Of Course Tenured Faculty Are Responsible for the "Adjunct Crisis"

by P.D. Lesko On Feb. 22, 2017, Blaine Greteman, an associate professor of English at the University of Iowa, penned an essay for The Chronicle of Higher Education titled, "Don't Blame Tenured Academics for the Adjunct Crisis." In his piece, Dr. Greteman writes, "Faculty hiring has been outpaced by that of administrators and staff charged with managing a growing army of adjuncts and monetizing the university’s recreational and [read more]

Coaxing the Lion out of its Lair Or, the Challenges and Rewards of Teaching Writing to STEM Students

by Kris Morrissey Teaching an English Literature class five years ago, the lights went out for no apparent reason. We sat looking at each other, considering the inherent symbolism of light – be it ambient or fluorescent. Then, when nothing happened, our discussion carried on at a deeper, more intense level to match the near pitch-dark room. At the end of class, I leaned near the [read more]

In Chicago, Mass Student/Staff Protests in Support of Adjunct Faculty

The AdjunctNation Editorial Team According to reporting on Chicagoist.com, groups demanding better treatment, pay and benefits for adjunct and part-time faculty in higher education held several demonstrations across the city Wednesday, including at Loyola University, the University of Chicago and University of Illinois at Chicago. “We are everywhere. I want students to look up in their faculty listings and notice titles. Look at the number of classes [read more]

Barnard Adjuncts Just Showed Us All Why It's Time for the $25K Manifesto

We all know that $10,000 per course is a giant step closer to equal pay for equal work than $5K per course. We also know that $15,000-$25,000 per course would be equal pay at most two- and four-year public and private colleges and universities. However, you don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate. That's the lesson Barnard's UAW faculty union affiliate has [read more]

Student Letters of Rec Written By Adjuncts Open Fewer Doors

I explained to my student that, because I am an adjunct, rather than a tenure-track professor, my recommendation would carry no weight in helping him get into a graduate program. I told him that he should be looking instead for recommendations from tenured or tenure-track [read more]

Why Adjuncts Shouldn't Need Ph.D.s

by Jonathan Rick When hiring a professor, nearly every college uses commonly agreed-upon criteria. Among these, perhaps the most important is whether the applicant has a graduate degree. On one hand, credentials are a critical part of a school’s brand. Given that students are paying an arm and a leg for tuition, it’s helpful when a school can boast that “every single one of our faculty holds [read more]

The Extra Credit Experiment

by Laura Yeager I tried something new last semester in College Writing I--extra credit.  I've never offered extra credit points in a college class before (I thought it was kind of babyish), but this year, I decided to try it.  And after doing it once, I don't think I'll repeat the process. I wanted to shake up the day-to-day routine (lectures, discussions, small groups) by having the students [read more]

How Your Student Evals Are Killing Your Chances for a FT Job (And Better Pay)

by P.D. Lesko What are the most credible methods and evaluative tools to use when deciding whether to rehire an adjunct faculty member? This is a question that should be asked by hundreds of thousands of college administrators nationwide. Instead, what we get are lazy administrators content to have adjunct faculty evaluations done by the least credible method by the least reliable evaluators: student evaluations. It's high time, someone smacked college administrators upside their [read more]