Content analysis of the collective bargaining agreements of 183 higher education institutions/systems found extensive managerial discretion and limited professional constraints regarding the use of part-time faculty, in appointment/release workforce actions such as retrenchment, and the ratio of part-time to full-time faculty. (Author/MSE)

Explores differences between instructional practices of full- and part-time faculty using results of a survey of more than 1,500 community college instructors. Reports that discrepancies emerged regarding time spent in various classroom practices, availability of faculty to students outside class, and faculty connections with colleagues and the…

Looks at the function and status of women faculty at colleges and universities in the United States. Focuses on how the adjunct faculty position when used as an economizing strategy by administrators places women in permanent disadvantaged and dead-end positions. Reviews adjunct faculty organizational efforts to make demands for pay equity and…

A national survey of 214 active and retired judges teaching in law schools revealed information about court jurisdiction, teaching experience, reasons for teaching, problems, and benefits that teaching and judging have for each other. Recommendations are offered to the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools. (MSE)

This article utilizes relative deprivation theory to examine the careers of non-tenure-track instructors and research associates. Demographic status, motivations for accepting contingent employment, and standards of comparison used to assess the quality of the job were all related to the degree of relative deprivation experienced by adjunct…

Focusing on academic issues associated with the use of part-time faculty, this report examines the status of part-time faculty in the California Community Colleges (CCCs) and effects on the equity of education offered in the system. Following an overview of issues, the report provides information on the history of the use of part-time faculty,…

This report reviews the current characteristics of faculty in higher education institutions compared to those of faculty members 20 years ago. It is based on fall 1995 data and 1976 comparison data. A major finding is a substantial increase (91 percent) in the number of part-time faculty compared with an increase of 27 percent in the number of…

The National Education Association (NEA) regards the misuse and abuse of part-time, temporary, and nontenure track faculty appointments as one of the most serious problems confronting American higher education. This report discusses the following topics and gives NEA's recommendations to colleges and universities: (1) categories of part-time,…

Adjunct faculty is used heavily in the community college setting. Community colleges are marketsensitive, and strive to serve the community. With the advent of distance learning, community colleges now serve a global community. Distance learning managers will frequently recruit faculty from the institutional full time faculty pool. However, with…

This study examines the association between three outcomes of the freshman and sophomore years (retention, academic achievement and student rating of instruction) and the amount of exposure to three types of instructors (regular full-time faculty, adjunct faculty and graduate teaching assistants). The growing reliance in higher education on…

In compliance with Public Law 2002, Chapter 27, the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education collects and summarizes data regarding part-time instructional staff at the state's public colleges and universities. This study found that the average course load and compensation of adjunct faculty in each semester differed both within and among the…

This document reports on the current status of community college faculty. Several articles draw on a survey of community college faculty administered by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) in 2000. CSCC staff invited 240 randomly chosen college presidents to appoint a local facilitator to administer the survey on campus. A total…

Many administrators and full-time faculty regard adjuncts or part-time faculty as "fringe elements," the "have-nots," the "homeless" of the academic world, or worst of all as "invisible necessities." Adjuncts at the University of West Florida (UWF) are not listed in any campus directory, nor are they invited…

A series of 10 seminars on teaching and learning across the curriculum were offered at Burlington College (Vermont) to improve faculty morale and to provide faculty development at this college which relies on an all-adjunct faculty. These interdisciplinary seminars focused on local context and culture. The 32 participants, who were paid an…

Underlying barriers to adjunct faculty forming effective communities are time and distance; they spend little time on campus, and there is distance, physically and psychologically, from their peers. There can be no hope of challenging and changing the system without the organizing and focusing of energies. Lessons can be learned from big business.…