, not an airline)

Almost every week in the Chronicle of Higher Education there's a new article on adjunct faculty.  Occasionally we can read about how a university has been more welcoming, has made benefits available to adjunct faculty or has allowed contracts to be longer than just one semester at a time. Times have changed slowly over the years for contingent faculty.  For many years, we had to scrape for courses to teach and we had to do that every semester.  It has long been an era of discontent, with nothing left to do, but continue the ritual, hope for as many courses as we could reasonably teach and go through that ritual over and over.  There were no organizations that made us feel welcome and represent us for any of the benefits that were given to our full-time faculty colleagues.

However, those times are changing. Notice, I didn't say they have changed.  This is a work in progress, although not a fast one.  Today, we are hearing more about adjunct organizations springing up.  A google search of adjunct faculty yields a variety of such groups.  Some are nationally organized and are often the subject matter of the Chronicle articles.  One university system (Maryland) had developed guidelines for adjunct faculty to organize in what is known as "Meet and Confer" in which representatives of the adjuncts might meet with university leadership to discuss issues of concern at their specific school.  It should be noted that these are state-wide guidelines and can be put into place with some variations at the college or university.  In other cases, adjunct faculty have organized through union membership. 

I invite you to join in a conversation about what is happening where you teach as an adjunct.  Please share how or if you are part of an adjunct organization, what has been addressed by the group, and whether there are indications that having the organized group has been beneficial to you and your colleagues. 

Obviously, changes are going on.  It remains to be seen how much change will happen and what the results will be. 

A New Place to Find An Adjunct Home

Hi
Adjunct Expectations is a brand new place for adjuncts or contingent faculty to hear about what's happening in the news and in our colleges and universities related to the life of adjunct faculty.   This is the very first post to the Blog.  I developed this vehicle based on my own history of serving as an adjunct faculty member for a number of different colleges over the period of the last 30+ years.  To be perfectly honest, I have also had full time work as a college administrator, former Dean, Higher Education Consultant as well as a previous life in a microbiology laboratory.  I currently continue my adjunct teaching in a masters program in management. Over the last 10 years I have been an actively engaged advocate for adjunct faculty and have been the co-author of a couple of papers dealing with what adjuncts want, where they come from, the environments in which they teach, etc.  What I have learned over these many years is that the plight of adjunct faculty has changed a bit, but it is now getting much more attention in the press than it ever had back in the day.

So, all that being said, this blog will try to continue the discussion, listen to all of you who are currently adjunct faculty, want to be adjunct faculty, or never want to hear that word again.  Hopefully, we can explore topics that excite you about teaching (even as an adjunct), talk about where you see yourself going next, ask for advice from us veterans, or anything that relates to the world of teaching as contingent faculty members.

Welcome to Adjunct Expectations!
Linda Martinak