In general, my point wasn’t that one type of teacher=good, another type=bad. Different types of teaching positions exist to bring color and texture to the learning environment. There will be good and bad in any category.
The point of the OP, if I’m reading it correctly, is that a number of schools are gaming their profitability by exploiting adjuncts. The predatory colleges (or choose your own word for them) are charging premium prices to students but are in effect using temporary workers, underpaying them, underemploying them, stifling their careers, making them live out of cars in some cases, and giving students subpar educations.
Some schools are willing and able to game this way of profiting because the USN&WR doesn’t weight adjuncts well (or teaching quality properly). Thanks, @juillet for that information. Also, there are far more Ph.D.s than faculty positions. That situation would be improved if colleges hired ethically.
It’s a simple thought, really, to ask about adjuncts as prospective parents and students. Try to look past the new dorm-room suites=tuition dollars; with free laundry=tuition dollars; and the pretty flowers planted on Admitted Students Day=tuition dollars. Try to look past the chefs preparing custom omelettes on admitted students days=tuition dollars. Try to enjoy the free coffee in the admissions office = tuition dollars; and logo hat=tuition dollars; delivered to your front door by the college mascot=tuition dollars.
Also try to drill down and ask: adjuncts. What percentage make up the faculty? How are they employed? Do I like this situation? Is it worth several thousand dollars of investment here or maybe the situation is better elsewhere?
Everyone will have a different call on this subject about what’s right for them. By asking about adjuncts the Adcoms will notice, IMO. If they see that parents are weighing this information, they will evaluate their practices and make adjustments.