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Adjunct faculty members
bring real-world experience
to University classrooms
on a part-time basis
By Chuck Slothower
News Reporter
Adjunct faculty teach a variety of
courses at the University, lending
real-world experience to their class
es that tenure-track faculty might
not have.
The University Faculty Handbook
defines an adjunct faculty member
as a person who has "another posi
tion, usually outside the university,
e.g. physician, architect, social work
er, etc., and who is employed to
teach on an occasional basis or to
provide some other academic serv
ice within the University."
"They teach all kinds of courses,"
said Brad Foley, dean of the School
of Music. "Some of these adjuncts
are teaching in areas where we have
no one else."
Foley added that employing ad
junct faculty allows the School of
Music to offer classes in organ and
guitar that would otherwise be too
expensive.
"As a dean, of course I would like
more tenured positions," Foley said.
"It's not an ideal situation, I would
say, but given the economy it's the
best we can do."
Nationwide, adjunct faculty are
generally paid a fee for each course
they teach, which ranges from
$1,000 to $3,000, far less than
tenure-track professors earn. Also,
63 percent of part-time faculty na
tionwide receive no benefits whatso
ever, such as health insurance or
pensions, according to the American
Federation ofTeachers.
Foley said his hiring terms vary.
"I hire people to teach several
courses over the course of a year," he
said. "If they're only teaching one
course per term, then yes, I hire
them on a (fee-per-course basis)."
At the University, adjunct profes
sors can only receive benefits if they
earn at least half the pay of the full
time equivalent, according to a report
by the University Senate Committee
on the Status on Nontenure-Track In
structional Faculty.
The University depends on ad
junct faculty and the quality educa
Today's crossword solution
tion they can provide on reduced
salaries, said Michal Young, head of
the Computer and Information Sci
ence department.
"There is no question that adjunct
faculty make it possible for us to offer
some courses that we would other
wise not be able to cover," Young said.
However, the savings involved with
employing adjunct instead of tenure
track faculty is not the primary factor
for hiring them, Young said.
"Sometimes (adjunct faculty)
bring industrial experience or re
search experience that is relevant to
a course," Young said. "Sometimes
they also bring a different perspec
tive than regular faculty can offer."
At the University, adjunct faculty
constitute 44.5 percent of the instruc
tional faculty, according to the Senate
Committee report. The American As
sociation of University Professors rec
ommends that universities limit the
use of adjunct faculty to "no more
than 15 percent of the total instruc
tion within the institution."
Nationwide, about 29 percent of
faculty at four-year institutions are
considered "part-time," according to
the AAUP.
Adjunct faculty have little oppor
tunity for advancement. Moving
from a non-tenure-related position
to a tenure-related position is cur
rently "not an option" at the Univer
sity, according to the senate commit
tee report.
This is due, in part, to University
hiring policies which stipulate that
faculty may earn tenure only if they
are hired as a result of a national or
regional search. Many adjuncts and
long-term adjuncts, which die Uni
versity calls "instructors," are hired
just before a term begins, making a
national search difficult. Also, such
hires are sometimes used to meet
enrollment fluctuations, the com
mittee report says.
Women tend to hold a greater
proportion of part-time faculty posi
tions than full-time positions. Na
tionally, women occupy 33 percent
of full-time positions, but 47 per
cent of part-time positions.
Foley said that "isn't the case" in
the School of Music.
"In fact, I'd say it's about fifty
fifty," he said.
Contact the campus/
federal politics reporter
at chuckslothower@dailyemerald.com.
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