This 1984 study analyzes the performance of part-time faculty in community colleges in response to the trend toward increased utilization of part-time instructors. Part-time instructors, or part-timers, are most heavily used in community colleges, which represent the most market-sensitive segment of American higher education. The number of part-time teachers in American community colleges reached 140,000 in 1981, and these part-timers teach about 31% of the full-time equivalent contact hours. In publicly-funded community colleges, part-time faculty exceeded 58% of the total by the fall of 1982. Faculty organizations view this trend with alarm, questioning both the quality of instruction by their part-time counterparts, and the motives of administrators in employing them. However, studies based on student evaluations have not detected any significant differences in the quality of instruction delivered by part- and full-time instructors. Three national studies, on the other hand, have detected differences between part- and full-time faculty in characteristics and behaviors that are commonly regarded as influencing instructional effectiveness. This study examines the comparative effectiveness of part- and full-time instructors in terms of the instructional measures of student retention and grade achievement in a subsequent sequential course. Parallel studies conducted over 5- and 8-year periods found that part-timers were at least as effective as their full-time counterparts. (Contains 93 references, 38 figures, and 6 tables.) (NB)