NOTES ON BEST PRACTICES FOR ADJUNCT LABOR

Frustrated and disturbed by the ongoing social and institutional lack of concern about inequalities and low wages in higher ed labor, in spring 2023 we sent a survey to people who work or have worked as adjuncts in higher ed in Northeast Ohio (whether in person or remotely, for any institution), any time in the past decade, asking for anonymous accounts of their experiences as contingent faculty. We are tenured/tenure-track faculty who previously worked as adjuncts. We received responses from 35 current and former instructors who have taught at institutions ranging widely, from community colleges to small private liberal arts colleges to R1 public universities. The realities of adjunct labor in Northeast Ohio were devastating to confront: among our respondents, for example, the median pay per course was $2,750. We hosted an online conversation in April 2023 to share our findings, gather feedback, and create a document that could serve as a resource to advocate for adjunct interests. The notes on best practices below are the result. We urge institutions to enact these recommendations.

Ultimately, we are working toward a future in which higher ed does not rely on low-wage, contingent labor and instead students are taught by instructors with dignified, fairly compensated positions that support excellent, innovative teaching and learning. We intend these guidelines to help departments move toward full-time positions whenever possible, and in the meantime to significantly improve the working conditions of adjunct labor, which are also the learning conditions of students.

—Hilary Plum & Caryl Pagel, Cleveland State University

1. Increase the ratio of courses taught by full-time (FT) vs. part-time (PT) faculty to at least 3 FT: 1 PT.

We recommend at least 75% of undergraduate sections/courses per semester per unit be taught by full-time faculty (whether tenure-track, non-tenure track, or those in full-time hybrid staff/faculty positions). No more than 25% should be taught by graduate assistants and part-time faculty.

Many departments may be close to a ratio of 50% FT: 50% PT, so this would be a significant change.

Achieving this goal will likely require more full-time hires. It will likely also require full-time faculty to regularly teach more first-year and gen-ed courses and perhaps fewer specialized upper-level courses—in some cases, the ratio of FT to PT teaching could be meaningfully improved by this fairly simple reprioritization. This is a culture shift that will also benefit students by placing experienced, well-resourced faculty into key foundational courses. 

We recommend that, under the leadership of their chairs, departments develop equitable and transparent systems for assigning service and administrative responsibilities across their faculty, with clear expectations, timelines, compensation, and consequences for not performing an assigned role. This will help eliminate inequitable workload situations in FT faculty positions and recognize the de facto distribution of service labor in a unit. It will also accommodate the natural variation in a multifaceted professorial role, in which it’s to be expected that over time some workers will gravitate more toward one of the job’s three branches (teaching, research, service) than toward all three equally. The structure of FT faculty jobs can be adjusted to recognize worker interests and abilities and the labor actually being performed. When appropriate, we recommend assigning FT faculty more teaching in lieu of research and service obligations, and advocating for staff hires when administrative workload is too heavily burdening faculty. This strategy will potentially allow for more FT teaching and less reliance on PT labor. As a corollary, this strategy will require units to define and recognize “service” more clearly and formally—which is in keeping with current conversations in higher ed that argue service should be seen as intellectual labor and is often distributed unequally because it is treated as “domestic” work.

2. Create an equitable per-course pay rate based on a ratio of full-time to part-time salaries. Recalculate this pay rate every 3 years.

Each department, college, or program should calculate a per-course pay rate using its entry-level/early career teaching-specialist salaries. For example, using the titles/contract structures from our home institution: if assistant college lecturers make an average of $50,000/year for a 4/4 teaching load plus service, that would equate to $5,000 per course (8 courses per year plus 2 units of service, which are equal to a single course per semester according to the contract). $5,000 would then be the base pay rate per course. We recommend that an additional 10% be added to that base pay rate for adjuncts, to help cover benefits that have to be purchased externally and other costs faced by part-time faculty (part-time faculty have to purchase their own computers, for example). Thus the part-time pay rate per course in this department would be $5,500.

In other words, calculate the base pay rate per course for early career teaching specialists in your unit, then add 10%. This is your new per course rate of adjunct pay.

This ratio should be recalculated every 3 years, so that COLA increases to full-time salaries show up in part-time salaries. Part-time pay rates should not be decreased, however, due to occasional vagaries in full-time staffing that incidentally affect the ratio (for example, a FT instructor leaves and this happens to bring the ratio down before the position is rehired).

Note that many part-time faculty mention $5,000 per course conversationally as an ideal acceptable base pay rate. (In contrast to the $2,000–3,500 per course rates they commonly receive.)

We suggest raises for part-time faculty of 5% per course for every 10 courses taught. That is, once a PT faculty member has taught 10 courses at any one institution, they automatically receive a raise per course that is 105% of their previous rate ($5500 becomes $5775, etc.). At 20 courses, they receive this raise again.

3. Create paid opportunities for service, participation in departmental meetings and working groups, and curricular decision-making.

This would allow adjuncts to participate in service and allow institutions to benefit from their experience, expertise, and the advantages of their inclusion in departmental and curricular discussions, especially given their knowledge of first-year students. We recommend rates of $250–500+, since rates such as $100 for 2–3 meetings are not compelling.

