The number of part-time faculty instructors at two-year colleges has grown steadily since the early 1960s, increasing from 38% in 1962 to 65% in 1993. Part-time faculty are employed in community colleges for four main reasons. First, they save an institution money in both salaries and benefits and are rarely promoted; second, the use of part-time faculty increases institutional flexibility in matching the demands of varying enrollments; third, they bring real-world experience; and fourth, part-time faculty themselves benefit because working part-time adds prestige and fulfillment to their lives and can lead to full-time employment. There are disadvantages, however, to employing part-time faculty. Critics argue that they harm full-time faculty by taking away full-time positions and extra pay for course overloads. Critics also claim that part-timers themselves suffer as a result of their overuse for the delivery of instruction. A third reported disadvantage is that the integrity of the two-year college teaching profession is severely undermined, although there is no consensus on how or even if it is undermined. Some research has found that part-time faculty do not incorporate new teaching methods and are less effective teachers than full-time faculty, while other studies have found no differences. Contains 20 references. (HAA)