Part-Time Faculty: Higher Education at a Crossroads

Higher education workers in Washington State are challenging the use of contingent academic labor. This article examines data and policies relevant to the state's reliance upon part-time faculty in community colleges. Data from the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges is juxtaposed with results from a survey completed by 20% of the part-time faculty in 14 community colleges to show that most do not work part-time by choice. The quantitative analysis underlies a subsequent examination of legislative and court solutions pursued in Washington State. Despite significant spending constraints, the state shows signs of being in the national vanguard as it addresses contingent academic labor issues.

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Part-Time Faculty Affiliation with the Virtual University

Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, Second Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-198-8.ch236 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 1605-1609

Author(s):

Leone E. Snyder ◽

Leonard L. Snyder

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Department Of Education ◽

Faculty Members ◽

Virtual University ◽

Adjunct Instructors ◽

Part Time Faculty ◽

Online Higher Education ◽

Part Time ◽

Education Administrators ◽

Time Faculty

The recent, rapid growth of online higher education is well-documented. For example, Kiernan (August 8, 2003) mentions a U.S. Department of Education finding that there were 754,000 students enrolled in distance education for-credit courses in 1994; by 2000, that number had increased to 2,876,000. The National Center for Education reported that, as of 2002, 57% of U.S. undergraduates had taken an Internet-based course (Palloff and Pratt, 2003). This dramatic increase in enrollment has created a corresponding growth in the demand for faculty members, a demand that is increasingly being met by part-time, adjunct instructors. Grieve (2000) stated at the time of writing that 40% of college instruction was being delivered by part-time faculty, and predicted an increase in that percentage based on the growth in distance learning. As a result, higher education administrators need to know how to hire, train, and retain part-time faculty members. Feldman and Turnley (Fall, 2001) note a lack of research in this area. In response, the purpose of the study that is summarized in this article was to assist administrators by discovering and presenting reasons why prospective faculty members seek parttime, online instruction assignments and why faculty members choose to continue to be affiliated with schools once hired.

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Department Chairs' Perceptions of Part-Time Faculty Status in Maryland Public and Private Higher Education Institutions

10.33915/etd.4757 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel L. Moorehead

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Department Chairs ◽

Higher Education Institutions ◽

Private Higher Education ◽

Public And Private ◽

Part Time Faculty ◽

Part Time ◽

Private Higher Education Institutions ◽

Faculty Status ◽

Time Faculty

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Perceived Sense of Belonging of Part-time Faculty within Institutions of Higher Education

Journal of Education and Culture Studies ◽

10.22158/jecs.v3n2p71 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 71

Author(s):

Cari Ryan ◽

Hans Chun ◽

Darren Iwamoto

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Higher Education Institutions ◽

Academic Culture ◽

Faculty Members ◽

Part Time Faculty ◽

Academic Cultures ◽

Private And Public ◽

Part Time ◽

Time Faculty

<p><em>Although part-time faculty positions in higher education continue to increase, reports reveal the lack of acceptance and valuing of part-time faculty across higher education institutions. Yet few qualitative studies explore this phenomenon within academic culture. This exploratory qualitative case study analyzed part-time faculty members’ perceptions of inclusion or exclusion within their higher education institutions. This study was based on interviews with a diverse sample of part-time faculty members from a private and public institute of higher education. The findings revealed that, in general, part-time faculty perceived a sense of belonging when their socio-emotional needs were met, and reciprocal relationships were present within their academic culture. Additionally, part-time faculty who desired and dedicated energy towards involvement in their academic cultures had a higher chance of developing a sense of inclusion.</em></p>

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Flexibility at the Core: What Determines Employment of Part-Time Faculty in Academia

Relations industrielles ◽

10.7202/1016321ar ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 68 (2) ◽

pp. 312-339 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Xiangmin Liu ◽

Liang Zhang

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

The United States ◽

Full Time ◽

Individual Level ◽

Work Arrangements ◽

Part Time Faculty ◽

Level Data ◽

Part Time ◽

Time Faculty ◽

Faculty Employment

Summary In this study, we examine institutional predictors of part-time faculty employment in the higher education sector in the United States. We draw upon institutional and individual-level data to examine the variation in the intensity of part-time employment in faculty positions among a representative sample of higher education institutions. Institutional-level data are from Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and individual-level data are from National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF). These data allow us to examine the impact of both economic factors and social environment on employment practices of colleges and universities. This analysis adds to the emerging literature on non-standard work arrangements in core organizational functions. Our results suggest that the employment of part-time faculty is significantly associated with a set of organizational attributes and characteristics such as institutional type, sources of revenue, and part-time student enrolment. Private institutions, on average, have higher levels of part-time faculty than their public counterparts. The proportion of part-time students and the share of institutional revenues derived from tuition and fees are positively associated with part-time faculty employment. Faculty unions are positively related to the employment of part-time faculty. Finally, institutions that have limited resource slack and pay high salaries to their full-time faculty members tend to employ a high proportion of part-time faculty. These results support the arguments that higher educational institutions actively design and adopt contingent work arrangements to manage their resource dependence with constituencies and to reduce labour costs.

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