Adjunct faculty are often working at multiple institutions and so these opportunities should be opt-in, not mandatory; it is not feasible for adjuncts to participate in service at each institution where they work.

4. Hire at least 2 semesters in advance.

Even a 1-year contract is significantly better than a 1-semester contract. Hire for the full academic year in the preceding spring or summer. Contracts may still technically be per semester, but a two-semester hiring practice will allow adjuncts to plan ahead and have greater job and income security.

Also, if a course taught by part-time faculty is canceled within less than 30 days of the first day of class, pay the contracted instructor a “kill fee” of $250–500. The part-time instructor reserved a spot in their schedule for that course (and likely started planning it), thus they are facing a significant loss of income. This fee will incentivize institutions to treat part-time labor less casually and more professionally.

5. Provide well-organized curricular resources and support.

Part-time faculty should be provided with sample syllabi and lesson plans, a pre-semester orientation meeting, comprehensive information packets with contact information for campus offices/resources, free and convenient access to office supplies and copiers, and office space (preferably private).

Remember that adjuncts often teach at multiple institutions and must learn each institution’s curriculum, learning management systems, student support systems, departmental organization structures, etc. Institutions should help them help students effectively.

6. Annual teaching observations performed by full-time faculty.

This would provide adjunct faculty with an opportunity for specific, detailed letters of recommendation for the future and create dialogue about pedagogy and curriculum across the department. These observations would also help address issues that may be arising in key foundational courses and create opportunities to discuss each course’s expectations and learning outcomes. We expect that this practice would also help part-time faculty be considered for full-time hire when positions open.

7. To support the outcomes above, we suggest that in each unit 1 or more full-time faculty and/or staff positions be tasked with providing regular observations and excellent curricular support to part-time faculty. This should be recognized and compensated as service for the FT workers involved, not something they are expected to occasionally “squeeze in” around their other obligations—otherwise, it’s not going to happen consistently. So, create formal service roles for FT faculty positions that support and mentor PT faculty (especially in the first 2 semesters a PT instructor is teaching).

8. Create research and professional development funding opportunities for part-time faculty.

Create a funding pool that supports PT faculty attendance at conferences, research work in their fields, and/or participation in professional development workshops, etc. Even small amounts such as $500 grants available for 1 or 2 part-time faculty per semester per unit would be a considerable improvement at most institutions.

9. Free parking for part-time faculty.

This should not be in lieu of pay increases, however.

10. Adjunct representation in faculty senate or any comparable bodies.

Even if part-time faculty cannot vote (at least initially) according to bylaws or union rules, they should be welcome at meetings and their voices heard on important issues.

Also, if there are ethics or equity investigations of any kind, designate a representative specifically for part-time faculty, who lack protections otherwise.  

11. If adjunct faculty organize, voluntarily recognize their union.

In Ohio there are legal obstacles to including part-time faculty in higher ed unions. However, it is always an option for administration to voluntarily recognize any part-time faculty organization efforts as unionization. This is clearly the right thing to do.

Note that part-time and full-time faculty needs are sometimes in conflict, due to the differences in their positions and the institution’s use of their labor. Full-time faculty and their unions should respect the ways in which adjuncts need their own representation.

Glossary

COLA = cost-of-living adjustment

FT = full-time faculty (whether tenure-track or non-tenure-track: a full-time position with benefits and at least a one-year contract)

NTT = non-tenure-track full-time positions (often titled lecturers, professors of instruction, teaching specialists, etc.; a position focused on teaching, usually without or with only a minimal research requirement; higher teaching load than tenure-track positions; depending on the institution, may have a promotion ladder and long-term contracts/career pathways; lacks protections of tenure).

PT = part-time faculty, or adjuncts (hired per course, per semester or sometimes per academic year; usually no access to benefits; lacks protections of tenure; lowest compensation per course/overall of any college teaching position)

service = service to the institution and profession; one of the traditional branches of the professor’s job, alongside teaching and research. May include committee work in the department or across the university; admissions and recruitment work; curricular or program review/design; faculty shared governance; organizing events; advising student organizations; peer review, editing and/or publishing work; departmental administrative roles or day-to-day organization/correspondence tasks, etc.

TT = tenure-track (traditional academic position, which includes support for and expectations of research and a lower teaching load than NTT positions; promotion ladder ends in the full protections of tenure; TT positions are usually the highest compensated)

Tenure = “an indefinite appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency and program discontinuation” (AAUP). A tenured position provides maximal job security and protections for academic freedom, and maximal access to senior leadership roles, merit recognition, and other benefits.

visiting = a full-time limited-term early career appointment, such as “visiting assistant professor” (VAP) or “assistant professor in residence” (APIR); contingent, usually with a 1–5 year term; often has the structure of a TT position, allotting time for research, but is temporary in nature and does not offer a long-term path to employment at the institution; lacks the protections of tenure

Further reading

AAUP’s Data Snapshot: Tenure and Contingency in US Higher Education

MLA Statement on the Use of Part-Time and Full-Time Adjunct Faculty Members