<p>My D is looking at small schools with an undergrad focus. While doing research I came across information from Carolyn's web site showing faculty info. including the % of part time faculty. What is your opinion on this- would a high percentage of part time faculty be a detriment. By the way some elite schools had a much higher % of part timers then less selective schools.</p>
<p>Hi Tom. My take is this: as with much of college data, it depends on the individual school. I would not automatically drop a school with a high % of part-timers from the list, but knowing that fact would make me ask questions about how and where the part-timers are being used. For example, it might make sense for a business school to use more part-time instructors who can bring real-world experience into the classroom. Some of the part-time faculty members at universities may be involved with scientific research off-campus, etc. I would also want to know what the percentage of part-time and adjunct faculty members was in any department that might be one your daughter might major in. </p>
<p>So, I would use the information to ask more questions when you research individual schools, and not assume that a high percentage automatically translates into poor educational experience. The same thing is true with the graduate student numbers in that study -- find out what they are really doing before assuming they're all TA's. </p>
<p>Although, I must admit, I was suprised at some of the data. Weren't the differences striking, especially between comparable schools?</p>
<p>It depends on what the "part-time" faculty is defined as. One thread lumped together real part-time profs and some full-time but non-tenure track profs. Some of the latter are practitioners (usually in the arts) or in language departments. In these cases, they are excellent additions to the more conventionally credentialed profs. Some can also hold Ph.D.s but teach a course or two in addition to their part-time administrative duties. </p>
<p>Some colleges and universities, however, use adjuncts as cheap labor, paying them by the course and being careful not to exceed a certain number of hours so as to avoid paying benefits. Although many of these adjuncts are as excellent and as dedicated as tenure-track profs, they are not part of the regular faculty, often don't even have offices to work in or to see students in. so they are at a real disadvantage both financially and in terms of their working conditions. </p>
<p>Finally, some colleges do not hire visiting profs when their own go on leave, thus saving money. Others do, and these visiting profs may be counted among the part-timers. While they cannot cultivate relationships with students the way full-time profs can, it is far better for students to have someone teach courses in the absence of profs who've gone on leave. </p>
<p>So you should do a little digging and figure out which departments have the part time profs and why.</p>
<p>As always thaks Carolyn- I saved the charts but have only looked at a limited selection of schools so far. I was surprised though. My D wants to major in either math or english education- so I would hope part timers would be limited there. She would like to take a lot of creative writing- so if Grisham or my favorite Erik Larsen taught part time that would be ok I guess.</p>
<p>By the way one of my favorites on paper and on the web Juniata has no part timers.</p>
<p>I know several adjuncts. Most are stay-at-home moms who sought the positions so they had flexible hours & could raise their own kids. Although I've never sat in their classes, I would never hesitate to be a student under these women. All highly intelligent, and bringing real world experience to their classrooms. None are making great pay, but they are keeping their resumes fresh. A win-win for both the adjuncts & the university. Adjuncts who REALLY seek higher pay & tenure would not keep at it too long if not on a full-professor promotion track.</p>
<p>My next door neighbor is an adjunct & is a dad with five kids. His wife swears he does it to get out of the house one night a week! He's a finance guy, and was able to make a more desirable salary because a few local schools wanted him. Smart, funny, laid-back. I'd imagine his course would be very worthwhile.</p>
<p>In theory there should be nothing wrong with pulling from the local community to bring in some part time faculty to teach specialized courses. I think this approach is rare. More often colleges with a lot of adjuncts are saving money. The adjuncts are usually grossly underpaid compared with full time faculty. They are not likely to be available or very committed. Often turn over is high.</p>
<p>I'm an adjunct, so I can chime in here. Marite is spot-on with the analysis of why and where adjuncts exist. I should add that, although I am an adjunct, I resent the way colleges use adjuncts to avoid hiring full-time faculty.</p>
<p>Any college that requires a version of freshman English/composition is going to have tons of adjuncts because the tenured/tenure track English professors don't want to teach it. They want to teach literature in their specialties. When a university has 40 sections of freshman English and, say, fifteen grad students, outside professors must be hired. </p>
<p>Adjuncts are also hired to teach specialized classes that no one currently on the faculty is qualified to teach. Sometimes an extremely popular course requires an additional section (or more). In this last case, the full-time faculty may already be committed to a full course load, so no one is available to teach the extra sections.</p>
