Adjunct Faculty

Position Statement of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges

Background

While adjunct faculty (part-time faculty) can bring special expertise to the classroom, excessive dependence on adjunct faculty can have a detrimental effect on the institution. Research has indicated that adjunct faculty frequently have

1. insufficient space which makes meeting with students difficult
2. inadequate opportunity to participate in departmental activities such as textbook selections or curricula decisions,
3. insufficient funds available for professional development such as participation at conferences or enrollment in advanced course work,
4. inadequate opportunity for advancement, salary increases, or benefits, regardless of the length of service or excellence of teaching; and
5. no chance for tenure or job security.

I. All Two-Year College Mathematics Departments Should

• Allow individual adjunct faculty to teach no more than 60% of a normal full-time faculty work load at their institution.
• Staff no more than 40% of the mathematics courses with adjunct faculty members.
• Provide in-service training for adjuncts in order to properly institute curricular change and improve teaching methodology.
• Fully integrate adjunct faculty into the departments and encourage them to participate in departmental functions.
• Foster open communication between adjunct faculty and the department chair or designee with regard to work load, courses taught, and schedule.
• Provide adequate office space for adjunct faculty members.

II. All Two-Year College Administrators Should

• Ensure that adjunct faculty are eligible for job security, salary increases or cost of living adjustments, and employee benefits on a pro rata basis.
• Provide funds for professional development and in-service training for adjunct faculty.
• Supervise both student and peer evaluations of adjunct faculty on a regular basis.

III. All Adjunct Faculty Should

• Seek to improve their teaching through continued professional development
• Become actively involved in their respective departments by attendance at department meetings and participation on department committees dealing with topics such as textbook selection and curricular reform.
• Conduct regularly scheduled office hours.

Rationale to accompany FINAL DRAFT of Adjunct Faculty Policy Statement

Definition of Adjunct Faculty

In this document, adjunct faculty shall mean any instructor teaching courses whose compensation in salary and/or fringe benefits is not equal to the compensation received by full-time contractual faculty. Part-time is considered synonymous with adjunct.

Background

The use of adjunct faculty in higher education generally has presented its own special set of considerations which deserve attention. Recent acceleration of changes in math curricula and teaching methodology also impact adjunct faculty. As stated in the AMATYC publication, "Standards for Introductory College Mathematics"

"Adjunct faculty, especially those whose full-time employment involves applying mathematics, can bring special expertise to the classroom. The minimum qualifications for adjuncts should be the same as for full-time faculty, and they must be kept informed of departmental decisions and policies and included in departmental activities whenever possible. Excessive dependence on adjunct faculty who do not contribute to curriculum development or who do not engage in professional development activities can have a detrimental effect." (9. p54).

As reported in the National Survey of PostSecondary Faculty (1988) and again in Gappa and Leslie's "The Invisible Faculty", at most two year colleges. and elsewhere in four year colleges and universities, adjunct faculty have

1. little or no office space, making meeting with students difficult, if not impossible, to schedule;
2. little or no opportunity to participate in departmental activities, in particular textbook selection and curriculum change;
3. insufficient or no funds available for professional development such as conference and seminar attendance or enrollment in advanced course work;
4. little or no opportunity for advancement, salary increases, or benefits, regardless of the length of service or excellence of teaching; and
5. no chance for tenure or job security.

References

1. A Descriptive Report of Academic Departments in FEgher Education Institutions, Contractor report, U.S. Department of Education, Survev Report, Januar-v, 1990.
2. Guidelines for Mathematics Departments at Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC, 1993)
3. Guidelines for the Academic Preparation of Mathematics Faculty at Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC, 1992).
4. Guidelines, MAA Committee on Two-Year Colleges.
5. Perspectives on the Community College essays by John Lombardi, edited by Arthur M, Cohen, ERIC Clearinghouse for Junior Colleges, American Council on Education, AACJC, 1992,
6. "Report - The Status of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty", ACADEME, July-August, 1993.
7. Standards for Introductory Collece Mathematics (AMATYC, 1994)
8. Statement on the Use of Part-time and Full-time Adjunct Faculty, Association of Departments of English.
9. The Adjunct Advocate. September. 1993.
10. The Invisible Faculty, Gappa and Leslie, 1993.