<p>Universities limit the number of full-time professors a department can hire; this includes both tenure-track and non-tenure professor of practice positions. Still, the department must offer a full range of courses to meet student demand and to attract students to that department. They are generally free to hire as many part-timers as enrollment dictates.</p>
<p>For the student, adjuncts have their disadvantages, although these drawbacks may not be what you suspect. Teaching is not the problem; I consistently outscore most full-time faculty in student evaluations, as do some of my adjunct colleagues. No, the real disadvantage is the separation from the full-time department faculty and the university in general. We do not attend faculty meetings. We cannot advise freshman or serve on committees or have access to the normal channels of communication. We do not have the opportunity to learn how the university works. We are not invited to events where we can meet our colleagues. We do not have connections. Some universities don't even require office hours (although mine does). Adjuncts, unless they are graduate students, are not strongly connected to the university.</p>
<p>Most adjuncts have terminal degrees, either a PhD or, for the arts, an MFA. Some universities will hire those with MAs, but, because there are generally enough people with terminal degrees looking for jobs, they often don't have to.</p>
<p>Adjuncts are criminally underpaid, but generally well-qualified. I have a friend who spent a year as an adjunct when his wife got a tenure offer, but he didn't. They ended up getting tenure together at another university.</p>
<p>Momwaiting.. said it very nicely. A little more bluntly: adjuncts are usually treated like dirt. They are used as cheap and expendable labor and most soon realize that they are not on a tract for a full time position. Most are capable and professional, but this approach does not usually work well.</p>
<p>I'm having trouble finding this info. Can someone post a link?</p>
<p>FWIW, one of my favorite professors this semester was a part-time professor.The lectures were a joy to go to, the professor was accessible if we needed anything, and she had lots of practical experience working in her field (psych) as a full-time job, which really added a lot to the class as we actually got a sense of the subject "in action." I know there are probably some not-so-great part-timers out there, but don't automatically dismiss them.</p>
<p>The adjuncts I know are all happy with the arrangements. Some do go to faculty meetings, although I don't know if this is required or encouraged. I imagine it's all a matter of perspective. If you are comparing yourself to a full professor with tenure, and are seeking such a position, then the adjunct status & pay would be insulting. Others take adjunct positions for different reasons and at different points in their careers.</p>
<p>Several of my friends are adjunct profs at local Us--one is an outstanding legal writing prof at the local law school, one teaches business law in the business school & one teaches criminal justice at yet a 3rd local U. All of them are outstanding but don't want to teach full-time because they have other commitments. If I were a student, I would love having any one of them, as they're all extremely knowledgable about their fields & have a great passion for teaching (tho they are shockingly underpaid).</p>
<p>Weenie, if you click on my name, then my homepage, you'll find the article about halfway down the page, with a link to the full study. Hopefully, this won't be deleted by the moderators.</p>
<p>As I said, I think the information is useful as a starting point for figuring out which questions to ask. If you are looking at comparable colleges, and you notice that one seems to have a far different level of use of part-time, adjuncts, and grad students on board compared to other similar schools, that is, in my opinion, worth investigating. Not a reason, as I said, to immediately drop a school from consideration, but something to ask about. I doubt anyone here would argue that a school like Pomona, which has no part-time faculty, and uses extremely limited adjuncts, shouldn't deserve some kudos.</p>
<p>And, as with all college data, I'd be careful about drawing assumptions based on anecdotal evidence. I, too, have friends who are adjuncts, but that doesn't mean that all adjuncts and all part-time teachers are going to be of the same quality as my friends, or that their use at all schools is going to be the same. My friends who are adjuncts often express many of the frustrations noted above, especially the one about not being able to have a say in curriculum development or properly advise and get to know students. I have a dear friend who has been an adjunct at some of the top colleges in the country, and is an extremely dedicated professional, but if you ask her (I did), she would tell you that it is better to go to a school where teachers like her are kept to a minimum. She will also tell you that, while she made the decision to accept adjunct and part-time work for family reasons (her husband is a tenured professor and she put his career before her own), she would much prefer to be tenured herself. So, again, anecdotal evidence can often be contradictory. Smart college hunters look beyond ancedotal evidence and dig for factual information.</p>